The Wrong Turn franchise ironically took a wrong turn after the first two movies, and the series really exhausted its less-than-exciting concept. Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings introduces more uninteresting cannon fodder but moves away from the woodland setting to an abandoned asylum in the middle of a snow storm. With all the antagonistic cannibals killed off in the first three movies, Wrong Turn 4 became a prequel in order to bring them back. Despite going back to the cannibal family’s origins, the movie does not return to the franchise’s roots. It’s over-sexualised and gruesome, everything you come to expect from a Wrong Turn sequel. However, the kills are its one saving grace, but you have to wait right until the movie’s climax to see the one that makes it worth its runtime.
The ‘Wrong Turn’ Franchise Lived Up to Its Name
The Wrong Turn franchise has never been critically acclaimed — the first two movies have a charm to them, and are fun popcorn slashers. However, as the movies progressed, the focus was shifted away from plot and character and placed much more importance on the kill sequences. The fourth movie takes place in a sanatorium, which a flashback shows was once home to the cannibal family years ago. A group of teens are on their way to meet their friend but a snowstorm forces them to stop at the abandoned sanatorium. Once inside, the cannibals jeopardize their only means of escape and the cat-and-mouse that everyone is waiting for ensues.
The cast of characters is what you come to expect from a direct-to-video slasher. They are one-dimensional and lack any emotional depth. The only character who is worth rooting for, Daniel (Dean Armstrong), is consistently teased by his friends, and then receives one of the most brutal fates about halfway through the runtime when the cannibals cut off pieces of his body whilst he is alive. After he succumbs to his injuries, you are watching the movie for shock value, to see how far they push it with the death sequences. It is formulaic, it is lazy, and it is absolutely perfect for fans of the series.
This ‘Wrong Kill’ is Totally Unexpected
However, if you stick it out all the way to the end of Wrong Turn 4, you are treated to the one death scene that makes the whole runtime worth it. The movie takes place throughout the night, so when the final two characters, Kenia (Jenny Pudavick) and Sara (Tenika Davis) make it until the morning and steal one of the snowmobiles, it seems their road to safety is plain sailing. However, whilst driving off into the sunset, happy end credits music playing, they drive straight into a razor wire trap which decapitates them both. It is completely unexpected, particularly for a franchise that feels so obvious in its structure.
This kill represents everything that makes Wrong Turn the guiltiest of pleasures. It blends humor and shock in a way that only this series could. There is an immediate cut to a lingering shot of their obviously prosthetic heads flying through the air in the stark daylight before hitting the snow with a thud. The brightness of the red blood aggressively contrasting the white sheet of snow is so jolting considering the darkness of the rest of the way. The camera then shifts to a totally still wide shot of the landscape with the only moving object being the snowmobile continuing to drive as Kenia’s lifeless body flops off and then Sara’s.
The death works because it lands its humor and shock. The whole sequence is so ridiculous and exaggerated but also surprisingly heartbreaking. Knowing these characters have seen all their friends brutally butchered and were so close to safety is gut-wrenching. It isn’t the goriest death of the movie by a long shot; in fact, the pair probably got one of the quickest deaths of the whole franchise. Yet, there is something about the unexpectedness of the fake-out ending that really elevates this kill. It is bold and surprising, relying on shock value as opposed to gratuitous violence, which feels fresh in a largely over-exhausted and forgotten franchise. It makes the whole movie worth the watch, and it is a brutal note to end on.
- Release Date
- October 17, 2011
- Director
- Declan O’Brien
- Cast
- Jennifer Pudavick , Tenika Davis , Terra Vnesa , Kristen Harris , Kaitlyn Leeb , Dean Armstrong , Ali Tataryn , Victor Zinck Jr. , Samantha Kendrick , Sean Skene , Dan Skene , Arne MacPherson
- Runtime
- 94 minutes
Wrong Turn 4 is available to rent on Apple TV+
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