WRONG TURN

The West Virginia Multi-Implements Massacre, or what a difference a good cast and a decent script make

By Abbie Bernstein     May 30, 2003

Maybe there haven't really been that many uninspiring offerings in the style of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE lately and it only feels that way, but in any event, WRONG TURN serves as a modest tide-turner. A moderately low-budget backwoods slasher entry notable for a big-name (for the genre) cast and a decent, smart script by Alan McElroy, WRONG TURN proves that the format, when done right, is as effective as ever.

A prologue sequence provides a couple of up-front kills, and a credits sequence gives us all the info we're going to get on our villains beware of backwoods inbreeding, as it leads to psychosis. We then meet Chris (Desmond Harrington), seeking a short cut through the mountains when the main highway is blocked by a chemical spill. After checking with a map on the wall of an almost prehistoric gas station, Chris takes his eyes off the dirt road and smashes into a car suffering from four shredded tires, courtesy of barbed wire strung across the road. Apologies, introductions and explanations are made, and soon Chris and new acquaintances Jessie (Eliza Dushku) and engaged couple Scott (Jeremy Sisto) and Carly (Emmanuelle Chrique) are hiking off in search of help, leaving another couple (Lindy Booth, Kevin Zegers) to remain with the disabled vehicles. We don't expect these two to last long they have sex, God help them and the others soon find a clearing with an incredible number of junked cars, surrounding a rickety old house...

The plot is pretty

much what we'd expect, with one crucial difference the characters are actually intelligent and likable, played by actors who not only take the material seriously but know how to get the appropriate drama out of the scenes. Consequently, we become a lot more involved than usual in the action, which is pretty tense and commendably varied throughout. Dushku particularly has a riveting screen presence, making us pull for her from the moment she appears, while Harrington (the baddie in GHOST SHIP) proves a reflective, resilient lead. Sisto is alternately droll and affecting and Chrique makes her character's transition into hysteria credible.

Director Rob Schmidt stages and paces his sequences well, with a fluid balance of jump scares, suspense of the wait-and-see kind and frantic tension of can-they-get-away-from-the-advancing-monster-in-time variety. A scene in which the surviving characters try to remain silent while hiding in the house as its owners return home is particularly noteworthy, like a dark, dark fairytale brought to modern life.

Stan Winston, one of the film's producers, headed up the makeup/gore effects unit, which does a good job the gross-outs are Fangoria-cover stuff and the technical credits are fine overall, especially considering that a good portion of the film takes place at night.

WRONG TURN isn't going to revolutionize horror films, but as backwoods cannibalistic nightmares go, it's definitely a turn in the right direction.

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