[Film Review] Wrong Turn 2021

As a Wrong Turn fan, and admirer of short-term Scream Queen Eliza Dushku, I was interested to see how a 2021 remake of the classic would play out. 

Turns out, this isn't a remake of the popular 2003 horror, so adjust your expectations accordingly.  Once I had gotten to grips with the fact that there would be no mutant hillbilly inbreds popping up anytime soon, I settled into this surprising little gem with ease.

After deciding to hike along the Appalachian Trail, a group of college students with bright futures ahead of them arrive at, what appears to be, a typical isolated community.  The usual characters are introduced - creepy kid, weird local woman selling creepy stuff and, of course, creepy harbinger, hellbent on making it known the kids are not welcome. 

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Having seemingly rubbed the locals up the wrong way, the group blatantly ignore the 'get out of town' warnings and continue on with their plans.  They soon discover that the sexist, homophobic 'Tatsyrup' types were the least of their worries as they are hunted and captured by a community known as 'The Foundation'.  What follows is a 90-minute fight for survival, but all is not what it appears to be.

Wrong Turn could easily fall prey to the usual out in the woods / folk horror tropes, but this one hits differently.  We're not dealing with the usual college kids who want nothing more than to party and have sex, they're aspiring up and comers who genuinely just want a weekend away.  The fact they have their wits about them, for the most part, enables the story to take a juicy little mid-way plot turn that makes Wrong Turn unlike anything I've seen in a while.  

The film takes tried and tested characters and brings them into the modern day organically, allowing them to simply be.  I will say though, we need to do better on the 'I'm not like other girls' front, because changing a tyre doesn't put you in a minority.  However, lead character Jennifer, played by Charlotte Vega, is different and uses her skills to her advantage.  In fact, the whole cast is pretty well fleshed out for such a low budget piece and has some big hitting horror names in Matthew Modine, Tim DeZarn and Bill Sage.

Whilst being maybe 20 minutes too long, it does manage to keep things relatively fresh throughout and certainly held my attention.  If you're here purely for the blood and guts, you'll be pleased to know there are some very inventive offing methods, with one scene involving a cattle prod being particularly gruesome.  

Wrong Turn is a film best seen as blind as possible.  The way it plays out, and that killer of an ending, should be applauded.  Full of surprise, tension and legitimately wince inducing moments, it's definitely worth your time.

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