Wrong Turn (2003)

Wrong Turn is a horror film that thematically hearkens back to a number of groundbreaking terror films of the early to mid-'70s, such as Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, and in particular, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, with which it shares not only a similar narrative conceit (seemingly normal kids are drawn into the way-scary orbit of a family of beastly "others") but also several set pieces (such as the carnage-strewn house and the creepy automotive graveyard). Unfortunately, director Rob Schmidt draws equally upon '90s teen horror in his approach, casting his leads with photogenically aerobicized teens who appear to have wandered away from some Dawson's Creek knockoff and who spout dialogue that's catty or stupid more often than it's enlightening or functional (especially whiny bride-to-be Emmanuelle Chriqui, whose performance practically guarantees the audience will be pleading for her painful demise). But director Schmidt is also a canny visual stylist who's sharp enough to keep his mood tense and his shocks inventive in the second and third acts, and if Wrong Turn doesn't hold a candle to vintage Tobe Hooper or Wes Craven for sheer disorienting horror (due at least in part to its more polished surfaces), it's significantly more powerful than 90 percent of what's come down the pike in the wake of Scream and it's self-consciously "clever" brethren, and the best moments pack a genuine wallop. Definitely worth a look for genre fans, though you may not want to stick around for the coda, which seems to serve no purpose other than opening the door for a possible sequel. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide