Bullet Points: Wrong Turn (2021)
It seems like every horror franchise goes through a reboot or remake. Think Halloween, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street and countless others. Some remakes are solid, and some remakes are awful. The next horror franchise to reboot itself is Wrong Turn. After 6 films, the decision was made to completely redo the franchise. This time the original writer returns, Alan B. McElroy, and the director is Mike P. Nelson. Wrong Turn is brought to you by Saban Films. It stars Charlotte Vega, Adain Bradley, Bill Sage, Emma Dumont, Dylan McTee, Daisy Head, Tim DeZarn and Matthew Modine. It will be showing in theaters on January 26th, and it is a Fathom Event.
For info about tickets please visit: https://www.fathomevents.com/events/Wrong-Turn.
- The Plot: Jen (Charlotte Vega) and her friends set out to hike the Appalachian Trail. All is well until they take a wrong turn. Suddenly, they come face to face with the Foundation, a mountain community that will do anything to protect their way of life. Jen and her friends only hope is Jen’s father (Matthew Modine). Will he be able to save the day, or will he become the next victim?
- Podunk USA: Jen and her friends are a diverse group of twenty somethings. You have a couple of gay guys, an interracial couple, a prototype Alpha and his hippie-esque girlfriend. This is the type of cast you need when you visit a hillbilly town. Let’s freak out the locals. The gay guys are hesitant to show affection. The interracial couple gets stared at. The Alpha tries to start a fight. This new Wrong Turn is definitely a movie for our world, and it has a lot of different representation. Throw in whomever. In all honesty, you know why we watch these movies: To watch the victims try to survive the terror. At first, I thought the cast was a bit dull. I did like the Alpha, but I always like the Alpha. The cast did grow on me, and this is a great thing. I wasn’t even a fan of Jen at the beginning. But, she really delivers as the narrative progresses, and she is now one of the more memorable characters in recent horror movie history.
- The Dad Factor: Did you have Matthew Modine starring in a Wrong Turn movie to start out your 2021? Not me. Modine is damn cool. As much as I like to watch nice looking people get it on in horror movies, there’s something about a sibling or parent / child relationship in horror. They seem to work better together. House of Wax (2005) is a great example. Modine’s character brings something refreshing to Wrong Turn. He’s a determined dad who never gives up, and he will do whatever it takes to save his daughter. Also, he’s kinda old. It is nice to see older gentleman get some recondition in Wrong Turn
- The Foundation: Did you have on your Wrong Turn bingo card that the baddies wouldn’t be inbreeders? Not me. The Foundation still freaks me out. However, they look pretty normal for people who have a secret society in the woods that dates back to 1859. They live by strict code. I wouldn’t want to make a wrong turn if I knew they were near. Bill Sage is excellent as the Foundation’s leader, John Venable. I’ll probably have nightmares about that fella.
- The Action and the Gore: Yes! The action is good. It is a little bit uneven, but there’s a lot of exciting moments. The runtime is also a bit too long, but I’m still cool with it. The group of friends go through hell even before they meet the Foundation. They have to escape a runway giant tree log. Also, the gore and blood looked practical to me. If there’s any CGI, I sure didn’t see it. We have some very gruesome kills in Wrong Turn. The type of kills you can’t decide if you want to keep on looking, or turn away in fright. The finale is balls up too. Wrong Turn ends, and I want more.
- Final Thoughts: This is how you remake a franchise. Give it a whole new look, but keep the kills gory as hell. Wrong Turn does a lot right, and I think my horror fanatics will get a kick out of it. Check it out!
