Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings continues the tradition of crappy direct-to-video flicks that were made on the cheap using unknown actors and a been-there-done-that story. This entry into the franchise is unfortunately on par with the third movie which in itself wasn’t very good either. That said, I’m sure some hardcore horror fans will find some value in this.
Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings (2011)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Horror
Fox | Unrated – 93 min. – $29.99 | October 25, 2011
MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Declan O’Brien
Writer(s): Alan McElroy (characters); Declan O’Brien (written by)
Cast: Jenny Pudavick, Tenika Davis, Kaitlyn Wong, Terra Vnesa
DISC INFO:
Features: Commentary, Featurettes, Deleted Scenes, Music Video, DVD Copy
Number of Discs: 2
Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 1.78
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A
THE MOVIE – 1.5/5
The fourth — YES FOURTH — movie in the Wrong Turn series opens in 1973 at a sanatorium tucked away deep in the West Virginian forest where inbred patients are held and examined. We are introduced to the lead doctor as he takes a new physiatrist on a tour of the facilities. He also shows off the crazies they have locked up including our friendly inbred serial killers and cannibals Three Finger, Saw-Tooth and One-Eye who, while they don’t speak English, are really smart and extremely dangerous and using a hair pin they nabbed off the physiatrist after pulling her back through the bars (if they’re so dangerous, why bars?!?) they manage to escape after picking the lock. When the other sickies go berserk, the one and only guard just walks on in to be attacked and killed. And in another bonehead move, the facility has one button that opens all the cells so they use the button to unleash hell upon the hospital and the orderlies and doctors working. The head doc of course gets the brunt of the cruelty before going into the credits.
Then we flash forward to 2003 at some mundane college where we are introduced to a bunch of one-dimensional students: Douchebag, Two Lesbians (one African American), a Buzzkill, an Asian chick (got to get all nationalities in there), a couple others who really were bland and forgettable. The point is they are fresh meat… In any case, the group of 7 (if my math is correct) has planned a trip to a cabin deep in the woods on snow mobiles but quickly get lost taking, get this, a WRONG TURN! With a blizzard coming upon them, they don’t have time to go back and come across the now abandoned sanatorium to seek shelter. Inside, they decide to check the place out with Douchebag pulling a prank on one of the girls which means he will be the first to go. Fast forward after some pointless and less than enthralling scenes, they soon discover they are not alone when the three inbred men have returned with their latest supper (one of the students’ pals who was already at the cabin). Now the race is on to survive until morning to get out of dodge, though that doesn’t work out as the inbred fellas have working knowledge of snowmobiles and manage to take the spark plugs out of each and every one of them. Now the students are stranded and the cannibals are getting hungry.
Like its predecessors that came before, Wrong Turn 4 doesn’t exactly break new ground in the horror genre. In fact, save for the settings, inside a sanatorium instead of the woods or a cabin, there’s nothing here to differentiate this sequel from the others, heck I don’t know the difference when comparing to other craptacular direct-to-video horror releases. No doubt it’s brutal and the crew probably went through gallons of red-dyed corn syrup but I actually want a little more from these horror films. How about something actually scary than merely gross?
This addition to the franchise was directed by Declan O’Brien who helmed Wrong Turn 3: Dead End (which in itself wasn’t very good) as well as the terrible SyFy flicks, Cyclops and Rock Monster, but this go around O’Brien also had a hand in writing the screenplay, solo in fact, and while he may be a capable director, his screenwriting skills weren’t up to task. Listen, I don’t mind going back to the tried and true horror formula of having multiple characters played by unknown actors plugged to be victims, but give the viewer something more and don’t treat them like as idiots.
Now, with all due respect to the cast, I had to look up some of these names and not a single one I would consider a veteran though a couple appeared in some capacity in the Saw movies. Otherwise, this is a plethora of unknowns which really isn’t a big surprise as obviously they decided to spend the budget on blood and make-up and get some unknowns, three of which willing to get naked, to fulfill the body count. With only a couple of exceptions, they did an alright job with what they were given but I don’t see a rising star in this group (although a couple of the actresses are cute).
Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings is just another direct-to-video release that offers nothing new to the genre and only revisits the same old plotline and characters we’ve seen before. Personally, except for the first movie, I never found Saw-Tooth, One-Eye or Three Finger that scary. Sure, they got scary make-up on but I mainly find them to be a nuisance than a threat. Given what transpired in this addition, which apparently is a prequel (another reason the film isn’t scary as we know the outcome), we’ll be seeing more of them so long as these sequels continue to sell.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.5/5
This release comes with a glossy slip cover and a DVD Copy which contains all the features.
Audio Commentary – Writer/Director Declan O’Brien – along with the behind-the-scenes producer – provides a good and informative commentary track going over the abandoned hospital they shot at, the casting, make-up effects and other little elements about filmmaking.
Director’s Die-aries (7:37; HD) – In this short featurette, O’Brien uses a handheld camera to interview the cast and crew on location in the freezing cold. It’s nothing special nor does it provide much insight but you can see that they at least got along.
Making Another Wrong Turn (12:36; HD) explains why this movie needed to be made and that is to tell the origins of our three inbred brothers. What they don’t say is the reason isn’t just for storytelling but to squeeze as much money out of the franchise as possible. But seriously, it’s an OK behind-the-scenes featurette that shows how they went about doing some of the kills and the tight schedule (less than three weeks).
Lifestyles of the Sick and Infamous (5:13; HD) talks about the building – a real abandoned mental institution – they shot in and the possibilities that it was haunted or at the very least really spooky.
Wrong Turn 4 Music Video (3:24; HD) – You can check out the video for the song used during the film’s end credits. Admittedly I don’t have great taste in music but the song, amazingly called ‘Wrong Turn’, wasn’t bad.
Deleted Scenes (18:14; SD) – Here are a few scenes that didn’t make the cut and frankly, none of them were necessary, or at the very least redundant, and only would’ve bogged down the film even further.
Previews – Martha Marcy May Marlene
VIDEO – 3.75/5
Fox has released Wrong Turn 4 with a nice looking 1080p HD transfer. The 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio looks alright on the small screen but I’m wondering if it was shot digitally because I saw no signs of either film grain or noise which makes for a very clean and decently detailed video. Black levels were good but I did notice some blocking during those darker scenes. The color balance, when there is any since most of the film takes place at night or in the dark, is pretty good never looking oversaturated.
AUDIO – 3.25/5
The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track isn’t anything special, though I guess adequate for a movie like this. The highest range it got was when the victims began screaming (for several minutes) almost nonstop or the roar of a drilling tool, otherwise it’s low key where not a whole lot goes on during the rear channels.
OVERALL – 2.5/5
Overall, Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings continues the tradition of crappy direct-to-video flicks that were made on the cheap using unknown actors and a been-there-done-that story. This entry into the franchise is unfortunately on par with the third movie which in itself wasn’t very good either. That said, I’m sure some hardcore horror fans will find some value in this but for me, I like at least a try at character development so I can care about what happens to these people rather than seeing them used as mere meat for the killer’s amusements.
Brian Oliver, The Movieman
Published: 10/23/2011
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2.