I saw this first in a theatre in 2003. Dint see any trailer n dint read bah it. The poster was enuff to raise my curiosity. Revisited it recently on a DVD. Seen all its sequels on dvds. Agree its nothing original, v already hav seen many like this n some superior ones like Texas chainsaw. ...., Hills hav.... n many other cannibal/inbred/hillbilly films but this film surprised me. It was really good. There is something very scary about lost in the woods n chased by hillbillies with brutal weapons. The director Schmidt kept the tension very high, constantly reminding us of both the isolation and the fact that civilization isn't that far away. The film has decent suspense, some nice tension when they're hiding in the cabin, a couple of nice jump moments and some really cool deaths one involving barb wire, a great tree-top cat and mouse game and a disturbing scene of desolated junkyard with discarded vehicles, most of which have blood splattered all over them and recognisable belongings spilling out of them, climbing ropes, picnic hampers, shoes, sunglasses, a child's doll. The gore effects are great. Even the chase sequence was tension filled. Some decent cinematography of the mountain side, deep forests n isolated gas stations.

A group of six young people find themselves stranded in the mountains of West Virginia. When four members of the group leave to find either help or a phone they stumble upon a cabin that at first appears to be deserted. But what they find in the cabin proves that it is actually inhabited and not the place they want to be when the owners return home. Just as they are making their exit, a truck pulls to the front of the house and three inbred mountain men enter the house carrying the dead, butchered bodies of their friends with them.

What Works:

• Inbred Hillbillies. Movies with backwoods murderous inbred hillbillies have always fascinated me. Some of my favorite movies (The Hills Have Eyes, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Final Terror, etc.) feature this kind of character. These characters are frightening because you know they're based in reality. There really are people out there who look and, to a lesser extent, act like this. As a bonus, the make-up used on Three Finger, Saw-Tooth, and One-Eye is excellent. It's another argument in favor of traditional quality latex make-up.

• No Jokes. Other than a few bits of comedy that fit within the framework of the plot, Wrong Turn is played straight. Most movies made today with this many horror clichés would turn into one big self-referential jokefest. I'm glad Schmidt avoided going down this road. There is no attempt to go out of the way to create comedy or fill the movie with inappropriate one-liners that only serve to ruin mood and atmosphere.

• Scenes of Violence. I found many of the scenes of violence particularly well done. These inbred hillbillies are brutal and savage. They care not for human life. Their methods of killing are primitive but effective. One of my favorite scenes involves a bow, an arrow, and human eye. Nice!

• It's Not West Virginia. My wife is from West Virginia and I've been there any number of times. I could tell almost immediately that the film wasn't actually made in West Virginia. I wasn't surprised to discover that the actual location was Ontario, Canada. If you're going to film a movie that is set in West Virginia, why not film it in West Virginia? This just bugged me throughout the entire movie.

• Why doesn't Eliza die? With the exception of Eliza Dushku's character, every other victim the inbreeds run across is immediately slaughtered. So why did they (or better yet, why does the script) treat Eliza differently? Why is she spared long enough to be rescued? Obviously I know the answer, but it's an inconsistency in Wrong Turn that I didn't appreciate.

Judging from my other reviews, you would not think that horror films would be my thing, especially very gory ones. Actually aim to have a diverse taste in film, so seeing films from all decades and genres with no bias intended. Plus have seen my fair share of horror franchises where at least one film has been good.

Found myself surprisingly enjoying 'Wrong Turn' when slowly working my way through the films. Despite the mixed to negative critical reception, to me flaws and all it is the best of the 'Wrong Turn' films by quite some way, was less impressed with the sequels. It doesn't get everything completely right, but it is a long way from a wrong turn and is instead a worthwhile one.

'Wrong Turn' is in terms of story simplistic and derivative admittedly. It also has thinly sketched characters, cheesy dialogue and a run-out-of-ideas ending. A longer length would definitely have helped, there were times where the film's duration felt too brief. So those are reasons enough to dislike the film and consider it bad.

However, quite a lot is done right in 'Wrong Turn' as well. It has a slick and atmospheric visual look and has a wonderfully mysterious and creepy setting. The make-up is also well done. One of 'Wrong Turn's' biggest stars is the special effects, which send a chill down the spine in how realistically horrifying they are.

The music score is suitably eerie and Rob Schmidt adeptly pays tribute to 1970s exploitation cinema. While the story may not be perfect in how it's executed, it really does deliver on the creepy mood, the gruesome shocks and also the fun. There is a lot of gore here but mostly it is not used in a cheap way, there are times where it is not needed but generally the mood isn't compromised.

Despite the lack of development for the characters, the acting is not bad at all. Desmond Harrington, Eliza Dushku and Emmanuelle Chriqui in fact give pretty ballsy performances.

In conclusion, worthwhile. 6/10 Bethany Cox