Wrong Turn
Encyclopedia
Wrong Turn is a 2003 American slasher
horror film
, directed by Rob Schmidt
, and written by Alan B. McElroy
. The film was shot in Hamilton, Ontario
, Canada
and stars Desmond Harrington
and Eliza Dushku
. It is the first film in the Wrong Turn franchise which has since grown to include three direct-to-DVD/Blu-ray
sequels.
before being pulled back into the woods by an unseen force.
Chris Flynn (Desmond Harrington), a medical student, is driving through the mountains of West Virginia on his way to a job interview. Due to a chemical spill in the road ahead, he is forced to take a different route. He stops at an old rundown gas station and meets an old man. The old man is not helpful, but Chris views a map detailing another possible route that heads straight towards the city to which he needed to go. Chris decides to take the road and as he is driving he crashes into a Range Rover stranded 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
). Jessie finds a piece of barbed wire in the woods that was tied to a tree across the road to puncture their tires. Jessie, Carly, and Scott go to the woods to find help. Chris joins them, while Evan and Francine stay with the cars. After Evan and Francine partake in a round of oral sex, Evan starts to fix their car, before hearing a strange noise and goes to investigate.
After a while, Francine notices that he is missing, and she goes into the woods to look for him. As Francine ventures further into the woods, she finds his sneaker, and his severed ear. As Francine stumbles back, a figure wraps barbed wire around her mouth, tearing it open and killing her. As Chris, Jessie, Carly and Scott try to find help, they find an isolated cabin. They go into the cabin and discover miscellaneous objects, and human body parts. They are horrified and try to escape, but they hear the occupants coming back and are forced to hide. Three cannibalistic
mountain men, all whom are extremely disfigured, enter the cabin and bring in Francine's dead body. Chris, Jessie, Carly and Scott silently watch in horror, as her body is brutally butchered and messily eaten.
As the cannibals fall asleep, the friends silently escape, however, "Saw-Tooth" (Gary Robbins
) awakes and alerts the other cannibals and begins to chase them through the forest. The group climbs up to a nearby clearing with many cars, which they realize are the cars of the cannibals' victims. Chris makes a diversion and is shot in the leg. Scott saves him by using himself as a decoy, allowing Jessie and Carly to steal one of the cannibals' trucks. Chris gets into the truck, and they drive down a path close by trying to find Scott. Carly sees Scott in the forest. Scott starts to make his way to the truck, but is shot three times in the back with arrows. The arrow almost hits the others, as they drive and escape fast. The cannibals pick up Scott's dead body and take it back to their cabin.
Chris, Jessie and Carly hit a dead end in the road and have to continue on foot. They find an old watchtower and begin to climb up, and find a radio and use it to call for help, but do not get a response. Later they see the cannibals, who are armed with torches and reaching the foot of the watchtower. The radio starts responding to their call, alerting the cannibals. Carly tries to make an urgent response but is interrupted when Three Finger (Julian Richings
) tries to climb into the watchtower. He tries to get through the panel on the floor of the tower but is stopped by Chris. The cannibals then set the tower on fire. Chris, Carly and Jessie escape by jumping out of the window into a nearby tree. They begin to climb up, but Three-Finger starts to climb up a tree near them. Chris and Jessie begin to climb higher as Carly stands on a branch, too afraid to climb further. Chris and Jessie make it to another tree, but Three-Finger sneaks up behind Carly and decapitates her, as Chris and Jessie watch in horror. They decide to avenge Carly and trick Three-Finger to get hit by a branch and fall out of the tree, giving the last two survivors a chance to escape. They escape from the cannibals and hide in a cave near a waterfall until the next morning, where Chris comforts Jessie. Just as they find a road out of the woods, the mountain men find them and push Chris down the hill and capture Jessie and take her 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 killed when an arrow shot from the woods hits him in the head. Chris attempts to drive away in the car, but can not find the key, so instead hitches a ride underneath the car as the cannibal drives it back to the cabin.
When the cannibals arrive at the cabin, Jessie is tied to a bed and gagged with a belt, begging for help. Outside, the cannibal in the police truck arrives, with Chris still in tow. After the cannibal goes inside with the sheriff's body, Chris gets down from the bottom of the truck. Back inside, as Jessie is about to be killed, the front of the cabin is smashed through, by Chris, who is now driving the truck. He drives straight into the cabin and smashes into "One-Eye" (Ted Clark). When Chris unties Jessie, he is attacked by Saw-Tooth. Jessie shoots Saw-Tooth in the back of the neck with his own bow and arrow. She and Chris also fight Three-Finger, and finish him off by hitting him with an axe. Chris and Jessie notice that the cannibals are still alive, and they quickly go outside. Chris has only one shotgun shell left, which he shoots at the truck, blowing up the cabin with the cannibals still inside. 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 to the cannibals' cabin, so no one will ever go into the woods again. Chris gets back into the truck, as Jessie drives down the road, and the credits roll.
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, comes up behind the deputy. The deputy turns to see a shadowy figure holding an axe, and then Three-Finger's face is visible as he nods and hollers. The scene fades to black and his insane laughter is heard, as the credits continue to roll.
and the other containing popular music
.
Commercial Release Edition
. The film also has a poor rating of 32 on the Metacritic
review website.
, Crystal Lowe
, Henry Rollins
, and Texas Battle
, and was 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 direct Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings, with shooting beginning February, 2011 in Winnipeg
. The film serves as a prequel to the previous three and was released direct-to-DVD/Blu-ray on October 17, 2011.
Slasher film
A slasher film is a type of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or axe...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
, directed by Rob Schmidt
Rob Schmidt
Rob Schmidt is an American film director and writer. His film credits include Wrong Turn and Crime and Punishment in Suburbia. He also created a pilot called American Town for Twentieth Century Fox...
, and written by Alan B. McElroy
Alan B. McElroy
Alan B. McElroy is an American writer, film director and producer.McElroy was born in Cleveland, Ohio and is a graduate of Miami University with a degree in Psychology.He is the creator of Wrong Turn.- External links :...
. The film was shot in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and stars Desmond Harrington
Desmond Harrington
Desmond Harrington is an American actor. He is known for movies such as The Hole, Wrong Turn and Ghost Ship. He joined the cast of the Showtime series Dexter in its third season as Det. Joseph Quinn.-Life and career:...
and Eliza Dushku
Eliza Dushku
Eliza Patricia Dushku is an American actress known for her television roles, including recurring appearances as Faith on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff series Angel. She starred in two Fox series, Tru Calling and Dollhouse...
. It is the first film in the Wrong Turn franchise which has since grown to include three direct-to-DVD/Blu-ray
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
sequels.
Plot
Two college students, Halley Smith (Yvonne Gaudry) and Rich Stoker (Joel Harris), are rock climbing in the West Virginia Forest. Rich reaches the top, while Halley continues to climb. After Halley begins to struggle, she notices Rich's bloodied hand at the top of the cliff before his body is thrown off the cliff. Someone begins to pull Halley up the cliff by her climbing rope. She cuts it, making her fall. She attempts to escape to her car but trips over barbed wireBarbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
before being pulled back into the woods by an unseen force.
Chris Flynn (Desmond Harrington), a medical student, is driving through the mountains of West Virginia on his way to a job interview. Due to a chemical spill in the road ahead, he is forced to take a different route. He stops at an old rundown gas station and meets an old man. The old man is not helpful, but Chris views a map detailing another possible route that heads straight towards the city to which he needed to go. Chris decides to take the road and as he is driving he crashes into a Range Rover stranded in the middle of the road. The car belongs to a group of friends on a hiking trip: Jessie Burlingame (Eliza Dushku
Eliza Dushku
Eliza Patricia Dushku is an American actress known for her television roles, including recurring appearances as Faith on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff series Angel. She starred in two Fox series, Tru Calling and Dollhouse...
), Carly (Emmanuelle Chriqui
Emmanuelle Chriqui
Emmanuelle Sophie Anne Chriqui is a Canadian film and television actress. She is perhaps best known for her role on HBO's Entourage as Sloan McQuewick, as well as the love interest of Adam Sandler in the movie You Don't Mess with the Zohan...
), her fiancé Scott (Jeremy Sisto
Jeremy Sisto
Jeremy Merton Sisto is an American actor. Sisto has had recurring roles as Billy Chenowith on the HBO series Six Feet Under and Detective Cyrus Lupo on Law & Order on television and also starred in the films Jesus, Clueless and Thirteen.-Early life:Sisto was born in Grass Valley, California, the...
), and a couple, Evan and Francine (Kevin Zegers
Kevin Zegers
Kevin Joseph Zegers is a Canadian actor and model. He is best known for his leading roles as Josh Framm in the Air Bud series, as well as playing Damien Dalgaard in the Gossip Girl series and the protagonist in Rock Mafia's The Big Bang...
and Lindy Booth
Lindy Booth
Lindy Booth is a Canadian actress who currently resides in Los Angeles, California. She's best known for playing Riley Grant on the Disney Channel series The Famous Jett Jackson and Claudia on Relic Hunter. She also portrayed A.J...
). Jessie finds a piece of barbed wire in the woods that was tied to a tree across the road to puncture their tires. Jessie, Carly, and Scott go to the woods to find help. Chris joins them, while Evan and Francine stay with the cars. After Evan and Francine partake in a round of oral sex, Evan starts to fix their car, before hearing a strange noise and goes to investigate.
After a while, Francine notices that he is missing, and she goes into the woods to look for him. As Francine ventures further into the woods, she finds his sneaker, and his severed ear. As Francine stumbles back, a figure wraps barbed wire around her mouth, tearing it open and killing her. As Chris, Jessie, Carly and Scott try to find help, they find an isolated cabin. They go into the cabin and discover miscellaneous objects, and human body parts. They are horrified and try to escape, but they hear the occupants coming back and are forced to hide. Three cannibalistic
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
mountain men, all whom are extremely disfigured, enter the cabin and bring in Francine's dead body. Chris, Jessie, Carly and Scott silently watch in horror, as her body is brutally butchered and messily eaten.
As the cannibals fall asleep, the friends silently escape, however, "Saw-Tooth" (Gary Robbins
Gary Robbins
Garry Robbins, also known as the Tallest man in Canada, is a Canadian actor and professional wrestler under the ring names of "The Paul Bunyan of the North" and "Canadian Giant". He was a member of the group known as the Tag team of Axe and Smash...
) awakes and alerts the other cannibals and begins to chase them through the forest. The group climbs up to a nearby clearing with many cars, which they realize are the cars of the cannibals' victims. Chris makes a diversion and is shot in the leg. Scott saves him by using himself as a decoy, allowing Jessie and Carly to steal one of the cannibals' trucks. Chris gets into the truck, and they drive down a path close by trying to find Scott. Carly sees Scott in the forest. Scott starts to make his way to the truck, but is shot three times in the back with arrows. The arrow almost hits the others, as they drive and escape fast. The cannibals pick up Scott's dead body and take it back to their cabin.
Chris, Jessie and Carly hit a dead end in the road and have to continue on foot. They find an old watchtower and begin to climb up, and find a radio and use it to call for help, but do not get a response. Later they see the cannibals, who are armed with torches and reaching the foot of the watchtower. The radio starts responding to their call, alerting the cannibals. Carly tries to make an urgent response but is interrupted when Three Finger (Julian Richings
Julian Richings
Julian Richings is an English-born Canadian actor. He appeared in over 50 Canadian films and 20 separate television series.-Life and career:...
) tries to climb into the watchtower. He tries to get through the panel on the floor of the tower but is stopped by Chris. The cannibals then set the tower on fire. Chris, Carly and Jessie escape by jumping out of the window into a nearby tree. They begin to climb up, but Three-Finger starts to climb up a tree near them. Chris and Jessie begin to climb higher as Carly stands on a branch, too afraid to climb further. Chris and Jessie make it to another tree, but Three-Finger sneaks up behind Carly and decapitates her, as Chris and Jessie watch in horror. They decide to avenge Carly and trick Three-Finger to get hit by a branch and fall out of the tree, giving the last two survivors a chance to escape. They escape from the cannibals and hide in a cave near a waterfall until the next morning, where Chris comforts Jessie. Just as they find a road out of the woods, the mountain men find them and push Chris down the hill and capture Jessie and take her 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 killed when an arrow shot from the woods hits him in the head. Chris attempts to drive away in the car, but can not find the key, so instead hitches a ride underneath the car as the cannibal drives it back to the cabin.
When the cannibals arrive at the cabin, Jessie is tied to a bed and gagged with a belt, begging for help. Outside, the cannibal in the police truck arrives, with Chris still in tow. After the cannibal goes inside with the sheriff's body, Chris gets down from the bottom of the truck. Back inside, as Jessie is about to be killed, the front of the cabin is smashed through, by Chris, who is now driving the truck. He drives straight into the cabin and smashes into "One-Eye" (Ted Clark). When Chris unties Jessie, he is attacked by Saw-Tooth. Jessie shoots Saw-Tooth in the back of the neck with his own bow and arrow. She and Chris also fight Three-Finger, and finish him off by hitting him with an axe. Chris and Jessie notice that the cannibals are still alive, and they quickly go outside. Chris has only one shotgun shell left, which he shoots at the truck, blowing up the cabin with the cannibals still inside. 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 to the cannibals' cabin, so no one will ever go into the woods again. Chris gets back into the truck, as Jessie drives down the road, and the credits roll.
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, comes up behind the deputy. The deputy turns to see a shadowy figure holding an axe, and then Three-Finger's face is visible as he nods and hollers. The scene fades to black and his insane laughter is heard, as the credits continue to roll.
Cast
- Desmond HarringtonDesmond HarringtonDesmond Harrington is an American actor. He is known for movies such as The Hole, Wrong Turn and Ghost Ship. He joined the cast of the Showtime series Dexter in its third season as Det. Joseph Quinn.-Life and career:...
as Chris Flynn - Eliza DushkuEliza DushkuEliza Patricia Dushku is an American actress known for her television roles, including recurring appearances as Faith on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff series Angel. She starred in two Fox series, Tru Calling and Dollhouse...
as Jessie Burlingame - Emmanuelle ChriquiEmmanuelle ChriquiEmmanuelle Sophie Anne Chriqui is a Canadian film and television actress. She is perhaps best known for her role on HBO's Entourage as Sloan McQuewick, as well as the love interest of Adam Sandler in the movie You Don't Mess with the Zohan...
as Carly - Jeremy SistoJeremy SistoJeremy Merton Sisto is an American actor. Sisto has had recurring roles as Billy Chenowith on the HBO series Six Feet Under and Detective Cyrus Lupo on Law & Order on television and also starred in the films Jesus, Clueless and Thirteen.-Early life:Sisto was born in Grass Valley, California, the...
as Scott - Kevin ZegersKevin ZegersKevin Joseph Zegers is a Canadian actor and model. He is best known for his leading roles as Josh Framm in the Air Bud series, as well as playing Damien Dalgaard in the Gossip Girl series and the protagonist in Rock Mafia's The Big Bang...
as Evan - Lindy BoothLindy BoothLindy Booth is a Canadian actress who currently resides in Los Angeles, California. She's best known for playing Riley Grant on the Disney Channel series The Famous Jett Jackson and Claudia on Relic Hunter. She also portrayed A.J...
as Francine - Julian RichingsJulian RichingsJulian Richings is an English-born Canadian actor. He appeared in over 50 Canadian films and 20 separate television series.-Life and career:...
as Three Finger - Gary RobbinsGary RobbinsGarry Robbins, also known as the Tallest man in Canada, is a Canadian actor and professional wrestler under the ring names of "The Paul Bunyan of the North" and "Canadian Giant". He was a member of the group known as the Tag team of Axe and Smash...
as Saw–Tooth - Ted Clark as One–Eye
- Yvonne Gaudry as Halley Smith
- Joel Harris as Richard "Rich" Stoker
- David HubandDavid HubandDavid Huband , also known as Dave Huband, is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles on Cinderella Man as Ford Bond and in the films Cube Zero, Dirty Pictures and The Lookout.-Career:...
as Trooper - Wayne RobsonWayne RobsonWayne Robson was a Canadian television, film and stage actor best known for playing the part of Mike Hamar, an ex-convict and sometime thief, on the Canadian sitcom The Red Green Show from 1993 to 2006, as well as in the 2002 film Duct Tape Forever.Robson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia...
as Old Man - James Downing as Trucker
Soundtrack
Two soundtracks were released; one containing the original film scoreFilm score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
and the other containing popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
.
Track listings
The Score- "Dark Forest"
- "Wrong Turn Title"
- "Mountain Men"
- "Cabin in the Woods"
- "Adventure Begins"
- "Mountain Men at Home"
- "Francine Dies"
- "Jessie"
- "Scott Becomes Prey"
- "Bear Trap"
- "Escape from Cabin"
- "Jessie Taken Hostage"
- "Fire in the Watchtower"
- "Grim Discoveries"
- "Are We Safe?"
- "They Got Carly"
- "Killing Mountain Men"
- "We Are Alive"
- "Three-Finger Is Back"
Commercial Release Edition
- "In Stance" - Eris
- "Bloody Fingers" - Jet Black Summer
- "Every Famous Last Word" - Miracle of 86
- "Never Said Anything" - The Belles
- "Why Would I Want to Die?" - GrandaddyGrandaddyGrandaddy was an American indie rock band, formed in 1992 in Modesto, California by singer, guitarist, and keyboardist Jason Lytle, bassist Kevin Garcia, and drummer Aaron Burtch. Guitarist Jim Fairchild and keyboardist Tim Dryden later joined the band in 1995...
- "Haunted" - King Black Acid
- "Three Murders" - Deadman
- "Ex" - Tara King Theory
- "Birthday" - Simple
- "Even the Scars Forget the Wound" - Gruvis MaltGruvis MaltGrüvis Malt was a six piece band founded in Providence, Rhode Island in 1995. Grüvis Malt has released a total of seven full-length albums, one of which was released under Lakeshore Entertainment subsidiary Lakeshore Records, and three EPs...
- "He's a Killer" - DJ SwampDJ SwampRonald K. Keys Jr. aka DJ Swamp is an American hip hop DJ/turntablist and hip hop producer. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. In 1996, he took the title of US DMC Champion, his first year entering the tournament. Swamp toured with Beck for four years and later broke away into a solo career with...
- "Bring the Pain"/"Multiple Incisions" - CandiriaCandiriaCandiria are an American band from Brooklyn, New York. They blend various styles of music, including heavy metal, hardcore, jazz, hip hop and ambient. Candiria have often dubbed their sound "urban fusion".- History :...
- " If Only" - Queens of The Stone Age
Reception
Wrong Turn received negative reviews, with a current 40% positive rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. The film also has a poor rating of 32 on the Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
review website.
Sequels
After the commercial success of the DVD release, the film was followed by the 2007 direct-to-DVD sequel Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, which stars Erica LeerhsenErica Leerhsen
Erica Lei Leerhsen is an American actress. She is best known for her lead roles in the horror films Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Wrong Turn 2. She is often referred to as a modern day scream queen...
, Crystal Lowe
Crystal Lowe
Crystal Lowe is a Canadian-born actress best known for her scream queen roles in the horror films Final Destination 3, Black Christmas, and Wrong Turn 2: Dead End.-Early life:...
, Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, writer, comedian, publisher, actor, and radio DJ....
, and Texas Battle
Texas Battle
Texas Quency Battle is an American film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Marcus Forrester on the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.-Early life:...
, and was 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
Declan O'Brien
Declan O'Brien is President of Utopia Pictures & Television as well as a writer and producer whose most recent work was writing, along with the help of Jeff Hare and Kevin Moore, for the Sci Fi Pictures original film, Savage Planet.- Biography :...
directed Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead. The film was released direct-to-DVD/Blu-ray on October 20, 2009.
O'Brien returned to direct Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings, with shooting beginning February, 2011 in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
. The film serves as a prequel to the previous three and was released direct-to-DVD/Blu-ray on October 17, 2011.