‘Wrong Turn 2: Dead End’ – A Grisly Inbred Horror Romp

Wrong Turn 2: Dead Ahead is the faster, meaner inbred brother to the original Wrong Turn. It is a happy little romp through cannibal land with a cast of relative unknowns to take us along for the ride. Gorier, uglier and more perverted than the first, it’s one of those films that you just know is going to be pretty hard to top.

The story this time revolves around six people participating in a Survivor-type television show called Ultimate Survivalist, led by former retired Marine Colonel Dale Murphy (Henry Rollins). Well, before you can say ‘Game show contestants sure is good eatin’, the six become the victims of the local inbred mutant piglets and their cannibalistic eating’ habits. Who will survive and what will be left of them? Wait a minute, where have I heard that before?

Cranking up the backwoods mayhem, 2007’s ‘Wrong Turn 2: Dead End’ out-gores its predecessor while introducing a new batch of unlucky travelers to the Three Fingers clan. This time, contestants in a reality show competition become trapped and picked off by the grotesque mountain men. Lean, mean, and brimming with blood, it’s an all-you-can-eat buffet of gruesome carnage.

Hardened former Marine Dale Murphy leads a group of reality show archetypes into the wilds of West Virginia, unaware it’s home to mutant cannibals. Outmatched by their lethal surroundings, the team finds itself stalked through the forest before being captured for the sinister clan’s feast.

Director Joe Lynch pulls no punches, unleashing ferocious (and darkly funny) kills like a mutant slashing a victim’s face off onto a barbed-wire fence. Body parts are hacked off, skulls split open, and corpses devoured. ‘Dead End’ fully embraces its horror roots, saturating every frame with gore.

While character development is nonexistent, a game cast adds gusto – especially heavy metal icon Henry Rollins as the take-charge survival expert. Erica Leerhsen brings grit as troubled war photographer Nina.

Yes, there are times when WT2 seems a bit like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It’s especially evident in the inbred dinner scene. All they needed was Grandpa trying to hit Sally in the head with a hammer. But, I digress. Wrong Turn 2 is a pretty good little horror film on its own merit. Besides Rollins, the cast includes Kimberly Caldwell and Erica Leershsen, who was a co-star in the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (there’s your connection, folks.) The directing is tight and the gore is good.

With its sadistic killers, creative deaths, and bleak outlook, ‘Dead End’ captures the primal spirit of unrelenting backwoods horror. This wrong turn leads straight to a gory good time. What more can you expect from a pseudo-Texas Chainsaw Massacre inbred mutant piglet clone?

Trivia

Henry Rollins was the first official cast member announced.

Director Joe Lynch edited his own teaser trailer in March of 2007 with music from composer Bear McCreary and released it exclusively to DreadCentral.com after being disappointed with the first teaser FOX released a month before.

The opening scene with Kimberly Caldwell was originally supposed to involve Eliza Dushku playing herself in a cameo.