It's been a few years since I saw the original WRONG TURN and it's a film I don't remember much about: it was okay, middling in fact, entertaining in places and completely derivative. Its sequel is a different beast entirely, as the filmmakers do away with any attempts at menace in favour of making an all-out gore fest. Indeed, WRONG TURN 2 is one of the goriest movies I've seen in recent years, a film packed full of brutal and grotesque deaths, all brought to life by the latest extreme special effects. From the opening kill, in which a woman is split in half with an axe, you know exactly what you're in for with this one.

I admit to a certain fondness for these psychos-in-the-woods type films, even if the genre has been definitely overpopulated in recent years (SHROOMS, SEVERANCE, WILDERNESS, MANHUNT, EDEN LAKE and in particular BACKWOODS, which copies this film no end). The scripts are never up to much, but I love woodland scenery and it's easy to direct decent chase scenes when your characters are running through the trees or hiding out in the bushes. Here, the villains are a group of mutant redneck types, and the main characters are involved in some kind of reality TV series which quickly turns deadly. The characters are a mix of jocks and bimbos, all of them clichéd in the extreme, although kudos to the scriptwriter for not killing off the black guy first like in most of these. The only person of interest is Henry Rollins as the tough instructor who becomes a Rambo-like hero figure in the second half.

All of the female cast members are good looking and the producers convince one starlet to strip off midway through for a lakeside sex scene, but for the most part the emphasis is on the gore and you end up waiting for the next death. People are shot with arrows, get axes through their heads, are slashed with machetes and a meat grinder is involved in the final few scenes so expect blood and entrails to be liberally sprayed around. It may not be high art, but this straight-to-video effort knows what it is: a gory, sometimes fun B-movie that manages to entertain despite the many flaws.

This movie sequel was made because the first in the series was a hit. In this one, once again we meet the mutant, redneck cannibals who live in the sticks and wait with growling stomachs for the next bunch of kids to stumble into their rustic hell-hole. The mutant clan is a little larger in this version, including some mutant horny chicks, and their backwater shanty comes complete with assorted grisly machines and sundry horrors. Into this mix we add Henry Rollins as a misfit marine hired to lead a reality-based TV show and its several amateur entrants into a backwoods survival game. Among this group are the obligatory obnoxious elements, a few babes with repulsive personalities, and one or two heroic types. Maybe this sounds good to you so far, but the plot is so poorly developed that the movie quickly becomes a just another slasher/gore fest which manages to sustain very little tension. Too bad, it was not a bad idea for a sequel, but the writers butchered this flick. Watch it only if you're bored or addicted to the genre.

In Greenbrier Back Country, West Virginia, the retired military Dale Murphy (Henry Rollins) is hosting a tough survivor show where the winner takes US$ 100,000.00. The proposal of the reality show is to survive in the woods in the most adverse conditions, following predetermined rules. Sooner the contestants find that they are really fighting to survive against a strong, sadistic and violent cannibalistic family with the appearance of monsters. Further, Colonel Dale discloses that many years ago, an abandoned pulp mill released chemical wastes on the creek, killing the animals and transforming the descendants of a local family in deformed mutants. Without animals to hunt or fish to catch, the next generation chases travelers to feed themselves.

"Wrong Turn 2: Dead End" has an unoriginal story that I have seen many times, and seems to be a replay of parts of many other movies, like for example "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", "The Hills Have Eyes", "Timber Falls", "Wrong Turn" plus breasts of a sexy girl and a collection of clichés of the genre. However, this film is surprisingly good, having more gore and originality in the deaths than the usual; and works, hooking the attention of the viewer until the very last scene. The death of Kimberly Caldwell in the beginning gives a great introduction of how bloody this film is. When I see this type of movie, I try to guess what will happen to the potential victims, if they will survive or die, and the gore resolution of this movie is good. The make-up and the special effects are impressive. In my opinion, fans of the genre will not be disappointed with this film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Floresta do Mal" ("Forest of the Evil")