Film Review: Wrong Turn (2003)

Getting lost in the wilderness of West Virginia is not the best idea, particularly when it’s home to an inbred family of murderous hillbillies as a group of young twenty-somethings find out.

Chris (Desmond Harrington of Dexter) finds himself stuck in traffic on the way to an interview and decides to take a short cut.  You know what they say: a shortcut is the longest distance between two points. Coming to a fork in the road, he takes the wrong turn and crashes into a car standing idly on the country road and meets 5 stranded folks.  Their tyres have been blown out thanks to deliberately placed barbed wire on the road.  The leader of this gang is recently dumped Jessie (Eliza Dushku from Buffy) whose friends thought a trip to the woods would be a great way to cheer her up.  Carly (Emmanuelle Chirqui of Entourage) and Scott (Jeremy Sisto of Law & Order)  complete the main cast

As the aforementioned four main characters go for help, the cast begin to be picked off one by one but unlike a lot of victims in horror movies, this group tries their dam hardest to stay alive.

With plenty of gore, non-stop action and some eye candy, Wrong Turn is a delicious treat for fans of the horror genre.  The promising cast is made up of young actors that were up and coming in the early 2000s.  Creepy and unsettling, it does what a horror movie is meant to do, scare the audience while making the experience fun at the same time.

A fun, scary, horror movie. Smarter than a lot of the modern crap that passes for horror.

****

Check it out on Amazon HERE

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Film Review: Never Cry Werewolf (2008)


As a made-for-tv movie, and worse, having aired on the Sci Fi channel, I had reservations about watching this.  90 minutes later, I was pleasantly surprised.  Put aside what will most likely be your tendency to scoff and just enjoy this little gem for what it is, a comedy-horror that blatantly and enthusiastically rips off Fright Night.  Substitute a werewolf for the vampire from the 80s movie and you’ve sussed the plot.

For the ladies we have the sexy Peter Stebbings from The Listener and Madison (if anyone remembers that show) in the lead role as Jared, the hot, motor-cyclist and new next door neighbour of teenager Loren played by Nina Dobrev of The Vampire Diaries.  It’s hard not to be aware of the creepy age difference between these two and in fact Jared tells Loren that back in the day girls her age would have been shacked up with a couple of kids.  In a nutshell he believes that Loren is the reincarnation of his dead fiancée and he intends to turn her into a werewolf to keep her alive as his mate forever.  Yes, it is fair to say that Nina Dobrev has developed a taste for playing characters who look like the reincarnation of her love interest’s ex.

Age difference aside, there is something hypnotic about the sexy charisma that oozes from Stebbings.  Hercules, sorry I mean Kevin Sorbo plays a washed-up tv star Redd Tucker who is roped into helping Loren destroy Jared before he makes her his mate and/or kills any more hookers.  Punk kid and fast food delivery boy Steven (Sean O’ Neill) has a major crush on Loren and earns himself a bite from the big bad wolf for his wooing efforts.  This film is played for laughs and it’s clear to see that all the actors amp up the silliness.  Was it really necessary to stick Dobrev in a sports bra at the end?  Probably not but I doubt there’re any guys out there who would complain.  Kitting her out with a crossbow seemed to be a nod to the legions of Buffy fans so thumbs up for that.

Cheesy, silly, harmless fun.  This is one to watch with your friends on a Friday night with some Jack Daniels in hand, or any other hard liquor.

**  if you watch this sober *** if slightly tipsy.

Check it out on Amazon HERE

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