Wrong Turn (2003 film)

Wrong Turn
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Rob Schmidt
Written by	Alan B. McElroy
Produced by	Stan Winston Brian Gilbert Erik Feig Robert Kulzer
Starring	Desmond Harrington Eliza Dushku Emmanuelle Chriqui Jeremy Sisto Kevin Zegers
Cinematography	John S. Bartley
Edited by	Michael Ross
Music by	Elia Cmiral
Production companies	Regency Enterprises Constantin Film Summit Entertainment
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	May 30, 2003 (2003-05-30)
Running time	84 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$12.6 million
Box office	$28,650,575

Wrong Turn is a 2003 American horror film directed by Rob Schmidt and written by Alan B. McElroy. The film was shot in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and stars Desmond Harrington, Eliza Dushku, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Jeremy Sisto, Lindy Booth and Kevin Zegers. It is the first film in the series which has since grown to include four direct-to-DVD films.

Plot

In the remote forest of West Virginia, Halley Smith (Yvonne Gaudry) and Rich Stoker (Joel Harris) are rock climbing in a cliff. As Rich prepares to help Halley, she witnesses his sudden murder. Someone begins to pull Halley up the cliff so she cuts the rope and falls to the ground. Halley then attempts to escape to her car but trips over a piece of barb wire before being pulled back into the woods, screaming.

Medical student Chris Flynn (Desmond Harrington), drives through the mountains of West Virginia, a chemical spill in the road ahead forces him to take a different route. He stops at a rundown gas station and meets an old man (Wayne Robson). The old man is not helpful, but Chris sees a map detailing another route heading to his destination. Chris decides to take the road, but on his way, he collides with a Range Rover stopped in the middle of the road. The car belongs to a group of friends on a hiking trip: Jessie Burlingame (Eliza Dushku), Carly (Emmanuelle Chriqui), her fiancé Scott (Jeremy Sisto), and a couple, Evan and Francine (Kevin Zegers and Lindy Booth). Their tires have been punctured by a piece of barbed wire.

Evan and Francine stay to watch the cars as the others go to find help. Evan goes to the woods to investigate a strange noise. After a while, Francine goes into the woods to look for him. She finds only his sneaker and his severed ear before she is killed by an unseen figure with a strip of barbed wire.

Chris, Jessie, Carly, and Scott find an isolated cabin. After entering, they are surprised to find human body parts. Horrified, they attempt to escape, but they are forced to hide when they hear the occupants coming back. Three disfigured, cannibalistic mountain men enter the cabin, bringing Francine's dead body. The four silently watch as her body is messily eaten.

The four quietly escape after the cannibals fall asleep. However, one of the cannibals, "Saw-Tooth", awakens, alerts the other cannibals, and begins to chase them through the forest. The group climbs up to a nearby clearing with many cars of the cannibals' victims. Chris is shot in the leg, and Scott saves him by distracting the cannibals, allowing Jessie and Carly to steal one of the trucks. Chris gets into the truck, and they drive down a nearby path in search of Scott. Scott starts to make his way to the truck, but the cannibals kill him with arrows and take his body back to their cabin.

Chris, Jessie, and Carly reach a dead end and have to continue on foot. They find a radio in an old watchtower and use it to call for help, but do not get a response. Later, they see the cannibals armed with torches, searching at the foot of the watchtower. The radio starts responding to their call, alerting the cannibals. The cannibals set the tower on fire. Chris, Carly, and Jessie escape by jumping out of the window into a nearby tree. As they escape the tower, "Three-Finger" catches Carly and decapitates her.

After escaping, Chris and Jessie hide in a cave near a waterfall until the next morning. Just as they find a road out of the woods, the mountain men find them, pushing Chris down the hill and taking Jessie back to their cabin. Chris survives the fall and meets a sheriff, but before he is able to convince the Sheriff of what is happening, the Sheriff is shot with an arrow. Chris attempts to drive away in the police truck, but cannot find the key, so he instead hitches a ride underneath the truck as it is driven back to the cabin.

At the cabin, Jessie is tied to a bed and gagged. As Jessie is about to be killed, Chris, now driving the police truck, breaks through the cabin and runs into "One-Eye". Chris unties Jessie and they fight the cannibals. They escape as Chris manages to kill the cannibals by blowing up their cabin with a shotgun. Chris and Jessie, driving the cannibals' truck, stop back at the gas station. Chris, badly injured, gets out of the truck and takes the map from the gas station while the old man (who was implied to be in league with the mountain men) hides in the store.

The credits are interrupted by a scene showing a deputy sheriff investigating and picking over the remains of the destroyed cabin. "Three-Finger", who survived the explosion, kills the deputy. His insane laughter is heard, as the credits continue to roll.

Cast

• Desmond Harrington as Chris Flynn
• Eliza Dushku as Jessie Burlingame
• Emmanuelle Chriqui as Carly
• Jeremy Sisto as Scott
• Kevin Zegers as Evan
• Lindy Booth as Francine
• Julian Richings as Three Finger
• Garry Robbins as Saw Tooth
• Ted Clark as One Eye
• Yvonne Gaudry as Halley Smith
• Joel Harris as Richard Stoker
• David Huband as Trooper John Bartley
• Wayne Robson as Old Man
• James Downing as Trucker

Soundtrack

Untitled

Two soundtracks were released; one containing the original film score and the other containing popular music.

Track listings

The Score

1. "Dark Forest"
2. "Wrong Turn Title"
3. "Mountain Men"
4. "Cabin in the Woods"
5. "Adventure Begins"
6. "Mountain Men at Home"
7. "Francine Dies"
8. "Jessie"
9. "Scott Becomes Prey"
10. "Bear Trap"
11. "Escape from Cabin"
12. "Jessie Taken Hostage"
13. "Fire in the Watchtower"
14. "Grim Discoveries"
15. "Are We Safe?"
16. "They Got Carly"
17. "Killing Mountain Men"
18. "We Are Alive"
19. "Three-Finger Is Back"

Commercial Release Edition

1. "In Stance" - Eris
2. "Bloody Fingers" - Jet Black Summer
3. "Every Famous Last Word" - Miracle of 86
4. "Never Said Anything" - The Belles
5. "Why Would I Want to Die?" - Grandaddy
6. "Haunted" - King Black Acid
7. "Three Murders" - Deadman
8. "Ex" - Tara King Theory
9. "Birthday" - Simple
10. "Even the Scars Forget the Wound" - Gruvis Malt
11. "He's a Killer" - DJ Swamp
12. "Bring the Pain"/"Multiple Incisions" - Candiria
13. "If Only" - Queens of The Stone Age
14. "Wish I May" - Breaking Benjamin

Reception

Wrong Turn received mostly mixed reviews, with a 40% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus are "an unremarkable slasher flick that fails to distinguish itself from others of its ilk".

Sequels

• Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007)
• Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead (2009)
• Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings (2011)
• Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines (2012)

After the commercial success of the DVD release, the film was followed by the 2007 direct-to-DVD sequel Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, starring Erica Leerhsen, Henry Rollins and Texas Battle, and directed by Joe Lynch. The sequel was also very successful on DVD and received positive response from the critics. The film was retitled Dead Camp when shown on South Korean television.

Declan O'Brien directed Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead. The film was released direct-to-DVD/Blu-ray on October 20, 2009.

O'Brien returned to write and direct Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings. The film serves as a prequel to the previous films and was released direct-to-DVD/Blu-ray on October 25, 2011.

On May 2, 2012, it was announced that a sequel to Bloody Beginnings was being filmed in Sofia, Bulgaria and is expected to end on May 5. O'Brien once again returned to poison this horror franchise. It was released direct-to-DVD/Blu-ray on October 23, 2012.

External links

• Wrong Turn at AllMovie
• Wrong Turn at Box Office Mojo
• Wrong Turn at the TCM Movie Database
• Wrong Turn at IMDb