Wrong Turn 2 Review Country : USA Year: 2007 Genre: Horror/Cannibals Format: DVD Running Time: 93 minutes Distributor: Twentieth Century-Fox Reality TV takes a turn for the macabre as a group of "Survivor"-like contestants become the target of a hideously deformed clan of backwoods cannibals.... Credits Directed by Joe Lynch. Written by Turi Meyer and Al Septien. Starring Henry Rollins, Texas Battle, Erica Leerhsen, Kimberly Caldwell, Daniella Alonso, Steve Braun, Crystal Lowe and Ken Kirzinger. Director Joe Lynch breathes a little Blair Witch/reality TV life into the latest horror franchise, Wrong Turn 2: Dead End features mutant, backwoods hillbillies going Ginsu on a bunch of reality show contestants. Believe it or not, he does it better than the original. Dale Murphy (Henry Rollins) is hosting and producing his own reality TV show called "The Ultimate Survivalist: The Apocalypse", with six contestants led by Nina Papas (Erica Leerhsen), who'll be thrown together for six days in a simulated post-apocalyptic wasteland, and the winner will walk away with $100,000. Located in a remote part of West Virginia, the contestants discover that what they are really fighting for is their survival - against a family of hideously deformed inbred cannibals who plan to ruthlessly butcher them all....Who will survive and what will be left of them? Typically, these concept type films die before they live, just based on concept. Halloween: Resurrection, and even the sequel to the Blair Witch died miserable deaths at the box office and were panned by critics and horror fans alike. However, in Wrong Turn 2, this gimmick is put to good use once the bodies start piling up, and the movie suceeds where the others failed -- it's actually scary. After a ton of blood is spilled, director Joe Lynch mixes up the film with genuine scares, witty dialogue -- much of it involving speculations by the reality program contestants' about just what the hell is going on. Lots of running, some very funny moments, some very sick moments, Henry Rollins being the bad ass that he is, and Erica Leerhsen finally gets a turn at being the bad ass 'Ripley' type character that she was born to be. We also get some strong performances from Texas Battle, Daniella Alonso, Steve Braun, and Ken Kirzinger as 'Pa' who brings on the super creep out factor. The direction is slick and Lynch employs the extra cameras well (with goosepimpling results), and he resourcefully taps into the 'closed circuit camera' angle of the plot far better than the other films that have failed miserably at this very same trick. The coolest thing is, Lynch really busted his ass to make this a worthy sequel and not just another slasher flick. The little touches make all the difference to the real horror fans -- from "The Battle Royale" t-shirt to the proper use of the '2' in the opening titles. (a little Evil Dead 2, Friday The 13th, Part 2, and Alien) In closing, Wrong Turn 2: Dead End can be viewed on many levels, with equal satisfaction awaiting those who just want a good story, and to those who demand much more. As with any good horror film, when the closing credits roll, only a portion of the story has been told. Yet the last haunting image leaves a crater-like impression that hopefully the third film only deepens. And by GOD they had better hire Joe Lynch to do it. OFFICIAL MYSPACE PAGE DISCUSS ON OUR FORUMS Review by John Gray, for Pitofhorror.com