Cinescape.com: B
Fangoria.com: 2 1/2 skulls, I think that's reps C+/B-

Went to IMDB hoping to find their usual Friday review summary, but apparently this is one of those movies that wasn't screened in advance for critics? Is that a bad sign, or just the natural outcome of the fact that it's a "hardcore horror" flick?

I was also disappointed to find this morning that Wrong Turn is NOT playing at the theater I usually go to. If it was, I'd definitely see it tonight, but given that I'd have to go somewhere else, I'm not so sure.....

http://www.chud.com/reviews/wrong.php3

I saw a sneakpreview last night and thought it was great. If you're a fan of early eighties films this was obviously inspired by, Last House on the Left, the Chainsaw films, even some of Jeepers Creepes, then you'll have a blast with the old school thrills and gore. Original? No. Dumb at times? Yes. Fun? Hell yeah. See it with a bunch of friends and let the memories flow, and finally some good old fashioned gore returns to theatres thanks to the newer wave of revisionist horror thats getting away from the Scream formula.

WRONG TURN is a ride worth taking. It’s a heart-stopping, adrenaline rush that grabs hold tight, right from the start, and doesn’t ease up until the film’s closing credit crawl. Visually the film is outstanding, shot by “X-FILES” director of photography
John Bartley, its rich atmospherics was reminiscent of an episode entitled “HOME.” Sweeping camera moves, startling visual ffects, competent acting and a first-rate directing effort from Rob Schmidt makes WRONG TURN an enjoyable rollercoaster
ride. The cast delivers convincing performances but its Eliza Dushku and Desmond Harrington that hit this baby out of the woods. Their engaging chemistry and conviction is evenly matched by their ability to make us genuinely care about what happens to them. The supporting cast is also well assembled and allows the audience to identify with characters of believable depth and purpose – as they are not merely existing for the sake of a body count. Stan Winston’s visual makeup effects are expertly performed with startling clarity. Those of you unsure after reading this if they should rush out and see WRONG TURN is really committing a major disservice to the creators of what I consider to be one hell of a cinematic romp. I can only hope that when Fox releases it on DVD they offer up loads of supplements that will illustrate just how this compelling piece of cinema was born.

Can't wait till 1:00 tomorrow, 1:00 tomorrow..........

Just got back from seeing Wrong Turn. It delivered pretty much what I expected, which I guess means I'm giving it a mild .

I only wish I had seen more of the recent "horror" movies like Jeepers Creepers and The Ring so I'd have something to compare it to. I have watched Final Destination (the original) and the Scream trilogy, but those might not be fair comparisons given that WT doesn't go for the tongue-in-cheek, self-aware attitude of those movies.

So I'm left with comparing WT to Chainsaw. I'm sure plenty of critics and horror buffs will say that Chainsaw is way better, but I reckon that movie didn't really do much that Wrong Turn didn't do just as well.

And I can't discuss an Eliza movie without mentioning Eliza, so I'll say that she looked great.

Edited to talk about some memorable scenes:

While I appreciated the straight up, heads on horror approach, overall I found WT rather dull. Unlike The Hills Have Eyes, from which it obviously borrows, WT never really establishes the characters; I never connected with them, nor felt their terror. It was obvious from the first frame, who would live and who would die. Moreover, the filmmakers never created sufficient tension or suspense; my pulse never rose above 70.

I saw this tonight, and while I basically enjoyed it overall, I'm a little surprised to see so many people praising it. It did have its share of decent gore and death scenes, but aside from that, it was a straight forward, conventional, predictable horror movie. It seems today that all a horror movie needs to do to get praise is be a "throwback" to movies made 20 years ago. Only in the horror genre can a movie get respect simply by copying cliched formulas (we all know that if you say the words, "Where are you? This better not be another one of your dumb jokes," you are dead). Does this speak for the low standards of horror movies, inherant to the genre? Or for the ever-decreasing number of good horror movies? Or are horror fans simply becoming apathetic toward quality?

caiman
I agree this movie wasnt very good. And if people say it is they obviously have incredibly low standards. It was 100% perdicitable and in my opinion very boring because they tried to make it the least scary they could. People were laughing to much during my viewing because of the freaks making the grunting sounds. I agree it was funny. I kept saying to myself why the hell did I pay money to see this. It was %33 tourist trap %50 percent friday the 13th, %7 gremlins 2 for the sounds the crazy gremlin makes, %10 wtf where they thinking. I mean it wasn't that bad but it wasn't that good either. I really dont think there was that much gore either. Horror is my favorite genre so maybe thats why I'm being picky but I have seen hundreds of better horror movies then wrong turn. 1 out of 5 stars. If eliza would have gotten nude I might have gave that a little higher.

Yes here we go. The ever popular if someone likes a movie I don't like than they have low standards post.

I agree that approach is somewhat tired, but that example is not *nearly* as bad as what's been going on in the Matrix forum.

BTW, my newspaper The Boston Globe reviewed it (WT, not TMR) today and gave it one star.

Saw it yesterday. I thought it was way above average in terms of the horror movies that have been getting churned out as of late. For those that argue it is 100% predictable and being able to tell who will bite it from frame one, that's pretty much what horror movies are about. While I didn't totally connect with the characters, I am glad they didn't make them 100% cookie cutter to the point where you were rooting for the the bad guys (a las House of 1000 Corpses). The acting wasn't too bad, and for anyone who's ever been to really rural areas with low civilization, the premise of not finding anything or anyone is rather realistic.
I give it one , as it is good horror movie, which means it's still not that great, but worth while.
My only gripe:

Unless a movie strives for cleverness (which WT does not), rarely do I find predictability objectionable. It’s the thrills and chills of the ride that count. My issue is more systemic.

I didn’t hate it. I just thought it was ordinary.

It’s the thrills and chills of the ride that count


What thrills and chills? there were none. This was a movie similar to a marry go round it kept running in circles with nothing new to see. It may be fun at first but it gets old really quick. If I hadn't paid 7 dollars to watch this I might have liked it alright but sitting in a ****** theatre where the screen looked full screen. Just a overall ****** experience.

I agree with people who didn't think it was very good. I mean I don't care if something is predictable or whatever, as long as its well made. But this film wasn't well made. I mean it had exposures on the film and whatnot, but it had very little atmosphere or build up or tension.

Also, alot of thingsI have read have talked about it being really gory which it is not. TCM wasnt gory much either but it was a whole lot better because of its atmosphere.

I'm assuming TCM = Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Good! I've brought that movie up because I want people to explain what's so great about, especially compared to a movie like Wrong Turn (which I'll readily admit isn't ground-breaking, and which I probably wouldn't have bothered seeing if not for Eliza).

I think I stated earlier that I saw TCM for the first time a couple days ago and wasn't very impressed. At all. Like WT, TCM hardly surprised me - but most importantly, Chainsaw simply wasn't scary. It's a bad sign indeed when I watch a horror movie and the strongest reaction it provokes in me is laughter (I bet people who've seen the movie can guess which part I mean).

Maybe this is a topic for another thread; perhaps when I'm done writing this I'll do a search and find a discussion dedicated specifically to Chainsaw. And I hate to psychoanalyze people's motives, but occasionally I get the impression that moviegoers are biased in favor of "the older movie" purely because it's "the older movie."

I also think TCM sucked but I havent ever watched it all the way thru. I did like the 4th one even tho it was more of a comedy.

I really, really didn't like Wrong Turn, and I was actually looking forward to it quite a bit. A really great premise that goes nowhere for a very short running time that feels like an eternity. Jeremy Sisto was good for what he had to work with, though.

I really really liked WRONG TURN. It was a throwback to some classic horror flicks, like The Hills Have Eyes and Texas Chainsaw Massacre but it delivered some good thrills, some gruesome deaths and very creepy antagonists (very leatherface-ish but cool). I love Eliza and Emanuelle was looking very hot (nips!) and Jeremy Sisto was really good too...

Sure, it's not an instant classic but it was a very decent horror flick... after this I think Jeepers Creepers 2 really has it's work cut out for it.

MATT

I fully enjoyed this, so did my uncle; will most likely buy the dvd. I think, now, horror will always have its distractors, but sorry for them, I guess.
With no publicity, this film needs word-of-mouth to help it in the long run. I liked a lot of this movie, just a little slow in the first 1/2 hour, but oh well. Maybe I'm a sucker for crazed inbred cannibals, but a solid "B"-seriously. I think it's the best horror movie thus far...it will have it's work cut out later this year.

Horror has really fallen to an all time low if someone would consider this a positive step for the horror genre. (I try not to paint with such broad strokes, some people really loved the movie and thats cool)

I was kinda looking forward to this movie, not really thinking that it was horror gold, but that it could provide some good scares, some tension, and a good time.

It failed on all three. Predicatable, yes, but as I've said in other threads, sometime its not about where the ending is, but how you get there. This film is about neither.....I know where its going, and its gets there in a straight line at the speed limit in a 10 year old econobox.

I never felt that he movie engaged me, I didn't care about the characters, and just because they're horror movie cliches doesn't mean you should use them....all of them.

Positives....Lindy Booth in very short shorts and Eliza Dushku, and a kill here and there that was kinda cool.

I found it dumb and dull. Sure, there are some icks and scenes designed to get the audience to jump or freak out, but it was just sort of gross. In some parts, there are scenes where to are tempted to scream at the characters to get their butts moving, but no, they seem to want to linger, to milk their on-screen face time just a little more.

I admit that Eliza Dushku is the only reason I'd even consider to watch this movie, but it's just disappointing she'd be involved with a project like this.

I'm sure fans of the gore genre will like the film because it does deliver in gore and lightning quick deaths through various barbaric means. The film's setup doesn't give the audience much reason to care about any of the characters, besides them having 23 pairs of chromosomes in their DNA makeup, while their monsterous mutant pursuers are surely lacking in that department.

If you want some scares, this movie might be the ticket for a matinee, otherwise, wait for the video rental.

I give it 1.75 stars, or a grade of C-.

I saw it. I'm predisposed to like horror movies, and I enjoyed this one. It was a pleasant surprise. I dodn't see a lot of the promotion (I don't watch MTV unless the Osbournes are on) so I didn't know much about it. The writer must have had a bad experience, or a bunch of bad experiences in West Virginia.

It is incredible!