The set-up for Wrong Turn 2 is pretty awful: a production team (consisting of three seemingly inexperienced twenty somethings and a presenter) take a small group of hopeful contestants into the wilds to film a survivalist reality TV series. Here they become victims to a bloodthirsty family of cannibalistic hillbillies.
Now I'm no expert on the finer points of making TV programmes, but just four people on the crew of a complex reality show?!?! Gimme a break!
Fortunately, the silly initial premise doesn't get in the way of this film ultimately becoming an extremely enjoyable (and very gory) film, and kudos must go to director Joe Lynch for making this sequel to the 2003 original such a fun ride.
Amongst a cast of relative unknowns (horror fans may recognise some faces, but your average film-goer won't), Henry Rollins obviously stands out, as the ex-soldier turned show host who uses his military experience to turn the tables on his attackers. But the REAL star of the show is the brilliant array of splattery special effects that regularly paint the screen red. Copious blood and gore is definitely the order of the day.
Lynch starts as he means to go on, opening with a gruesome OTT death scene which sees a pretty blonde cut vertically in half with an axe, her guts spilling messily onto the floor. Gorehounds will have a field day! And so it continues, with plenty of messy death scenes, a smattering of female nudity, and even a touch of incestuous mutant sex thrown in for good measure. You can't say that this one doesn't try to be a crowd pleaser!
Also rather welcome is a nice sense of unpredictability: early on, I thought I had pretty much figured out who would survive the ordeal and who would end up in the cannibals' hotpot. However, after one particularly unexpected death, it becomes evident that the makers are out to screw with viewers preconceptions. It's a nice move that works well.
Wrong Turn 2 isn't a great film, but it is a good one, and I recommend it to all fans of backwoods horror flicks.
