Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings

Upon watching the first Wrong Turn back in 2003 it became an instant all time favorite of mine. Part two I found to be entertaining enough, but lacking compared to the first. The third one I was sad to admit that I didn't really like.

So, it was with mixed expectations that I turned on Wrong Turn 4.

My first point of critique is that it has a really slow start. This was something I also hated about Wrong Turn 3, because we're almost 50 minutes into the film before the action finally begins. Up until that point, it's all just cliché after cliché, some "BOOH!" chocks here and there, but no real action. It got kinda repetitive and boring. But then, out of nowhere, the action really picks up, and it doesn't let go until the movie's over.

This is were the good stuff begins. Wrong Turn 4 sure does take its sweet time to get going, but once it does, there are thrills to be found in it that can be compared to those in Wrong Turn 1. I won't spoil anything, but I will say that there are at least two scenes in Wrong Turn 4 that had me thrilled as much as Wrong Turn 1. Which is a huge plus. To that end, I definitely found this one the most adrenaline pumping since Wrong Turn 1; way more than part 2 and 3.

Okay, so the action (once it begins) is definitely good. How is the acting? It's what you would expect from this kind of budget horror. It's not award winning, but it actually does a decent enough job.

The gore is also a huge step up from Wrong Turn 3. While some of it had the same fake CGI look to it of the third one, a lot of it was on par with that of Wrong Turn 1 & 2. There's a lot of non-CGI blood and gore to be found in this one, and most of it looks good. It's good enough to keep your focus away from the less-impressive parts of the gore. Overall, I was satisfied with the gore, as well as the kills that brought it.

One more thing I really liked was that Wrong Turn 4 seemed to take a more "humane" approach to the hillbillies. There is one scene where the victims actually gains the upper hand and has the three hillbillies running for it. I really liked that, because it made them seem less invincible, and this in part made it even more interesting than the first Wrong Turn movie. All in all, the struggles between the hillbillies and the human victims was a lot more balanced in any of the three previous movies.

However, my biggest point of critique has got to be the makeup on the hillbillies. It is without a doubt, by far, the lousiest of all the movies. In every single scene where we see the mutants, especially Three Finger and One-Eye, it is so horribly obvious that they're wearing masks. You can literally SEE the distinction between the masks and the actors behind them, especially around the eyes. I always thought the Wrong Turn movies had really good makeup artistry on these hillbillies, but this is simply unacceptably and horribly made. It looks like an intern made it, and that isn't even fair to an intern to say, because any FX artist could've done it better. To put it short: the masks of the mutants are really, really horrible; so horrible that this is a 6 instead of a 7.

Overall, I was actually pretty positively surprised with part 4 of the Wrong Turns. If you, as I, loved the first one but didn't care for the third one - then I think you would like part 4, because they share a lot of elements. A lot more than I would've hoped for.

It's funny, a while back I was talking to my girlfriend about watching Wrong Turn 4, and I said to her: "Man, I wish they take it more in the direction of Wrong Turn 1, but I doubt it, because part 2 and 3 just got farther and farther away from the style of part 1."

But I guess they heard my prayers.

A group of college students (hot, young babes with tightly fitting sweaters and studly men with Justin Bieber hairstyles) go for a snowmobile joyride but they end up making a 'wrong turn'. Freezing and unable to survive the elements for much longer, they're forced to seek shelter in an abandoned sanatorium, of all places, to wait out the blizzard. Oddly, no one seems to be all that creeped out about their surroundings; they're too busy boozing, smoking pot, and fondling each other. Their bliss doesn't last long though and, come morning, the group of pretties are stalked, tortured, and in the worst case scenario, eaten alive.

Did we really need a prequel for this franchise? Was it not plainly obvious about the origins of Saw Tooth, Three Finger, and One Eye? They're seriously deformed, inbred hillbillies who delight in maiming, murdering, and munching on people. What difference does it make that they were locked up in an institution except to play on an overused horror flick location?

Sadly, the ONE guy who could act was unceremoniously fed to the wolves. (The cannibal fondue was a bit much.) I've heard more voice inflection and genuine emotion from someone reading the ingredients off a cereal box. When you're getting paid to see just how many buckets of fake blood a person can handle getting dumped on him/her, I guess nothing else matters. Everything in Wrong Turn 4 went overboard and not in the exploitation-done-right way. Hopefully, this misrepresented prequel is the final insult in a series of increasingly hacked-up sequels.

What was sure to be a fun filled romp in the woods complete with girl on girl action, takes a horrible turn. On the lighter side there are some lovely Fondue recipes in this movie that come with the Hannibal Lecter seal of approval. Not to say that everything in this movie is predictable (if you're drunk) but if you're sober then yeah its pretty cut and paste.

If you thought, like I did, that maybe this was some sort of prequel and you could watch the beginning of this now direct to DVD series then oh boy are you in for some crap. Pay very close attention to the scenes before the opening credits because that's all the back-story you're going to get. So in short if you'd like to see some kids get cut up for about 90 minutes and you don't mind turning off your brain, then yeah you may dig this movie.

My advice, go watch Silence of the Lambs or maybe Red Dragon, now those are some good movies right there. Also, if you happen to be in West Virginia and camping with your friends, invest in an iPhone. At the very least, get a Tom Tom.

I shamelessly admit I rather like the "Wrong Turn" franchise… They're 100% derivative and forgettable, but – so far at least – each and every installment delivered brainless, unpretentious entertainment. What's the point of systematically bad-mouthing these films here via user comments when you know you rent something that is called "Wrong Turn 4" and thus ought to know from beforehand that it won't be a cinematic masterpiece. They can make another hundred sequels, for all I care, and most likely I will also keep watching them whenever I'm in an undemanding mood to see extreme gore, gratuitous nudity and idiotic plot spotting. Contrary to popular belief, there are still ambitious and intelligent filmmakers trying to come up with creative new horror concepts, and if you look a bit further than your nearest Blockbuster video store, you will easily find those as well. You can debate endlessly on why "inferior" movies like this one are wider available than the others, or you can simply ignore them. Either way, slinging mud at them on the Internet won't prevent them from getting made. Writer/director Declan O'Brien clearly amuses himself with this series as well, as he directed parts 3 and 4, and part 5 is already in the making. He doesn't undertake any real attempts to create suspense or profound character drawings, but aims straightforwardly for sickening gore and the most repulsive make-up effects imaginable. Once again, we're in the remote regions of West-Virginia, which apparently is the inbreeding capital of the world as they have an overpopulated sanitarium full of them. Three horribly deformed siblings take control over the hospital one dark night in 1974 and, even though they're still just children, manage to annihilate the entire staff. Fast forward to present day, when nine of the most dim-witted college students decide to go for a skiing weekend, but stupidly take a wrong turn and have no other option but to seek shelter in the eerie sanatorium during a blizzard. I don't suppose I have to elaborate on what happens next? Apparently it's very normal in West Virginia for three underdeveloped cannibals to remain at large and probably make dozens of victims in one and the same area for more than 30 years without sending in the army or whatever. Like with any random movie of this type, you have to abandon all common sense and intellect, and just enjoy the bloodshed. Although "enjoy" might be a rather inappropriate choice of words, as most of the killings featuring here are incredibly sick and twisted. Some guy gets quartered, a cute blond chick is decapitated with a barb wired noose and one poor sucker (ironically one of the most amiable one of the bunch) even has to witness how the inbred hillbillies cut out large pieces of flesh and turn him into a living fondue diner! It's a large group, so you can also entertain yourself by making a prognosis of the order in which they'll die, and of course by laughing very hard at the stupid things they do. Apparently interracial lesbian sex is popular nowadays as well, so we'll gratuitously throw in some of that as well. Onwards to the next "Wrong Turn" installment, say I. Hopefully Declan O'Brien will put some songs by the English band "Fine Young Cannibals" on the soundtrack.

To say that this is a slap in the face to all horror movie lovers is an understatement. How embarrassing for this director and for all of these actors..times are hard but come on-have some dignity! I knew what to expect watching another Wrong Turn movie. I wasn't expecting it to be on the same wavelength as Texas Chainsaw or anything but I expected a little bit of entertainment. Unfortunately, all I got was some hot sex scenes and cheesy blood and gore with masks that my 4 year old could make in daycare. How disappointing for Wrong Turn. In my eyes, nothing will be better than the first one and it should have stopped at the first one.

There wasn't any character development at all (I know you don't expect that much in scary movies but there was nothing), their actions were the antithesis of what any person with common sense would have done, there wasn't enough back story to really fill us in on how this started, it was just a hot mess! Do not waste your time watching this!!