Movie Review: Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007)

Question. Why does Hollywood think all the rural and desolate areas in the southern United States are filled with inbred, whacky rednecks who want to cause harm to the rest of society? I’ve met thousdands of southerners, many of whom I figured were the accidental offspring of close relatives (I used to work for NASCAR) but they were all very well mannered. Whatever the reason actually is, Joe Lynch doesn’t care. He’s the director of the upcoming straight to video film Wrong Turn 2: Dead End. He obviously subscribes to the same notion as plenty of other horror writers and directors do too — work with what works. If cannibalistic, deformed freaks are supposed to live primarily in the south, so be it.

The setup for Wrong Turn 2: Dead End is simple — set six kids loose in the woods and film them for the reality television show: Ultimate Survival — Apocalypse. It is a five day adventure, in which the contestants must fend for themselves. Similar in scope to the original Survivor, the main difference is there are traps set throughout the woods, that if tripped require the individual to complete a task within an allotted time period. Failure to do so means they’re eliminated from the game. The contestants are as follows:

• Jake (Texas Battle). An ex-football player and righteous guy.
• Nina (Erica Leerhsen). A deeply troubled, loner chick
• Amber (Daniella Alonso). Tough lesbian chick, fresh from a tour of duty in Iraq.<.li>
• Jonesy (Steve Braun). Doofy, sexist extreme sports junkie.
• Kimberly (Kimberly Caldwell). Semi-celebrity who thinks she is hot shit.
• Elena (Crystal Lowe). Snobby, superhot chick who always gets what she wants.
• Mara (Aleksa Palladino). The alternate in the event one of the contestants drops out. She is the timid, quiet girl who conforms to what she is told to do.

Running these kids into the ground is Colonel Dale Murphy (Henry Rollins). Unbeknownst to all of them, a household of hungry mutants is stalking them like prey animals.

So what exactly does Wrong Turn 2: Dead End offer that the original Wrong Turn or Bloodlines or The Hills Have Eyes II didn’t? To be completely honest – nothing. But it does have a few things going for it.

1. Henry Rollins is awesome. This guy is badass. And even though he isn’t the best actor in the world, he has such conviction about what he is doing that it is fun to watch him. He gets a major plus for being a part of the pioneering punk group Black Flag too.
2. Unlike some of the other movies mentioned, Wrong Turn 2: Dead End doesn’t try and overdo the dialogue or expect Oscar worthy performances from anyone. Joe Lynch knows the movie is low budget and he just tries to have fun with it.
3. Horror fans will enjoy the interesting methods employed by the misshapen woods-folk to kill, maim and disembowel. Even I was impressed with a few of them.

While certainly not the best horror film ever made, you will have a good time watching Wrong Turn 2: Dead End. I think you’ll agree, there’s nothing quite like turning the lights down low in the house and getting comfortable on the sofa to watch a campy splatterfest. Together with your loved ones, you can count the ingenious ways to murder someone with an axe.