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Why are these movies so entertaining? And how does a franchise like Wrong Turn even continue to exist? I’ll tell you why: because every derivative episode manages to churn out what the target audience wants and craves. And what’s that? Blood, boobs, and cannibalistic mutants, of course.
The first Wrong Turn, while essentially The Hills Have Eyes set in the Virginia outback, was, nonetheless, a satisfying and suspenseful experience. Maybe it had something to do with Eliza Dushku in a tight white T-shirt, but I could be wrong. The sequel, Wrong Turn 2: Electric Boogaloo—sorry…Wrong Turn 2: Dead End—had some entertaining death scenes and a judicious scattering of tongue-in-cheek humor to carry it through. And even though it was a direct-to-DVD production (read: limited budget, schedule, etc.), it shone as one of 2007’s most entertaining and creative gore-fests. So when I heard that a second sequel was in production, I knew I’d once again go down that West Virginian road to meet up with that crazy hillbilly, mutant, inbred family. And so we come to Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead.
Director Declan O’Brien mixes the formula up a little (not much, but a little) in the third movie. Instead of a bunch of dumb young people getting picked off one by one for the whole movie, we have a bunch of dumb young people getting picked off one by one at the beginning, as they make camp after a rafting adventure. After a gratuitous breast shot, the wholesale slaughter begins. But there’s one survivor: Alex (Janet Montgomery).
Pretty soon, the main story kicks in. Corrections officer Nate (Tom Frederic, sounding and looking an awful lot like Michael Vartan from the TV series Alias) is assigned the job of transporting a bunch of hardened criminals (all played by a talented bunch of English actors—cheaper, I suppose, than Americans) to another facility. In the process, their bus is attacked by one of the deformed mutant freaks who survived the first two movies. Now the remaining prisoners must try to stay alive in the Virginia wilderness while avoiding becoming snacks for cannibals. (Hint: they don’t do a very good job.)
Before long, they hook up with the survivor from the opening sequence—just so we have a heroine to root for—and the killings become nasty. There’s even a nice, juicy brain-eating sequence, which I think vegetarians will find most compelling.
Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead is not quite the direct-to-DVD gem that was Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, as it lacks the latter’s humor and star power. After all, Henry Rollins from Black Flag played a reality show host with some serious survival skills in the first sequel. Nonetheless, number three is a fine and entertaining addition to the series.
Surprisingly, there’s even some semblance of character development with Nate. He just so happens to be from the neck of the woods where they’re trapped. He also wants to complete college and become a lawyer—so we’re all pulling for this handsome young man. All in all, good, bloody fun.
Boobs, blood, and mutant cannibals! Say no more. Doesn’t sound like a wrong turn to me.
