'Allo! I'm not contributing to Ciao for the time being but if you are bored / desperate / weird enou...
'Allo! I'm not contributing to Ciao for the time being but if you are bored / desperate / weird enough to wish to continue to read my ramblings, you can find me on Dooyoo under the user name plipplop. See you around! :P
Member since:15.07.2000
Reviews:694
Members who trust:826
When Chris has to travel several hundred miles for a job interview, he finds his way blocked by a chemical spillage from a tanker. The traffic on the highway is completely stationary and with no sign of movement for hours, Chris has no choice but to turn back and try and find a different route across country. When he stumbles across a small gas station he is unable to get any sense from the senile attendant, but finds a road map attached to the wall, which identifies a road through the countryside that might just enable him to get to the interview on time. Filled with renewed determination he sets off once again.
Some time later, as he fumbles with some music CDs he takes his eyes off the road for a split second and when he looks up again it is too late to avoid a collision with an off-road vehicle that is parked on the highway. Dazed and confused, he stumbles from the vehicle and is greeted by four teenagers who ask whether he is OK and then turn their attention to the two badly-damaged vehicles.
The news is not good. Neither vehicle is roadworthy, due in part to a trap left in the road, which was responsible for the first car’s original predicament. The group has no choice other than walking to find the nearest house or farm in the hope that they might be able to get help and make a telephone call. Four of the group set off into the woodland, whilst the other two remain with the vehicles in case somebody else comes along.
With the group separated, somebody does indeed come along. Somebody who lives in the woods and very rarely sees visitors in such secluded parts. It is the same somebody who left the barbed wire trap in the road and it is the same somebody who “greets” all lost visitors in these parts. The trouble is, this somebody has a taste for human flesh and sees the six teenagers as nothing more than prey.
It’s time to start running.
It has long been rumoured that deep in the heart of America’s hidden forests there lurk strange inhabitants that prey
on lonely hitchhikers or travellers. Over the years, many backpackers have disappeared, never to be seen again, with no clues as to their fate. It is suggested that the denizens of the dark woodlands are in actual fact abandoned human beings – primitive families that continue to exist only through in breeding and cannibalism. These people are heavily disfigured, hideously mutated by generations of genetic abuse and extremely dangerous. Such is their knowledge of the terrain that they have been able to live undetected for decades, with no contact with modern civilisation other than to prey on the occasional unwitting traveller. It is one such group of these inbred cannibals that forms the story behind Wrong Turn - and a very good story it is too.
There are very few films that I have seen that had the same effect on me as this one did. I didn’t find Wrong Turn frightening because it was so far-removed from reality that the fantasy provided a safety-cushion. The sparkle in this film’s eye was tension, the sort of tension that stems from not really knowing what to expect and then being made to jump when it does. Such a film can only truly be appreciated in the cinema, and as the hapless teenagers desperately made their way through the darkened woods, I’m quite sure that everyone in the cinema felt as though they were stalking through the undergrowth with them. I can put my hand on my heart and say that at intervals in this film, I was REALLY shaking.
There are two principle scenes in Wrong Turn that made this film memorable to me. The first takes place when four of the group discovers a log cabin in a clearing. It is quite clear from the outset that something is not right about the place, but despite the nagging voices in their heads, they all still wander in. What greets them is horrific beyond belief. They find jars of human teeth on the shelves, still retained in their original jawbones. There is human flesh simmering away in a huge pan on the stove and pot upon pot of human brains and other body parts are to be found stored in the filthy dirty fridge. For nearly ten excruciating minutes, they peer and poke and make one horrific discovery after another and then when they finally decide to get out of there it is too late – the bad guys come home. So they are forced to scatter and hide in various parts of the hut, desperately trying not to make a sound, in spite of their absolute terror at what they have discovered. Of course, it gets worse – far, far worse. But I shan’t spoil it for you.
My second favourite scene occurs in the woodlands at night, when the cannibals are tracking the group. The atmosphere of the forest becomes particularly spooky with strange rustlings and noises in the bushes. It doesn’t matter how careful the group is, you just know that they cannot possibly hope to evade the clutches of their monstrous pursuers. They would only have to turn their backs for just a few seconds it could be too late. What IS that monstrous silhouette rising up from the shadows?
I could talk about the things I liked about this film for hours. Ask my friends – they’ll gladly tell you that I have done nothing else since I went to see it. There was just something about this film that worked perfectly. The attention to detail is great. You can almost smell the stench in the hut and then when the cannibals come home, you share the teenagers’ terror as the room starts to fill with insane chuckling and the sound of human meat being sliced from the bone. Everything is hostile – even the cookware and the cutlery looks as though it could be used as an offensive weapon and death hangs heavily in the air. As the cannibals run through the forest, I loved the way they had their own kind of language – an indecipherable combination of clicking, growling and rasping. I can also say that never has the sound of a bow and arrow been quite so terrifying. Watch the film. You’ll know what I mean.
Of course, it wouldn’t
Pictures of Wrong Turn (DVD)
Picture One
do to analyse this film for plausibility because it would quickly start to fall apart. There are various things that don’t add up. If the cannibals are supposed to be that way through being in bred, then there is a worrying absence of a female to enable this to happen. Their persistence at catching their prey seems too protracted, though it could be argued that this is motivated by the need to keep their existence a secret. But that’s probably the most difficult thing to swallow. In one scene, we are given an idea as to the sheer scale of their murderous ways and it really is very difficult to believe that such a group of people could exist for so long without attracting the attention of the authorities.There can be no doubt that Wrong Turn is a shameless tribute to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was probably one of the earliest of the stalk and slash films that have become so commonplace today and although not a particularly good film in my opinion, it did have a certain style that is partly re-captured here. There are all sorts of little things here that also happened in The Texas Massacre – the barmy station attendant, the arrival at the hut, and the discovery of the body parts inside were all very reminiscent of the earlier film, but there was none of the claustrophobia and sheer heat. Wrong Turn is a much more exciting film and despite the fact that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was banned when it was released, Wrong Turn strikes me as being much nastier too. The 18-certificate is self-explanatory but if graphic violence, barbarity and mutilation aren’t your sort of thing then I would give this film a seriously wide berth.
Desmond Harrington is very effective in the lead role of Chris. His expression constantly seems to betray an unnerving suspicion that things are set to go from bad to worse and he seems much more believable than the stereotypical pretty boy that would normally take the part. His co-star Eliza Dushku was perhaps more conventional, though I was relieved to find that she didn’t revert to the screaming girlie part – she left that for someone else. Notable in their absence were an irritating nerd and loud-mouthed black dude, but then I said from the outset that Wrong Turn was a good film, as opposed to a formulaic one.
Wrong Turn is not a great movie, but it IS a great horror movie – and that’s what I wanted to see. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that there will be a sequel and I’ll be at the front of the queue to see it when it comes out. Just don’t ask the poor girl that sat next to me about it – she could barely open her eyes and eventually left the theatre in tears.
Highly Recommended
Quick Facts
Directed by: Rob Schmidt Written by: Alan B McElroy Running time: 84 minutes UK certificate: 18 Notable appearances: Desmond Harrington Alerts: Graphic violence and extreme terror. You’ll like this if you liked: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Deliverance
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
I have just rented htis again and am going to watch it
NJFortune 21.04.2004 22:30
I have seen this film, it was quite good but it made films like Nightmare on Elm Street, Jason and Hannibal look tame, not for those who are afraid of cannibalism! . Neil
Rachey 16.03.2004 19:18
Sounds right up my street.I loved the Texas Chainsaw massacre and own one and two on dvd.Ive also ordered this on dvd and after reading this i cannot wait to see it.
Something strange is happening deep in the woods... but no one's lived to tell about it. ... more
Chris Finn (Desmond Harrington, Ghost Ship) is on his way to an interview, but when he is faced with a huge backup in traffic, he makes a U-turn, taking a shortcut...
Chris takes a turning into an unmarked dirt road to avoid a traffic jam, he ploughs into ... more
the back of another vehicle after his tyres blow. As the two drivers swap details they notice that the road had been sabotaged with barbed wire... Four of the part...
Advantages: Entertaining throwback to 1970s Horror Classics, tightly scripted and directed Disadvantages: dull dvd features, aside from the 2 leads, other characters are less than interesting...some annoying
eve6kicksass 13.01.2004 (13.01.2004)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Wrong Turn (DVD)
Jul 5th, 2003
(Jan 6th, 2004)
exceptional by (1%):
very helpful by (98%):
helpful by (1%):
