Editor's Note: This was originally published for FANGORIA on October 24, 2003, and we're proud to share it as part of The Gingold Files.
Of all the horror films given significant release this year, Wrong Turn is the only one to have received a unanimous positive response in Fango reader letters and e-mails. While the film is, in my opinion, not quite a classic (the script is too simplistic and predictable for that; see my original review here), it’s easy to see what the fans responded to: Under Rob Schmidt’s direction, it’s lean and mean, with a serious approach, a number of good jolts—including one that remains this year’s best seat-jumper—and no distracting frills or humor. Sadly, of all the films that harked back to the no-nonsense ’70s style recently, Wrong Turn was by far the biggest box-office disappointment, in part because Fox dumped the movie theatrically at the beginning of the crowded summer with minimal advertising.
So it would be nice to report that the studio has given the movie its due on the new DVD release and provided enough extra value to attract fresh attention to it, much in the way it did with the underviewed-in-theaters Joy Ride. Sadly, such is not the case. And while we’re making comparisons, Fox somehow managed to squeeze a full-day’s-viewing worth of extras onto one side of the Joy Ride disc; was there a good reason to split Wrong Turn’s skimpier offerings onto two sides? Could it be that Fox wanted to draw attention to the fullscreen transfer that’s included on one side, and will likely be ignored by 99 percent of those watching?
Certainly, the 1.85:1 version presented here is sterling. The lush woods and putrescent villains’ cabin are rich with color and deep, scary blacks, and the image is razor-sharp and free of flaws. The Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround envelops viewers in the forest setting where its deformed mountain men dwell, and gooses them with sharp aural jolts. Those who missed the movie in theaters will find a fine substitute in putting this transfer up on a good home theater system and enjoying its atmosphere and swift pace.
Given the brief running time, you might expect a substantial amount of footage in the disc’s deleted-scenes section, but all it contains is a slight extension of Eliza Dushku and Desmond Harrington’s behind-the-waterfall exchange that ends with the pair getting it on, a variation on Lindy Booth’s murder with a smidge more gore and dailies of that killing. There’s a similar underwhelming feeling to the four brief featurettes, including a basic EPK, a video shout-out to Dushku and a celebration of producer/FX wizard Stan Winston that allows him to toot his own awards-laden horn. The best of these is a segment focusing specifically on the special makeups and gore of Wrong Turn, which allows a peek at how prosthetics and CGI were married to create the most shocking moments. A still/poster gallery offers only a handful of images, though I did especially like the promo artwork that spells out the movie’s title in a monster’s teeth.
With three contributors—Schmidt, Dushku and Harrington—on the audio commentary, you could reasonably expect that it would fill in all the gaps left by the rest of the package, but it only partially fulfills that goal. There is a decent amount of good information here and the trio are clearly enjoying themselves, but there are too many gaps of silence, subjects brought up and not followed through on (like the fact that necrophilia was an element of the original script, but got excised along the way) and simple repetition (Schmidt brings up the ’70s influence a lot). Dushku waxes enthusiastic about all the stuntwork her role required, and Harrington, though he plays the film’s most straight and steadfast part, contributes the most comic relief. His best line comes early, as he explains why his character accompanies Dushku’s into the forest: “That’s my motivation: She’s hot. I’ll follow her.”
