Wrong Turn (2003)

First of all... I don't have the unrated version of Wrong Turn; hence, I can only comment on the normal version - the version that you could accidentally find in a store. Just like I did.

I usually don't check out the cheap DVD offers in my favourite shop for paper, writing materials, office materials etc. - because I know I won't just walk out with a bunch of writing pads and new pens and pencils. Whenever I check out the cheap DVD sale section, I leave with a bunch of writing pads, pens, pencils and at least three new DVDs. Which is a bad habit of mine - although I have to admit that I found a few jewels through that sort of obsessive shopping (aka "OH MY GOD! This movie description is awesome! I MUST HAVE IT! ...wait a second, I don't have enough money. Okay, it is cheap. I won't eat today, then...").

Wrong Turn is one of them. It even qualifies for "one of my favourite movies from the last 10 years".

As my "reviews" might have given away, I tend to over-analyse movies. One day, I will make my dream come true and write a review of 28 Days Later, focusing on its philosophical implications. Trust me when I say that I am able to make Dawn of the Dead and 28 Days Later and Shadows of the Dead into exercises of philosophy. My friends have already suffered from this tendency of mine.

However, I like to just lean back, enjoy the softness of my sofa, eat raw fish (tonight I had my special blend of sushi, but usually I dine on sashimi when enjoying myself with a horror flick... unless I have no money, then I just have toast) and close my mind. Simple, easy, straight forward flicks are what I want to watch in those instances.

That's why I watched Wrong Turn tonight.

To sum up the review which is to come: Unnerving, howling, haunting, GHOULISH laughter just makes my day. Or night, in this instance.

Wrong Turn is a movie that delivers its action right from the beginning - a deliciously fast pacing (although it somewhat loses on that account in the second act), the kills are straight forward and graphic enough (but not gory enough to make it one of my "I AM HUNGRY"-movies)...

The beauty of movies such as this is that you can automatically figure out who the survivor(s) is / are going to be. It sticks to the golden rules of horror resp. slasher flicks, and still manages to work as a movie that actually makes you watch the screen full of interest and suspense.

... can I say "really good movie"?

Yes. Yes, I can.

Also, the fact that it's set in West Virginia makes me deliriously happy. In my mind, West Virginia is associated with the following: Blitzkid, Mothman, Wrong Turn. And it's no secret that I'm an obsessed Blitzkid fan.

There is something weird that I noticed, though: The Hills Have Eyes by Alexandre Aja seems to have taken quite a lot of inspiration from Wrong Turn's introductory credits. Coincidence?

On to the movie.

West Virginia. *swoons*

I honestly, seriously love those woods. American woods (at least those in West Virginia) look a lot different than, well, Austrian woods. Not necessarily better, but better suited for this kind of movie (idea: Survival horror set in the Austrian mountains... it would be a blockbuster!).

By the way, I am not watching this movie alone. The kitteh just joined me in watching it.




So... Wrong Turn.

The protagonists are stupid.

Rule #1: NEVER take the shortcut.
Rule #2: NEVER trust obviously weird guys who run a practically abandoned gas station in the middle of nowhere. It NEVER works, guys.

I'd hit it.

The Redhead (Lindy Booth) is our first obvious victim - she shows far too much skin, she smokes weed, and engages in sexual acts. We all know that the sluts have to die a painful, terrible death (no, I am not condemning such behaviour, I just want to point out that she is the perfect victim for a horror flick).

Has anyone besides me ever pondered upon the fact that horror movie victims... errr, I mean, protagonists, should learn not to trust ANYONE and ANYTHING? Especially not when utterly alone and stranded in a remote place far away from civilisation, a place where no one can hear you scream. Or gurgle, depending on the type of death.

Then again, horror flicks would lose their entertainment value if the victims could actually think.

I wanted to give you a screenshot of the slightly slutty redhead (aforementioned and -shown Lindy Booth), but after trying to catch the screen I wanted to show you 9 (nine) times and failing to manage to do so for 9 (nine) times, I just gave up. But trust me on the fact that she gets what she deserves for wearing sexy clothes.

I also want to point out that deserted, decrepid shacks are never a good place to look for help. I watch horror flicks, I should know. So if you ever find yourself alone in a giant wood, without any possibility to contact the outside... don't visit the decrepid hut. Especially if there are broken cars with their keys still inside all over the yard. And I mean ALL OVER THE YARD.

Then again, it could be a coincidence and not some bloodthirsty killers. *nods*

This is The Archer. Say hello to him.

He kills people. With his archery.

The camerawork and shots in Wrong Turn are good. Nothing excitingly new or special or grande, but really good considering that this is a slasher/survival flick. Also, the lighting is used with a considerable extent after the first act of the movie, and it truly adds to the atmosphere of the movie. Good job there.

The suspense, with which the movie starts out promisingly, slackens a bit during the second act, but I can forgive that. The first act is a little bit hectic (not on the bad side, though), the second one lacks any sort of suspense or pacing, but the third one makes up for that. Still, the movie could have been better if the middle part had been paced and managed in a better way - faster, more frantic, better shots, violence. All that stuff.

Then again... what can I say about Wrong Turn? Howling ghoulish laughter makes me deliriously happy, and deformed mutant cannibals are something that always manages to cheer me up mightily. Wrong Turn has both.

Besides the howling ghoulish laughter, the sound effects and the soundtrack of this movie are quite good. I dare say that they are really good - not perfect, not brilliant, but actually good.

All in all, this is a movie worth seeing.

Heheheheheheeeeehehehe... *giggles*

9/10 deformed archers and ghoulish, deranged skinny cannibals.