WRONG TURN 4: BLOODY BEGINNINGS
(unrated)
MOVIE: *** (out of 5)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: ***1/2 (out of 5)
BY KEVIN CARR
It was recently pointed out to me by a friend online that most direct-to-video films “suck balls.” I did not completely agree, and I offered a handful of suggestions that didn’t, but many times those kind of movies are the exception to the rule. Still, I can have a lot of fun with a direct-to-video film, especially if it’s a horror sequel of some sort and it knows its place.
“Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings” is one of those films that I have a special place in my heart for. First, it’s not trampling on any classic. After all, the first “Wrong Turn” was a forgettable teen horror flick that I enjoyed but didn’t reinvent the genre. It’s not like the woefully inept sequels to “Hellraiser” that pollute DVD shelves.
And the other two sequels to “Wrong Turn” had a certain level of enjoyability, particularly the catharsis provided by the second film for someone like me who loathes reality TV. Where “Wrong Turn 3” tried to have deeper characters, “Wrong Turn 4” tossed its hands up and went to the well of eternal horror movie gimmicks. The story is simple… a group of attractive college students go on a snowmobile adventure in 2003 only to stumble upon the abandoned mental institution which was overrun by inbred cannibals in the 70s.
If you take “Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings” at its face value as a horror movie, it’s not that great. There’s no empathy for any of the characters because they exist as nothing more than “tall blond dude,” “mousy loner girl with big boobs,” “hot black lesbian” or “hot Asian lesbian.” When the killing starts, it’s hard to keep track of anyone because they really don’t stand out beyond their breasts in tight sweaters.
However, if you look at “Wrong Turn 4” as a tongue-in-cheek nod to the horror genre, a send-up of this without going for actual jokes or spoofs, then it’s a bloody good time.
Before the opening credits roll, all the titillating elements of a horror movie jump out. There’s a violent and gory opening scene. There’s an extended sex scene, not just with the heterosexual couple, but of the lipstick lesbians as well. Hell, even when the characters head off on the snowmobiles, one of them says, “He’s making a wrong turn. I just know it.” Ahhhhhh… Peter Griffin would be proud.
The desperately shallow characters get just enough exposition that you can fool yourself into believing the writing was meant to show depth, and while the acting is atrocious, this just makes the killing sequences even funnier.
I can’t call “Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings” high art, but I can say I thought it was a riot.
The Blu-ray includes a feature commentary, director “die-aries,” the behind-the-scenes “Making Another Wrong Turn,” the featurette “Lifestyles of the Sick and Infamous,” a music video and some deleted scenes. The package also contains a DVD version of the film.