Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007)

How do you like your torture porn? Henry Rollins is complicit in this one. Wrong Turn was released in 2003 and served as a vehicle for Eliza Dushku – the actress formerly of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame, currently of Dollhouse. The success of said film spawned this sequel. However, subtitle or none, this film does not progress the premise of the first or expand on its ideas and characters. The argument is it shouldn’t have to. There are slasher movies and there are hillbilly/Deliverance movies. This is exploitation horror.

The Wrong Turn 2: Dead End curtain raiser takes inspiration from Scream: a lone blonde actress (Kimberly Caldwell of American Idol) is ambushed by the horror and slashed to pieces. Somewhere, somehow, in this scene she loses her cell phone signal. This is not just a horror film. This is a sequel to a horror film. The prologue over the film establishes its premise: a reality TV show cast and crew take to the woods to film a pilot. Henry Rollins’ role is an ex-marine hybrid of R. Lee Emery and Jeff Probst. Everyone else is in their 20s or younger. There’s lots of nubile flesh on display. It’s a harvest festival for the resident cannibal mutants.

If this sounds like The Hills Have Eyes in the woods, then that’s because it is. The sacrificial casting has stock stereotypes; bitchy females, a horny dork, the token black guy, and a spicy Latina (who can’t do full sit-ups). Despite which, Amber (Daniella Alonso) is a Vasquez rip-off. It’s one of the legacies of Aliens.

There’s a scene where the token black guy and the stock slut are to make out. Jake balks/turns her down, so she goes all the way with one of the white dudes instead. Sex is taboo in American movies, if it’s between a black man and a white woman.

The plot holes are bigger than the Avatar budget, and chunks of the dialogue are expectantly ropey. Some of the acting is just as bad, yet something happened before the end credits. This story tried to build its characters. The writers actually subverted some of the stereotypes, so when they died it came as surprise if not shock. They are good deaths – sudden, merciless and even poignant (in one case). There is tension and excitement inside the cottage and inside the RV. There is a scene ripped off from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre that provides pure horror – for one shot.

Surprisingly, the best-written characters are the cannibals. Sans dialogue, the actors perform whilst wearing mutant makeup and succeed in telling their story. That’s a separation between thespians and wannabe stars. Witness the ‘rape’ scene. Mutants are poignant, too. They’re also horrifying.

Wrong Turn 2 does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s like casual sex with a stranger. If you can get past the fact that she’s not a looker then it’ll be fun while it lasts, but it’s not something you’ll boast to your mates about. The cigarette afterwards will be better.

What was Henry Rollins doing starring as Rambo?

(Reproduced by kind permission of Thrill Fiction)

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