Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Wrong Turn Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 20, 2021

When, in a making of featurette included on this Blu-ray disc as a supplement, several talking heads involved with this reboot of the venerable Wrong Turn franchise mention how “perfect” it is for the world we’re living in today, reactions may vary from “have you actually looked around lately?” to those prone to quoting the inimitable Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride, and who might therefore cheekily respond, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” There are definitely some interesting additions to this sixth (!) Wrong Turn enterprise, and it’s probably commendable that this effort attempts to wrest itself away from the “rural cannibals” aspect that informed some of its predecessors, but the story may ultimately prove to be slightly comical for more jaded viewers, even if the laughs may be interrupted on occasion for averted eyes and gasps of horror as various bodily immolations accrue. A slightly disjunctive narrative structure lends a bit of interest as well, at least until the chronology is battened down a little while into the film. That somewhat confusing ambience includes an early sequence featuring a distraught father named Scott Shaw (Matthew Modine, with an impressive shock of gray-white hair) who is on the hunt for his missing daughter Jen (Charlotte Vega) in what might charitably be called the “rustic” environment of the Appalachian Trail. Soon enough the events leading up to Jen’s disappearance are detailed, with nary a rural cannibal in sight, but with other ostensibly menacing types lurking in the woods. As some of the same talking heads who tout the “perfection” of this film for the times in which we live get into, this particular Wrong Turn attempts to peel back surface layers of perceived villainy to arrive at the probably cliché ridden question, “Who are the real monsters?”

There's a perhaps overly overt attempt in this Wrong Turn to offer a wide demographic cross section of twenty something victims (because, let's face it, you know going into this enterprise that there are going to be victims). Therefore, we get things like a couple who are both gay and people of color, as well as an interracial straight couple comprised of Jen and her black boyfriend Darius Clemons (Adain Bradley). That kind of "woke" sensibility may appeal to dang blasted liberal Northerners, but down South, or at least Virginia, it's met with disdain, as is detailed in one of the early post- Modine opening sequences. Jen and a gaggle of her friends have decided to escape the big city to explore the Appalachian Trail, but they're not exactly welcomed into the region. That tends to instantly introduce a feeling of angst even before the mayhem starts, but it may strike some as overly contrived, given the ultimate direction the film takes.

When the would be hikers venture off the established trail despite being warned not to (because, let's face it, you know going into this enterprise that that's what they're going to do), a horrifying tragedy ensues which takes out one of their number. When they then stumble on a weird character wearing animal skins and a skull headdress, they understandably react in panic, leading to the death of the robed character. That in turn leads to the "actual" story, where Jen and her surviving friends are taken captive by a backwoods group known as The Foundation, who have been hiding out way, way "off the grid" since Civil War times, and who don't take kindly to intruders interloping on "their" land. The leader of The Foundation is another guy initially clad in animal skins and a skull headdress named Venable (Bill Sage), who is out to teach these city slickers a lesson they'll not soon forget.

The end result is both kind of weirdly simultaneously predictable and unsettling, which may or may not appeal to those coming to this film expecting "another" Wrong Turn. As trite as it probably is, the best part of the film is its dissection of perceived ill intent, though that said, it might be salient to think about how any sane person would react to finding a guy in animal skins and a skull headdress marauding through the woods. While a lot of the "red shirts" are only casually sketched in (another horror movie staple), the character of Jen is actually nicely modulated as the story progresses, and it's her transformation that gives the film whatever power it sustains. As director Mike P. Nelson gets into in the above mentioned featurette, the closing credits coda (which was evidently tacked on at the last minute as something of a lark) offers a conduit to even more "wrong turns", which may already be in the planning stages.

Note: My colleague Brian Orndorf may have been somewhat more favorably inclined toward the film than I was. You can read Brian's thoughts here.

Wrong Turn Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Wrong Turn is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.38:1. The IMDb doesn't list any relevant technical data other than that a DI was prepared, but the making of featurette shows an Arri Amira camera on a couple of occasions, though I can't guarantee that was the only camera utilized. As usual, I'm assuming the DI was finished at 2K. There are some stylistic quirks at play here that can lead to a somewhat heterogeneous appearance at times. A lot of the presentation has the sleek, clear look of digital capture, but there are other moments that I'm assuming were intentionally tweaked with either digital grain or other post bells and whistles which can lead to a pretty gritty, fuzzy and even maybe slightly noisy, look (see screenshot 19 for one example). Once the whole Foundation element comes into play, there are large swaths of the film that look virtually sepia toned, as can be gleaned in several of the screenshots accompanying this review, and in at least some of these moments, fine detail can momentarily falter. Some of the gore elements feature some stomach churning detail levels, so forewarned is forearmed.

Wrong Turn Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Wrong Turn offers a generally well rendered DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. A lot of the surround activity comes courtesy of the long outdoor sequences that are prominently featured throughout the first half or so of the film's running time. Ambient environmental sounds regularly dot the side and rear channels, and there are at least a couple of impressive bursts of LFE. The sound design becomes at least relatively more subdued once The Foundation comes into play and the story becomes more sequestered. Dialogue is rendered clearly and cleanly throughout this problem free track. Optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles are available.

Wrong Turn Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Director Mike P. Nelson


• Monsters Among Us: Making Wrong Turn (1080p; 27:25) is an above average making of featurette, with a number of interviews and scenes from the film.


• Wrong Turn Promotional Trailer (1080p; 3:35) was done when the film was in production in 2019.


• Deleted and Extended Scenes (1080p; 7:09)

Additionally, a digital copy is included.

Wrong Turn Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Speaking of the world in which we live, some folks may remember the story of (then) South Carolina governor Mark Sanford, who mysteriously disappeared for a week or so, and whose disappearance was initially explained by a false statement that he had been hiking the Appalachian Trail, when in reality he had been carrying on an extramarital affair in Buenos Aires (you can't make this stuff up, folks). The end result of that "hiking rip" was a divorce for Sanford and a near expulsion from his governorship, and so some curmudgeons might suggest he would have done better to have claimed he had been abducted by animal skin wearing and skull headdress adorned holdouts from the Civil War era. All joking aside, this Wrong Turn at least attempts to "go off the trail" itself, in terms of the previous entries in this franchise, and for that decision it probably warrants a few brownie points. The film is probably a bit too obvious in this very strategy, however, which may undercut its admittedly (if occasional) visceral impact. Technical merits are generally solid for those who are considering a purchase.