Wrong Turn

'Wrong Turn' is a horror film that rejoices in a subgenre not often visited by filmmakers, an underutilized category that it blends with urban legends about people from the backwoods. The story revolves around a group of young city slickers (as if there were any other kind in such movies) stranded by devious means in the Appalachian wilderness and forced to survive when chased by a clan of cannibalistic mountain folk. Come to think of it, the extent of genetic mutation caused by inbreeding in the deranged men would also qualify Rob Schmidt's picture as a creature-feature. The relentless pursuit by the redneck family of maniacs and the amount of graphic gore throughout, pushes the flick into slasher territory.

Still, genre placement issues aside, 'Wrong Turn' delivers with a very basic premise and adds a few subtle deviations. On the surface, the plot follows a group of friends on a hiking trip to cheer up recently-dumped Jessie (Eliza Dushku). When med student Chris (Desmond Harrington) crashes into them on a dirt road, they find the tires of their SUV punctured by barb wire intentionally stretched across the road. Soon after, they stumble upon an isolated family who'd love to have them for dinner. As expected, the group is soon chased through the woods, where many of them are brutally killed by the cannibals. Unexpectedly, the script involves a few clever devices.

Genre rules are adhered to throughout much of the first act, but things quickly change when the group arrives at the remote cabin of the brothers. In this very nerve-racking scene, director Rob Schmidt places his heroes in a dreadful predicament usually reserved for the end of the second act. Exposition is skillfully disclosed in these anxiety-ridden scenes, and the protagonists are made aware of what they're up against. It's a smart move on the part of the filmmakers, as it creates a slightly different formula for suspense. The instant the intruding foursome is discovered, the film turns into a combination of 'Deliverance,' 'The Hills Have Eyes,' and the classic 'The Most Dangerous Game'.

The characters and the kills are also refreshingly original for the genre. Rather than one final girl, we are given two final "persons", and both equally develop some effective survival skills. Dushku, naturally, is the individual we cheer for, and while she probably could have stepped up the game, her character is still a tough one. The sexually promiscuous youngins are handled with the same swift discrimination as other horror movies. Only here, they're immediately ousted as unlikeable and dispatched much sooner than later. This was a good call on the part of the filmmakers, as they grew pretty annoying within a minute of being introduced.

Of course, not everything is a bed of roses. Or should I say a bed of hillbilly corpses. Okay, dumb joke, but still Schmidt's direction is very workmanlike. He showed some style inside the desolate cabin, but for the rest of the pic, the cameraworl is fairly typical. If not for the writing and the gory special effects, the entire production would be incredibly dull and average. Obviously, there must have been something clever about the whole thing to grab the attention of the late Stan Winston to produce.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't top quality horror for many fans and it's not as sickly twisted as the other films it tries to conjure up, but it's not all that bad from a team with little previous experience. 'Wrong Turn' works with good old-fashioned scare tactics and a perilous atmosphere. I suppose we can add suspense to the list of other genres being mixed together.