Review: Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007)

Director: Joe Lynch | 93 minutes | horror | Actors: Erica Leerhsen, Henry Rollins, Texas Battle, Daniella Alonso, Steve Braun, Aleksa Palladino, Matthew Currie Holmes, Crystal Lowe, Kimberly Caldwell, Wayne Robson, Ken Kirzinger, Ashlea Earl, Clint Carleton, Rorelee Tio, Jeff Scrutton. Cedroc De Souza, John Stewart, Bro Gilbert, Patton Oswalt

That was a shock for fans of “American Idols” star Kimberly Caldwell. If she gets a roll of film, she dies after just a few minutes. Without revealing too much; the little content that pop stars of her caliber usually have is soon out on the street. Her death set the tone for the rest of “Wrong Turn 2”. The special effects department was obviously very pleased with the imitation intestines, because we regularly see them flying by (but where’s the blood?). After the well-received first part, a sequel could not be missed. “Wrong Turn 2: Dead End” did not hit theaters, but landed straight on DVD. This brought the advantage of the creators that they could really indulge themselves in atrocities, which is therefore gratefully used.

The premise: a (seemingly) deserted forest in West Virginia, a mob of hillbilly mutants and a TV crew that shoots the pilot for the reality show “Ultimate Survivalist: The Apocalypse” with a group of young people. Original? No. Entertaining? Hell yes! Filmmakers in this genre often make the mistake of taking the material too seriously. Fortunately, this does not happen here. A striking example is the role of Henry Rollins (former lead singer of punk rock band Black Flag) as ex-Marine Dale who hosts the TV show. As soon as the cannibals emerge, he turns into a pseudo-Rambo. Unfortunately, its carnivorous enemies turn out to be tougher than the Vietcong at the time. After the promising opening scene, the tension subsides somewhat due to the obligatory structure of the story. We as a viewer do not participate in ‘Ultimate Survivalist’ ourselves, so the explanation of the rules of the game could be cut. Fifteen minutes later, the participants dive into the forest and the film can really get going. The program participants include: the athlete, the fun pants, the slutty type, the tough military type, and the haunted girl with a dramatic past. Clearly no room has been made for profound characters. They do not evoke much sympathy, but a horror film like this is actually not complete without a few false stereotypes. A number of the actors and actresses have gained experience in horror sequels such as’ The Hills Have Eyes 2 ‘,’ The Ring 2 ‘And’ Final Destination 3 ‘. This was not a good school; there is still room for improvement in the acting. But the viewer in this genre often has to take that for granted.

“Wrong Turn 2: Dead End” is mainly about the running hillbilly freaks. Just like in the predecessor, they use their primitive weaponry again to deal with those darn invaders. This section gives us a little more insight into the motives of this lovely family for welcoming their visit with a bow and arrow. Also in “Wrong Turn 2” there are a few characters left who do not just end up as the main menu. This results in a cat-and-mouse game in which both parties do not remain intact and the aforementioned intestines are well represented again. Joe Lynch delivers an entertaining hour and a half of horror madness with “Wrong Turn 2: Dead End”. The debuting director does not pretend to contribute to genre innovation with his sequel, but creates enough entertaining scenes to rise above the middle of a long series of formula films. Lynch gets everything out of a sequel to an already genre-defining horror. Fans of the first part should definitely see this film.