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Released by: Well Go USA
Released on: July 10, 2012.
Director: Kyle Day
Cast: Julie Jean, Allen Hackley, John Rodriguez
Year: 2012
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The Movie:
Kyle Day and his crew shot their low budget feature Cherry Bomb using a consumer grade Canon 7D camera and using money that they raised on a kickstarter campaign. The intent was to find the funds to make a movie on their own terms without interference from a Hollywood studio - an admirable goal to be sure. The end result of all of this is this picture, now available on DVD and Blu-ray from Well Go USA.
The movie follows a stripper named Cherry Bomb (Julie Jean) who works at a bar called the Pussy Hut run by a man named Ian Benedict (adult film star Nick Manning). One night she does a favor for a co-worker by agreeing to work a private party in her place. She shows up at the arranged location, does her show, and is subsequently gang raped by four sleazy guys. Cherry, understandably devastate by the events, decides that if she wants justice she can't rely on the cops - no, she'll deal with this her own way. She and her brother, Brandon (John Rodriguez), hit the streets and basically prepare themselves for war as they systematically work their way through scumbag after scumbag all while a mysterious assassin named Bull (Allen Hackley) shadows them, seemingly intent on taking them out before they can finish their mission of revenge.
The filmmakers seem out to have a good time with this project and at times they succeed but the film suffers from some serious predictability issues and it doesn't take a 'rape/revenge expert' (what a business card title that would make!) to figure out where this is all going fairly early on in the movie. The film also deals in some rather obvious clichés - Cherry is a stripper who is going to rise above the issues associated with her profession, the gang of rapists are seen as 'good guys' by most of their peers and established members of the town they live in, the cops don't do anything properly - we've seen all of this before and we've seen it done better.
The biggest asset that the film has going for it is the presence of Julie Jean, a very attractive leading lady who handles the material rather well. She carries the film and has a half way decent screen presence, or at least enough of a screen presence to keep us watching even when we know where it's going. It's interesting to see Nick Manning pop up here in a straight film and he's not bad in his supporting role. Some of the action scenes are done well considering the film's low budget roots and there are moments of inspired camera work to appreciate but when the film follows so much of what has come before it, well, it's hard to get too excited about it.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The AVC encoded 1080p high definition transfer is presented in 2.35.1 widescreen and it isn't going to blow you away. It looks okay for a low budget movie but detail is never more than adequate. It was shot on a Canon 7D consumer level camera and this shows in the finished product. The image is frequently quite soft and has been processed to look 'grainy' in spots. Colors look decent enough but black levels vary from shot to shot. The softness throughout the movie and the obvious crush during darker scenes is hard not to notice though. This probably looks as good as the source material will allow for, but don't get your hopes too high…
The shining spot in the technical presentation is the English language DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix. There's quite a bit of surround activity here, not just from the score but from the sound effects as well. The strip club scenes sound appropriately rowdy enough while the action scenes offer some strong low end and good rear channel activity. Dialogue stays clean and clear in the mix without ever getting buried by the other elements and the levels are properly balanced throughout the film. There are no alternate language options or subtitles provided but an English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track is also included on the disc.
The main extra on the disc is a commentary from Kyle Day, the director and producer of the feature, who is joined by Writer Garrett Hargrove, Editor David Ward, and the film's Musical Composer Jason Latimer. They talk at length about making the movie fast and on a low budget and discuss the pictures that influenced their work, their admiration for various cast and crewmembers, some ideas that were bounced around and which didn't materialize in the final version and more. It's a solid track with some good information in it, but it won't likely change your opinion of the movie. Aside from that, get a single deleted scene, two minutes worth of outtakes, an alternate ending and a trailer for the feature. There are menus and chapter stops provided and trailers for a few other unrelated Well Go USA properties play before the menu loads. All of the extras on the disc are in high definition.
The Final Word:
Cherry Bomb isn't bad, but it isn't great either. The movie is predictable and chock full of clichés and while its leading lady is fetching, the transfer isn't what most Blu-ray viewers will want it to be. If you're a fan of low budget retro-style exploitation pictures, you'll probably enjoy this one, otherwise…