What is the cliche opening scene to any horror movie? A girl running in the woods trips for no reason and ends up being sliced like birthday cake. With the familiar scene established, one would believe “Cry Wolf” to be your typical horror flick. However, it is nothing of the sort. In fact, it is not really a scary movie at all. Indeed “Cry Wolf” does have its fair share of predictable scenes, but overall the story plot is an exceptional one at that.

“Cry Wolf” is the story of a high school transfer by the name of Owen (Julian Morris) with a rebellious past. Owen’s father sends him to a prep school where he befriends a young lady by the name of Dodger (Lindy Booth). Owen takes part in a lying game designed by Dodger with the ultimate goal of finding out who is the designated liar. As Dodger said when they played the game, “avoid suspicion, manipulate your friends and eliminate your enemies.”

The students soon decide to take the small basement game and play it on a broader field. Together they create a high school rumor about the real murderer, whom they named Wolf, behind the killing of a high school student that took place earlier in the movie. The rumor quickly spreads around the school and before they know it, the supposed murderer is the talk of the campus. The rumor takes a turn for the worst when the “murderer” they created for this rumor becomes real and actually begins to murder each of the students involved in the rumor. The plot gets even more interesting when Owen starts to receive messages on his laptop from “Wolf” regarding the rumor becoming reality and the friends struggle to find out who the killer really is.

Although labeled a suspense or horror film, “Cry Wolf” is more like a mystery than anything else. The frequent plot twists keep the audience on the edge of their seats more than the scary bits. Still, there are some chilling scenes that will make you jump, but it is the mystery behind the question “who is the killer?” that keeps everyone in the audience awake. With slight plot throw-offs, the last twist in the movie was not too predictable. However, if you are paying attention throughout the movie, you might be able to guess it.

The difference between a bad movie and a good movie is its ability to keep the audience interested. Jeff Wadlow, the director of “Cry Wolf,” was able to capture the audience’s interest and keep a firm grip on it from beginning to end. There are not many dull moments in the movie, which is very important in what is supposed to be a suspense film.

Overall, “Cry Wolf” is a very enjoyable mystery. The plot shifts and twists keep the audience guessing and interested. Although the plot leaves the audience thinking more than being scared, it still is not a disappointment, unless you were looking to be horrified.