That’s right, folks! We’re up to number four in the Wrong Turn series. For those of you who are a little hazy on your horror movie trivia, the first wrong turn was released in 2003 and was the only one of the series to appear in theaters. Basic story: a group of young people get stranded in the backwoods of West Virginia and a systematically hunted, butchered, and eaten by a trio of inbred hillbilly cannibals. Yikes!
The cannibalistic trio returned for what I feel is the best movie in the series, Wrong Turn 2: Dead End in 2007, which was followed by a third installment in 2009, Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead. It was okay, but by the third entry – like most franchises – the series was definitely showing its age.
Two years later and here comes Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings, which briefly tells the origin of our cannibal trio and how they’re ultra-violent behavior has always been a part of their lives. I say briefly because what I thought was going to be an actual origin story about One-Eye, Sawtooth, and Three Finger was only the first ten minutes of the movie. It then flashes to thirty years later and the “young people trapped in a _____” plot begins.
Now, as we all know, slasher flicks have their own conventions and sets of rules that help define the genre. Wrong Turn 4 utilizes all of these rules and does a decent job building tension and suspense for most of the movie. And when Wrong Turn 4 turns up the violence and gore it’s a really fun slasher flick. Its biggest weakness comes in the slow-paced middle.
After the violent opening, it’s another 45 minutes before any blood is seen or spilled, which is a huge no-no when it comes to this particular genre. While the characters are somewhat interesting and the intent was probably to get us to care about them so when they died we felt something, all it really does here is hope that they die soon and violently. This does happen, but you have to be patient in order to get to the ultimate pay-off during the last 30 minutes of the movie.
While it does take a while to get there, the deaths are creative and quite gruesome. The three who play the cannibal hillbillies are hideously scary, and their implements to death and dismemberment are effective and bloody.
The Blu-ray edition of the film is loaded with special features, which include:
Making Another Wrong Turn
This was actually a very interesting documentary about the ins and outs of making a direct-to-DVD horror film on a very small budget. It includes interviews with the cast and crew, and shows how they achieved many of the effects in the film.
Lifestyles of the Sick and Infamous
A brief look at the history of the Brandon Mental Health Center in Brandon, Manitoba where the bulk of the movie was filmed. I really love the interviews with the actors who play the three hillbillies who are interviewed in full make-up. Quite amusing!
Director Die-ary
A video diary from the film’s director that chronicles his time making the movie and the fun times they had while on the set.
Wrong Turn 4 Music Video Featuring the Blackout City Kids
Deleted Scenes
Some of these are pretty good and would have been helpful information in the actual movie.
Feature Commentary with Director/Screenwriter Declan O’Brien
Overall, Wrong Turn 4 is a standard slasher flick with a few extra twists. With a little patience, the film does redeem itself by the final act with plenty of blood, guts, and gore to go around. If you’re looking for a horror series to add to your Halloween movie marathon, I recommend the Wrong Turn series.
Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings (Unrated) slashes into stores October 25, 2011!
What’s your favorite Wrong Turn movie? Leave a comment and let us know!
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