WRONG TURN (aka THE FOUNDATION) (2021) - streaming on Showtime
I had been vaguely aware that they had turned the 2003 Wrong Turn into a franchise, but had no idea that this 2020 "reboot" was the seventh(!) entry in the series. I think I saw bits & pieces of WT 2: Dead End on the SyFy Channel late one night, but all I remember about it is that Henry Rollins was in it.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Wrong Turn concept, it basically took The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes, mashed the key elements of both together, moved the actions to West Virginia, and BAM! called it a new movie. The original film was enjoyable, if predictable and trope/cliche ridden fare. It certainly didn't warrant 6 sequels, though.
Despite the incessant hyperbole displayed by most horror enthusiasts online, I decided to give this effort a go. I am not sure why they decided to use the Wrong Turn name (although the script here is penned by Alan B. McElroy, who wrote the first film and is returning to the franchise after 18 years) as this film shares very little in common with its predecessors. Sure, an annoying group of spoiled city kids get lost in the woods and all hell breaks loose, but everything else is just enough different that it really should have been a standalone film; we didn't really need a reboot of a mediocre franchise is what I'm saying.
Unnecessary attachment to the "Wrong Turn" title aside, this is an entertaining, if derivative bit of action horror. As for changes, they are subtle: the action has been moved from West Virginia to Virginia and our protagonists get lost on the Appalachian Trail rather than on some backwoods road. The antagonists have changed a bit, too, but to talk about them would spoil the new slants to the familiar story. Speaking of which, the plot ticks off all the requisite tropes and cliches, starting with annoying and mostly unlikeable characters (except for Matthew Modine's father character; I love how he is becoming a horror icon in this part of his career!), creepy locals, and the like.
The acting is decent enough and the pacing, while starting off slow, ends up being pretty quick. The director knows when to amp things up and the action sequences are pretty intense, especially the opening act tumble down a hillside and the third act bravura finale. The "reveal"/twist to the original Wrong Turn is a little tepid, a little confusing, and meant to make some sort of socio-political statement, but what exactly, I'm not sure.
This film definitely falls squarely into the B-movie category and as such it provides some chills and thrills, but overall isn't terribly spectacular (though that hill tumble sequence and the finale are pretty sweet and there's a fair bit of solid practical gore sprinkled throughout). Sadly, the specter of the horrible Wrong Turn films (2-6) hangs over this endeavor. Personally, I woulda called it Appalachian Terror or just The Foundation. But what do I know?
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