Why are filmmakers so afraid of hillbillies? This is a question I ask myself from time-to-time when the latest "backwoods" horror movie crosses my path. I'd like to blame Deliverance for this trend, and I'm sure John Boorman's great 1972 film is partly responsible, but I just think people are scared shitless of inbred, moonshine swilling Deep South stereotypes.

As one of these movies, Wrong Turn was a surprisingly fun little time and a gritty throwback to 70's horror to boot. It was certainly one of the biggest surprises of 2003, so it was with much goodwill that I welcomed the announcement of a direct-to-video sequel. And the fact it was to co-star rocker-turned-actor-turned-spoken word performer Henry Rollins helped seal the deal as well.

Under the tutelage of first time director Joe Lynch, Wrong Turn 2: Dead End does manage to be an entertaining follow-up that brings a whole batch of gore to the table (the opening death alone is almost worth the price of admission) and sports some good humour but stumbles a little by not sticking to the simpleness of the original instead deciding to try and out-do the first movie's grue and going all Texas Chain Saw Massacre in the finale.

Like I mentioned, the opening scene sets things on their bloody path as a wannabe Diva actress headed to the set of a reality show ends-up having her tongue bitten out and being cleaved in two when she hits one of the local, quite murderous, rednecks with her car. It's a Hell of a kick-off but almost sets the bar too high for the effects artists involved to emulate - it's the best demise here even though multiple characters die in heavy sprays of the red stuff.

Looks like our now dead blonde bimbo was going to be a contestant on a new show entitled "Ultimate Survivalist" which is to have a group of six contestants making their way through the thick forest and pretending that they are the last survivors of a deadly apocalypse. The show is hosted by retired Marine Dale Murphy (Rollins) and Lynch uses mock footage from the show to introduce us to his characters. It's your typical group of stereotypes but the script by writing partners Turi Meyer and Al Septien does get points for developing them better than they have any real right to be. It also helps that most of them are quite likable so that when Lynch's well-staged deaths start up in earnest we actually feel something other than "sweet, that guy's guts are hanging out!!"

The rest of Wrong Turn 2 consists of our contestants being knocked-off by a deformed, inbred family while Rollins' character goes all Rambo (he even paints his face camouflage and brings along a bow and arrows) to hunt down our hillbilly killers. Things eventually end-up at an abandoned paper mill and a weak set-up for another sequel.

As far as DTV sequels go, this really isn't that bad. Fans of the original should enjoy all the morbidity and entrails on display and it's obvious that director Lynch has enough appreciation for the genre to keep things rolling at a brisk pace and delivering exactly what you'd expect. Meyer and Septien's script does stumble in the last third (a little less emulation of Tobe Hooper's 1974 classic Texas Chain Saw, please) but this is definitely better than their previous horror contributions of Candyman: Day Of The Dead, Sleepstalker, and Leprechaun 2.

On the acting front the casting of Rollins as a rough and ready soldier is probably the most perfect idea in ages. He definitely looks the part and has the attitude; it's just too bad his acting slips into silliness once he goes all Stallone on us. Steve Braun brings just the right amount of sarcasm and sexism as skateboarder contestant Jonesy while Eric Leerhsen (who also appeared in 2003's Texas Chainsaw remake) emotes well enough in the lead role. However, the best performances here come from out mutant clan. Headed by Ken Kirzinger (he played our favourite hockey masked killer in Jason Vs. Freddy) as "Pa" our heavily made-up actors have to portray psychotic emotion without using any dialogue and they do it extremely well.

If you're looking for an evening of blood-drenched fun, check out Wrong Turn 2. The original is still a better time but at least the follow-up doesn't insult that movie's fans and doesn't wimp out on the gore side of things.

Review based on unrated version. (Chris Hartley, 12/9/07)

Directed By: Joe Lynch.
Written By: Turi Meyer, Al Septien.

Starring: Eric Leerhsen, Henry Rollins, Texas Battle, Aleksa Palladino.