Wrong Turn 2: Dead End

Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, what I expected to be total trash turned out to be one of the better horror sequels in a while. Wrong Turn is a decent horror movie that I usually recommend to my friends, it had a fresh new feel for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre genre. So when my boyfriend and I were looking for a film to watch, we came across Wrong Turn 2: Dead End at the video store, I was like oh, no, another crummy sequel to destroy a fine film. But he wanted to see it, so we watched it last night, I have to say that I was completely wrong about what I thought this film was going to be. Actually, this was a fun horror movie, you didn't even need to see the first one to get it, that was a bonus that not too many sequels give the chance for. Wrong Turn 2: Dead End is a fun and gory sequel that offers lots of blood and entertainment.

A group is about to film another "survivor" type of reality show in the middle of the woods. It's called "Apocolypse" where they have to pretend that the world is gone and they're the only survivors and whoever's left standing wins a hundred grand. But things take a very deadly turn when the gang is attacked by blood hungry hillbilly cannibals who want to have them for dinner, if you know what I mean. So this turns into a real survivor show when the gang is now fighting for their lives and try to make it out of the woods alive.

While there are some stories that had no point to them, Wrong Turn 2: Dead End still has an awesome story over all. The deaths were absolutely cool to see, I know that sounds bad, but I just love a good horror film with the great death scenes. I think the first girl had the best with the ax, but I'm not going to give that scene away, just trust me, it's a very cool one. I was very impressed with how cool this sequel was and I highly recommend this movie for any horror fan, it's a fun one to watch.

7/10

Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, the obvious sequel to the Terrific 70s Style Horror film Wrong Turn which starred the beautiful Eliza Dushku and Desmond Harrington (and which I surprisingly really dug and loved), was probably my most anticipated film ever for more than 2 years due to many different reasons, hence I was really looking forward to it and couldn't wait to see it. However, it was taking FOX forever to properly release it, so I waited really long for it to finally come out on October 09th, and well, having finally seen the film, all I can say is - WOW, was the wait worth it!, since the film completely exceeded all my expectations, and turned out to be one of the best Horror Sequels I've seen since Aliens and Evil Dead II. The film revolves around a group of 6 reality show contestants (we have the heroine, the black guy, the army chick, the funny guy, the nice girl, the slut, and the 7th contestant who is very brutally eliminated in the amazing and brutal opening scene of the film), their producer, and the host, who start getting killed off one-by-one while participating in the low-budget reality show by a group of sick, horny, and hideously deformed inbred hillbilly cannibals who plan on making them all their dinner. However, unluckily for the hillbillies, the remaining contestants and the host start fighting back for their survival, unaware that the hillbillies have different plans for them and their body parts.

Hvaing watched the film, I have to say that without a doubt one of the biggest highlights of the film is the gorgeous and talented Erica Leerhsen (whom you may recognize from the underrated Blair Witch 2 and the terrific Texas Chainsaw Massacre Remake) who is simply terrific in the movie, and fortunately plays the most interesting and likable character with a saddening back story, and is great to see that she has actually has a decent-sized role as I always thought she was heavily underrated.

Henry Rollins steals the show as well and kicks some serious ass in the movie, and let's face it -there's nobody else who would do it better than Rollins; the man is simply a genius and should get more roles like this. Worth mentioning are other talented cast members, including Texas Battle, Aleksa Palladino, Daniella Alonso (who actually has much more to work with than in The Hills Have Eyes II), Steve Braun, Crystal Lowe, and Matthew Currie Holmes, and I have to say that Kimberly Caldwell is also great in her debut role, and delivers a fine performance in the brutal opening scene of the film.

Despite that all characters are pretty stereotypical, you actually care for them (which is very rare in Horror movies as most characters in Slasher films are one-dimensional), and I have to admit it is pretty hard to predict who is going to survive or die, thanks to the writers, Turi Meyer and Al Saptien, who have made a surprisingly effective script. There are a few plot holes and cheesy lines here and there, sure, but who cares?

The direction is amazing as well. Joe Lynch does an outstanding job as the director, and with his many homages to other movies (including The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Evil Dead II, Aliens, Rambo, The Blair Witch Project; mostly 80s Splatter flicks), and brutal death scenes (hint: opening scene), he is definitely one of the reasons why the sequel turned out so great.

And how does Wrong Turn 2 do in comparison with the original? Well, damn great if I may say. Seeing as the original is very serious, eerie, and scary, the sequel tries to be quite the opposite - just a simple, hardcore, highly entertaining, no-brain, and brutal Splatter flick which doesn't take itself seriously, and luckily, it succeeds. It's very different from the first one, and quality-wise - I love them both equally as they're entirely different, but equally amazing. Also, don't let the fact that this is a direct-to-video film put you away, as it's definitely the best straight-to-video movie I've ever seen, and just proves that sometimes even a little, direct-to-video sequel can live up to its proceeder, and even stand on its own.

So in all - is Wrong Turn 2 completely flawless? No, not really. Is it a perfect film? Nope. But is it a Highly Entertaining, Fast-paced, Memorable, Gory and Amazing Horror Sequel which blows away most 2007 Horror flicks? Damn straight it is. Honestly, I really don't understand why FOX sent this direct-to-video, and The Hills Have Eyes II in theaters as Wrong Turn 2 is tons better and a much more enjoyable flick.

In short, Wrong Turn 2 is hands down the most entertaining and goriest Horror Sequel I've ever seen. It's not flawless or perfect, but I still love it, so if you really are looking for a worthy sequel with amazing acting, great direction, brutal and inventive deaths, likable characters, and lots more, Wrong Turn 2 is definitely then the right turn, and an amazing Horror flick you should surely check out! Highly recommended.

8/10

So cool that Henry Rollins is in it and he was nothing but cool in the whole flick. Every time he was on the screen it was the right movie.

Rollins plays the host of a stupid looking reality show were the contestants pretend they must survive a post-apocalyptic world, but they soon discover how real that scenario is, as they end up taping the show in the same woods as a group of psychopathic killers.

In this film, somewhat of an origin story is given to the inbreed family that does the slashing in the woods, but I have to say, the group that did the killing in the first film were far more better. Just a little bit more creepy and creative in Wrong Turn. In Wrong Turn 2, it seem they were trying to up the extreme of these characters when it was not needed.

By itself it's more of a Stereotypical horror film with elements of Predator-like action, thanks mostly to Rollins. As a franchise, while the original brought freshness to the genre, it's sequel was stale.

I always found the original 2002 film 'Wrong Turn' to be a modest backwoods slasher item, and this straight-to-DVD sequel doesn't add anything particularly new other than more blood, gore, perversion and mutilation to the survival trek. Nice! Now that opening death scene has guts… literally and shows what your really in for. Director Joe Lynch cooks up rollicking jolts and an over-the-top attitude that lends well with the films mock send-up of a reality TV show about the apocalypse, where is has contestants competing for 1 million dollars by trying to survive in a remote West Virginia. The characters don't really set themselves apart from your usual clichéd victim, but here the deformed hillbillies happen to be part of a family. Children and parents sharing their love… for bloody pulp! Even a back-story is thrown right in. However due to its concentration of thinking up new twisted ways to shorten the cast, the pacing can drag before the next nasty surprise surfacers. I didn't find the material to be overly predictable, but it never went away from its stereotypical format. The camera has that rapid style, and the music score packs a ominous charge. Performances won't win any awards, but are commendable enough. Henry Rollins superbly commands the screen, and Erica Leerhsen leads the way with a fine turn. For me this is what "The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007)" wanted to be, but fell way short. Nothing grand, but an absurdly fun and in-your-face horror romp. I guess this is what it wanted to be, and true to that it is.

The set-up for Wrong Turn 2 is pretty awful: a production team (consisting of three seemingly inexperienced twenty somethings and a presenter) take a small group of hopeful contestants into the wilds to film a survivalist reality TV series. Here they become victims to a bloodthirsty family of cannibalistic hillbillies.

Now I'm no expert on the finer points of making TV programmes, but just four people on the crew of a complex reality show?!?! Gimme a break!

Fortunately, the silly initial premise doesn't get in the way of this film ultimately becoming an extremely enjoyable (and very gory) film, and kudos must go to director Joe Lynch for making this sequel to the 2003 original such a fun ride.

Amongst a cast of relative unknowns (horror fans may recognise some faces, but your average film-goer won't), Henry Rollins obviously stands out, as the ex-soldier turned show host who uses his military experience to turn the tables on his attackers. But the REAL star of the show is the brilliant array of splattery special effects that regularly paint the screen red. Copious blood and gore is definitely the order of the day.

Lynch starts as he means to go on, opening with a gruesome OTT death scene which sees a pretty blonde cut vertically in half with an axe, her guts spilling messily onto the floor. Gorehounds will have a field day! And so it continues, with plenty of messy death scenes, a smattering of female nudity, and even a touch of incestuous mutant sex thrown in for good measure. You can't say that this one doesn't try to be a crowd pleaser!

Also rather welcome is a nice sense of unpredictability: early on, I thought I had pretty much figured out who would survive the ordeal and who would end up in the cannibals' hotpot. However, after one particularly unexpected death, it becomes evident that the makers are out to screw with viewers preconceptions. It's a nice move that works well.

Wrong Turn 2 isn't a great film, but it is a good one, and I recommend it to all fans of backwoods horror flicks.