IAmNo4 Reviews

Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007 Video)

Probably the most entertaining Horror Sequel I've ever seen

[14 October 2007]

Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, the obvious sequel to the Terrific 70s Style Horror film Wrong Turn which starred the beautiful Eliza Dushku and Desmond Harrington (and which I surprisingly really dug and loved), was probably my most anticipated film ever for more than 2 years due to many different reasons, hence I was really looking forward to it and couldn't wait to see it. However, it was taking FOX forever to properly release it, so I waited really long for it to finally come out on October 09th, and well, having finally seen the film, all I can say is - WOW, was the wait worth it!, since the film completely exceeded all my expectations, and turned out to be one of the best Horror Sequels I've seen since Aliens and Evil Dead II. The film revolves around a group of 6 reality show contestants (we have the heroine, the black guy, the army chick, the funny guy, the nice girl, the slut, and the 7th contestant who is very brutally eliminated in the amazing and brutal opening scene of the film), their producer, and the host, who start getting killed off one-by-one while participating in the low-budget reality show by a group of sick, horny, and hideously deformed inbred hillbilly cannibals who plan on making them all their dinner. However, unluckily for the hillbillies, the remaining contestants and the host start fighting back for their survival, unaware that the hillbillies have different plans for them and their body parts.

Hvaing watched the film, I have to say that without a doubt one of the biggest highlights of the film is the gorgeous and talented Erica Leerhsen (whom you may recognize from the underrated Blair Witch 2 and the terrific Texas Chainsaw Massacre Remake) who is simply terrific in the movie, and fortunately plays the most interesting and likable character with a saddening back story, and is great to see that she has actually has a decent-sized role as I always thought she was heavily underrated.

Henry Rollins steals the show as well and kicks some serious ass in the movie, and let's face it -there's nobody else who would do it better than Rollins; the man is simply a genius and should get more roles like this. Worth mentioning are other talented cast members, including Texas Battle, Aleksa Palladino, Daniella Alonso (who actually has much more to work with than in The Hills Have Eyes II), Steve Braun, Crystal Lowe, and Matthew Currie Holmes, and I have to say that Kimberly Caldwell is also great in her debut role, and delivers a fine performance in the brutal opening scene of the film.

Despite that all characters are pretty stereotypical, you actually care for them (which is very rare in Horror movies as most characters in Slasher films are one-dimensional), and I have to admit it is pretty hard to predict who is going to survive or die, thanks to the writers, Turi Meyer and Al Saptien, who have made a surprisingly effective script. There are a few plot holes and cheesy lines here and there, sure, but who cares?

The direction is amazing as well. Joe Lynch does an outstanding job as the director, and with his many homages to other movies (including The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Evil Dead II, Aliens, Rambo, The Blair Witch Project; mostly 80s Splatter flicks), and brutal death scenes (hint: opening scene), he is definitely one of the reasons why the sequel turned out so great.

And how does Wrong Turn 2 do in comparison with the original? Well, damn great if I may say. Seeing as the original is very serious, eerie, and scary, the sequel tries to be quite the opposite - just a simple, hardcore, highly entertaining, no-brain, and brutal Splatter flick which doesn't take itself seriously, and luckily, it succeeds. It's very different from the first one, and quality-wise - I love them both equally as they're entirely different, but equally amazing. Also, don't let the fact that this is a direct-to-video film put you away, as it's definitely the best straight-to-video movie I've ever seen, and just proves that sometimes even a little, direct-to-video sequel can live up to its proceeder, and even stand on its own.

So in all - is Wrong Turn 2 completely flawless? No, not really. Is it a perfect film? Nope. But is it a Highly Entertaining, Fast-paced, Memorable, Gory and Amazing Horror Sequel which blows away most 2007 Horror flicks? Damn straight it is. Honestly, I really don't understand why FOX sent this direct-to-video, and The Hills Have Eyes II in theaters as Wrong Turn 2 is tons better and a much more enjoyable flick.

In short, Wrong Turn 2 is hands down the most entertaining and goriest Horror Sequel I've ever seen. It's not flawless or perfect, but I still love it, so if you really are looking for a worthy sequel with amazing acting, great direction, brutal and inventive deaths, likable characters, and lots more, Wrong Turn 2 is definitely then the right turn, and an amazing Horror flick you should surely check out! Highly recommended.

8/10

Wrong Turn (I) (2003)

Fantastic 70s Style Splatter Flick

[1 September 2007]

Wrong Turn tells the story of Chris Flynn (Desmond Harrington), a doctor who gets stranded in the middle of nowhere after being late for an important meeting. In hopes of getting to his final destination in time, Chris takes a back road through the woods of West Virginia to avoid the traffic jam and accidentally crashes into a car which belongs to a group of friends led by the somewhat bitchy heroine, Jessie Burlingame (Eliza Dushku). Having two wrecked cars, the group decides to wander through the woods in hopes of getting help, unaware that they are about to get stalked and killed off one-by-one by a group of hideously deformed inbred family who has been living and feeding with human flesh in that area for more than 30 years.

Having seen the film countless times before, I was always strangely fascinated by it, but I never truly understood why. I did always love it, but there was always something about it I just really dug. Having seen the film again now, I've finally realized what, and the reason is very simple - the film is just a very well-done homage to all those bad-ass 70s Horror films, and just combines the highlights of those flicks in one simple and highly-enjoyable Slasher film.

Another reason why I probably like this movie so much is because of its fantastic and unique eerie atmosphere. Throughout the whole movie you repeatedly get that uncomfortable feeling of being watched by someone, and the scares which constantly appear through the movie just add to the atmosphere. The tension and the special effects are very well done too thanks to Stan Winston who creates a really disgusting and menacing inbred family, but he does it so good you don't even look at them in that way; sure they are scary as hell and look horribly deformed, but beneath that all you still do realize they are all just a bunch of humans, well at least sort of.

The cast is really good too. The two leads, Desmond Harrington and the lovely and talented Eliza Dushku, do an amazing job here and since they both play likable, strong characters, you really root for them and want to see them live. The other cast members, Jeremy Sisto, Lindy Booth and Kevin Zegers, are all great actors, but they don't have really much to work with here since their characters are basically wasted, though Emanuelle Chriqui really stands out and plays the supporting female lead role very good and convincing. Even though you already know from the start who is going to survive, there's still plenty of tension and scares present throughout the whole movie, so if you think this is just another typical, gory Slasher flick - think again.

One thing I'm very impressed with here is the directing. Schmidt does a terrific job, and you can say he's a horror geek by just watching several clips from the movie. We get some "Deliverance" references now and then, a little bit of "Last House on the Left", "The Hills Have Eyes", "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre", and loads more. The kills are very effective and absolutely gory too, so if you are a fan of brutal death scenes, you will almost definitely dig the deaths.

The film does have some weak points though. Some of the dialog is a bit cheesy in parts, and the ending is really predictable, clichéd, and a bit rushed if you ask me, but the film still really impressed me and is definitely one of my favorite movies now.

So in short - Wrong Turn is a movie you either love or hate. I definitely belong to the first group for a couple of reasons, and even though I do realize Wrong Turn is not the best film ever, I love every second of it for one simple reason - it's a simple, highly enjoyable and scary no-brain throwback to 70s Horror movies, so if you're just looking for a fun and gory Horror film, Wrong Turn is then definitely a right turn, and an amazing film you should definitely not miss! Highly recommended.

8/10

Hostel: Part II (2007)

Solid Horror Sequel

[2 June 2007]

When I first saw "Hostel" back in 2006, I thought it was a solid, entertaining flick, but still full of flaws, so when a sequel was announced, along with its official synopsis and promising cast, I naturally got really excited as I thought it sounded great and had lots of potential to be even better than the original, hence this easily became one of my most anticipated movies of the year. After finally seeing the film I have to admit that I still like the original a tad more, but I'm happy I waited as this is surely one of the better horror sequels I've seen recently.

The plot this time focuses around 3 American college students - Beth (Lauren German), her best friend Whitney (Bijou Phillips), and the sweet Lorna (Heather Matarazzo) who are studying art in Rome for the Summer and plan on going to Prague to explore Europe. However, they cross paths with the mysterious Axelle (Vera Jordanova), a beautiful model from their art class who somehow convinces them to skip their journey to Prague and head to Slovakia where they can relax and enjoy the country. Soon they find a hostel for the weekend and it seems like everything is going to be great, but little do they know that staying at a hostel was the biggest mistake in their lives, and that they are going to pay the price in the worst possible way.

To be honest, I was never too big on Eli Roth before. I thought „Cabin Fever" was very mediocre and full of clichés and pointless nudity, whereas Hostel a big step from "Cabin" with an interesting and original concept, but still full of flaws, so I guessed if Roth continued to improve, this could have even been better than the original. I was wrong though as I actually found myself liking this a bit less than the first one, but still thinking this is definitely one of the better and gorier horror sequels in the last few years, and one of the most entertaining movies this year.

Without a doubt the best thing about the movie is the great acting. Honestly, as much as I'm a HUGE horror fan, even I admit there are really rare horror movies (or even movies in general) in which most of the actors did a great job, but fortunately, that was the case here. Heather Matarazzo, who has really grown up since her debut in "Welcome to the Dollhouse" does an amazing job in portraying without a doubt the sweetest character in the whole movie, and when bad things start happening to her you really feel bad for her as she just gives a great performance. Lauren German, who played the unfortunate hitchhiker in the awesome "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" Remake, gives an amazing performance too and I was happy to see her as a lead in a horror movie as I thought she was great in the Chainsaw remake. Bijou Phillips also does a great job in playing the loyal and tough "best-friend" type of character, and she is surely one of the bets characters in the film, something she didn't have a chance to be in movies like "Venom" for instance. Worth mentioning is also the newcomer Vera Jordanova, even though her character is waisted and should have gotten more screen-time. The other characters are greatly build up and you really do feel bad for them when bad things start happening to them, thanks to both the already mentioned, great acting, and a good script written by Eli Roth who actually surprised me in the movie as I thought he did a pretty good job and didn't put any unnecessary nudity like in "Cabin Fever". I also liked how the movie didn't just center on the 3 girls and their torturing, but also the tortures themselves (played by Roger Bart and Richard Burgi) and their fears and thoughts, which was a pretty fresh add to the plot. No need to say this is way more brutal than the original too, even though the ending could have been less comical and more action-packed.

Of course, there are weak points of the movie though. First of all, I was very much disappointed with the route Eli went with the character of Paxton (Jay Hernandez), our hero in the last movie, as I thought it was very clichéd and already seen before in other horror sequels. The movie also felt rushed towards the ending, as all the action and torture scenes were fairly short and incomparable to the ones in the original. The movie also didn't feel as "dark" as the original, and some scenes were just pointlessly funny, but that's probably why I liked this sequel; it wasn't trying to be a carbon copy of the original, actually quite the opposite -- it was trying to a different, yet loyal follow up.

In some sequels that method never works, but in this one it did. Hostel: Part II isn't as fresh as the original, but it's a solid Horror Sequel and an impressive follow up to the original.

6/10