Wrong Turn
(FOX Region One DVD)
(2003)
review by Don't Feed the Dead

Okay, before we get into any synopsis of the film, let's just throw out the notion that this movie is a cross between Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Deliverance, cuz it's not. What it is, however, is the most linear horror movie (sticks to the genre) released this year.
Going into this movie I expected to see the run of the mill teenage horror flick, a la Scream and I know What You Did Last Summer. I found out early on I was very wrong. The movie opens up with some wonderful shots of trees, lots of trees. We then cut to a couple of mountain climbers scaling a small crag in the backwoods of West Virginia. Mr. Muscular S.U.V. driver reaches the apex before his beau and we're treated to her misfortunes of mountain climbing as she slips and struggles with her footing. As she's calling out for his help there's a grunt, followed by a thud. Uh-oh. Mr. Muscular is then seen hanging towards the edge of the crag, eyes wide open and bleeding. The girl panics and we see Mr. Muscular thrown from the crag to the bottom of the ravine. This is when the tension sets in for the audience. Someone, or something begins reeling in her tag line, furiously pulling her to the top. She cuts loose from the tagline, only to ultimately fall to the bottom of the ravine next to her macho man.
A nice little intro to the movie follows, with newspaper clippings of missing persons and textbook excerpts regarding inbreeding (which is good, because the movie never eludes to the origins of our baddies). We then get some aerials which lead to a classic Mustang speeding down the backwoods highway of West Virginia. Meet our main character Chris (Desmond Harrington), who is running late for an important meeting in Raleigh, and just hit a wicked traffic jam. Chris decides to head back the opposite way and winds up at a gas station, meeting the inventor of the toothbrush (I say that, cuz invented by anyone else it would have been a teethbrush). After meaningless dialogue, Chris decides to take a dirt road shortcut to meet the highway 20 miles down the line. Hmmm…. Bad decision? After speeding through the dirt road Chris "runs into" a group of kiddies on the same backroad and the country fun begins.

Let me just say Kudos to the Stan Winston Team and Rob Schmidt for creating an authentic horror movie. The movie was non-stop action, never giving in to the Hollywood mandated character development. The escape scenes were very tense, and although predictable at some points, still left the impression that the viewer got their moneys worth. The lack of character development adds to the rapid pace of the movie, and the detachment of character persona lets the viewer enjoy the hunt without remorse for trying to understand the cast's predicament. Ordinary people are placed in an unordinary situation, and the only way out is to rely on basic human instinct.

Desmond Harrison's hard nosed approach to the survival game emphasizes the mood in which Schmidt was trying to convey: be scared, run and maybe you'll survive. Eliza Dushku could very well be on her way to Scream Queen status with a few more roles like this one. I highly recommend this movie for those that are sick and tired of the Hollywood Horror releases that try to get too involved with character development and lack the entertainment factor. Let the gore replace the bore!

(The DVD from Fox Home Entertainment features Commentary by director Rob Schmidt and stars Desmond Harrington and Eliza Dushku, Theatrical trailer, deleted scenes, Four featurettes: "Making of Wrong Turn," "Eliza Dushku: Babe in the Woods," "Stan Winston," "Fresh Meat: The Wounds of Wrong Turn", as well as poster and stills gallery.)