Wrong Turn 2 - Dead End (Unrated)

 

 

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If you enjoy watching humans get tortured, dismembered, and then cannibalized, then get ready to be happy. If that isn't something you crave then there really is no need to soldier on through my review because that is what Wrong Turn 2's target audience is hoping for, and they get it here in relatively sleek fashion. If you consider yourselves among the hardcore fans of such trash then you're in luck as I have designed my review to consider this film within the context of its flawed but popular sub-genre and I think it is better than most movies of its ilk. To think that this is also a direct-to-dvd release is impressive as well, as it is not only superior to the quality level attained in the traditional direct-to-video/dvd release, but it is also free to be as violent as it wants to without relying on the broader market to justify it's wider release. For that alone, the film should get some credibility among the torture porn addicts.

Evidently, some toxic waste wound up entering the water supply in this region where some folks are filming a reality television show about survival. The toxic waste had depleted the wildlife in the area quite a while ago and at the same time it also began influencing the genetics of the humans who stayed in the area. Because they had nothing to eat and because they have evolved into deformed semi-humanoids, they soon developed into cannibals who hunt down regular folks who happen to enter the area. You can see how this might pose a problem for the reality television cast and crew. Anyway, these television people would be dead, eaten, and the film would've been over in 20 minutes if Henry Rollins wasn't around to take some of these cannibals out.

That brief summary sets the stage for some gruesome and at times hilarious fun. People are eaten raw and cooked, people are blown to smithereens, people are cut in half and those parts are cut in halves too and so forth, and some people are thrown through some kind of giant grinding machine thing etc. It's all really comical if you have the sense of humor and stomach for this sort of thing. Some times the special effects are not as seamless as I would've hoped, but overall the gore isn't really meant to be believable. At least believability was not the top priority. The cannibals looked and sounded great. The camera angles and cuts are actually pretty impressive in spurts and the gratuitous nudity was as welcome as always in these sort of films (albeit it was more brief than I had hoped). Other than Henry Rollins, the cast includes the dude who played Jason in Freddy Vs. Jason as the leader of the deformed cannibals and Erica Leerhsen, who plays a very attractive vegan who unfortunately keeps her clothing on. One thing I liked about this film is that I wasn't sure who the lead character was until an hour or so into the movie, so basically anyone could've died at any time. That made it a bit less predictable than I expected.

Nevertheless, I can't rate this high simply because there is too much exploitation going on here and not enough quality storytelling or acting. It's funny because I watched 28 Weeks Later for the second time right after I watched Wrong Turn 2 and it made me realize even more that lack of quality is just not a viable excuse anymore in the horror genre, but yet the marketing of films like this still persists. Torture porn, gorno...it is what it is. I guess what it is now justifies a mere direct-to-dvd release. Maybe that isn't such a bad thing.

The dvd was good quality, however the move itself was bad. The acting was mediocre and the story was weak, not very scary either.

I thought the original Wrong Turn was an average horror film at best, so I didn't exactly rush to see what I considered an unwarranted, direct-to-DVD sequel. I don't really understand the popularity of these inbred hillbilly cannibal freaks films. I for one have no real desire to watch unwashed, nasty, hideously ugly, radioactively mutated, two-legged pieces of subhuman flotsam going around killing and eating people. I just can't get in to something like that, no matter how much blood and gore you throw my way. I much prefer my horror with erotic undertones, and there's nothing sexy about atavistic regression. I must say, though, that I enjoyed Wrong Turn 2 slightly more than the original (but not enough to give it a better rating). The filmmakers deviated slightly from the standard sequel script (for the first half of the movie, anyway), and Henry Rollins adds a presence the first film lacked. On the down side, however, the opening scene ends in a laughably over-the-top manner - not a good omen for a serious horror movie. The director makes the same mistake at the very end, as well.

The setup for Wrong Turn 2 really involves no wrong turn at all (OK, maybe one at the very start). We're back in the state of West Virginia, but this time it's the setting of a post-apocalyptic reality game show called Apocalypse, hosted by tough ex-soldier (not to be confused with former Major Leagues MVP) Dale Murphy (Henry Rollins). I won't go over the rules of the game, but the gist is to survive over the course of five whole days in a world full of rigged post-apocalyptic dangers. Whoever scouted the area somehow missed the family of local degenerate cannibals that call the place home - but it doesn't take long for both contestants and crew to meet up with them. The six contestants are an interesting mix. You have an African-American former football player and all-around good guy (Texas Battle) that I dubbed "Tiger Woods;" a wise guy who can't stop hitting on the female contestants (Steve Braun); a tough, gung-ho female veteran of the war in Iraq (Daniella Alonso), some nice female eye candy (Crystal Lowe), a pretty girl whose troubled past has made her a survivor (Erica Leerhsen), and a producer turned contestant (Aleksa Palladino) who has to replace a reality show B-celebrity (Kimberly Caldwell) who never shows up (for a very good reason).

I don't have any real complaints about the special effects brought to bear here - there's one explosive death that's truly impressive, and the whole film is pretty much blood-stained. The hillbillies, of course, all look as ugly as homemade sin. The film doesn't boast a lot of character development, but it does give us a rare treat in the form of potential victims who all try to escape rather than stupidly walking into their own gruesome deaths. Notice I said "try to escape." I should also mention that there is one scene that is potentially controversial - and it has nothing to do with blood and gore. It definitely stands out in my mind, and you can't help but wonder why it was included in the movie. I don't know if the filmmakers were making a statement, or if they were just trying to generate a little more word of mouth publicity over the proverbial water coolers across the land.

All in all, Wrong Turn 2 is a decent little horror film, but one can only hope that this is the end of the line for the Wrong Turn franchise. Neither of the first two films is good enough to merit a third installment.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Wrong Turn 2 Is Right For Me!
Hey all! I disagree entirely with the other review... I had low expectations what with the reality tv theme and all (We saw that in Halloween: Resurrection remember? Read more

Published on Dec 13 2007 by Marilyn Walsh

2.0 out of 5 stars Henry Rollins the only saving grace in this wreck of a movie
Wrong Turn 2 is a direct-to-DVD sequel, taking place in the wilds of West Virginia (like the original). Read more

Published on Nov 17 2007 by Matthew King

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