I might’ve mentioned this before. When I was fourteen or fifteen years old, Stan Winston was my hero. In-between his hosting gig on AMC’s efx and the Stan Winston’s Creatures toyline, Winston was the monster maker I admired the most. In addition to launching his own toy company, Stan also began producing movies. “Wrong Turn” was his first theatrically released production. A throwback to eighties slasher flicks a few years before such things would come back into vogue, I was super excited for the movie. I even convinced a girl to see it with me in theaters, on my first ever real date. Back then, I was disappointed, the movie falling short of the awesome picture I imagined in my brain. Thirteen years later, I was curious if my opinion changed any.
Chris is traveling through the West Virginian country side, on his way to a new job as a medical school. Along the way, he takes a turn – you might even say a wrong turn – down a spooky back road. His car collides with another vehicle, broken down on the road. The other travelers – composed of couples Scott and Carly, Evan and Francine, and fifth wheel Jessie – had their tires busted by barbwire left on the road. Soon, the group discovers that a trio of deformed and deprived mountain men hunt these woods for human flesh to feast on. And Chris and his new friends are on the menu.
Despite the entirely predictable script, “Wrong Turn” is entertaining. Rob Schmit’s direction is tight enough that he creates several effective jump scares. One worthwhile sequence has the fleeing teens hiding in a watch tower. This builds towards an amusing moment, when a radio blares to life at the worst time. Schmit also tosses axes, sometimes in a nightmare, sometimes in reality, at the audience’s face. Though predictable, the moments devoted to characters hiding inches away from the monsters generate some minor suspense. A dive into some trees is ridiculous but the following chase scene is decently executed. In truth, “Wrong Turn’s” predictability is more likely to endear it to slasher fans then annoy. We appreciate a good cliché every now and then.
Another reason “Wrong Turn” disappointed me back in 2003 was because I expected it to be gorier. The blood does splatter. Arrows are shot through chests and heads. Perhaps the most graphic death befalls poor Lindy Booth, who is garotted with barb wire. A conceptually cool kill, involving an axe to the head in a perilous place, is undermined by some not great CGI effects. Despite this, “Wrong Turn” is more conservative then you’d expect from a movie about inbred cannibal mutants. Considering Stan Winston’s influence, the trio of brothers are barely human. They squawk in a bizarre language, one of them cackling. With their bumpy skin, exaggerated teeth and jaws, and mutated limbs, they resemble demons more then men. There’s very little of the familial interplay of superior savage south shockers like “Texas Chain Saw Massacre” or “The Devil’s Rejects.” However, just as special effects, the three mountain men are cool looking creatures.
The 1985 Stephen King-penned anthology “Cat’s Eye” contained three stories. But that wasn’t originally the plan. Initially, “Cat’s Eye” was to include a fourth segment, “Sometimes They Come Back,” based on another story from “Night Shift.” However, producer Dino De Laurentiis decided the tale had more potential. “Sometimes They Come Back” was developed as a stand alone project. The adaptation would premiere on television, on CBS, in 1991. Aside from the obvious Stephen King connection, there’s another reason I’m talking about the movie. It’s the fourth feature film of Tom McLoughlin, who previously made likable horror riffs like “One Dark Night” and “Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives.” “Sometimes They Come Back,” said to say, does not live up to that standard.
Jim Norman does not have pleasant memories of his childhood home town. When he was nine years old, his older brother was murdered by a group of juvenile delinquents. Immediately afterwards, the greasers were killed when their car was struck by a train. The events still haunts him. Twenty years later, he’s returned home, to take a job as a teacher. Not long afterwards, one of his students is killed in a hit-and-run. The boy is replaced by a new student with an uncanny resemblance to one of the men who killed Jim’s brother, unaged and unaffected by changing fashion senses. This keeps happening, until all of the murderous hoods are present in Norman’s class. They’ve return and they want revenge.
“Sometimes They Come Back” shows little of the inventive eye McLoughlin displayed in his prior horror films. With this being a television production, there’s none of the creative dismemberment of “Jason Lives!” Yet even the low-fi spookiness of “One Dark Night” is outside of the feature’s reach. The ghostly delinquents appearing in Norman’s class is repetitive, the film drawing too much attention to it. Other attempts at creating a creepy mood – like an ominous pair of shoes hanging from a wire or the distant cry of a train’s horn – come off as overly cheesy. McLoughlin occasionally gets in a good jump scare, like when the gang’s roadster leaps over a hill. Or when a peaceful tracking shot through the family house is interrupted by the psychobillies’ intrusion. But the best thing about “Sometimes They Come Back” are the zombie versions of the undead greasers, decent special effects the movie utilizes well.
King’s original short story has a far more sinister ending. The film version of “Sometimes They Come Back,” instead, goes for naked sentimentality. Changes like this mark “Sometimes They Come Back” as an uninspired production. Despite that, the television movie must’ve been popular on video, as it spawned two direct-to-VHS sequels. The first, “Sometimes They Come Back… Again” from 1996, at least maintained the idea of a dead criminal returning for revenge. 1998’s “Sometimes They Come Back… For More” tossed together demons, zombies, and a “Thing” inspired Antarctic setting, divorcing itself totally from the source material. I’d be really surprised if Stephen King knew about those two. I’d be surprised if he even bothered watching the original “Sometimes They Come Back,” as there’s not much to it. [5/10]
Considering the series’ tendency towards horror clichés and tales of ironic revenge, I’m really surprised “Tales from the Crypt” didn’t adapt the Monkey’s Paw story until its final season. “Last Respects” revolves around three sisters, who own their late father’s magic/novelty shop. Two of the sisters want to sell the shop, while the third wants to respect dad’s wishes and keep the business open. While cleaning out old stock, they stumble upon a magical Monkey’s Paw. Like always, the talisman grants the sisters’ wish but in the most gruesome way possible.
The most notable thing about “Last Respects” is who was behind the camera. Freddie Francis, famous cinematographer who directed many British horror flicks in the sixties and seventies, directed this one. Francis, of course, also directed Amicus’ original “Tales from the Crypt” movie. It’s a nice bit of trivia but “Last Respects” is not Francis’ best work. The two evil sisters are obnoxious. The elderly relatives they take care of are grotesque, as the old woman messily gulps pureed meat. The acting is fairly over-the-top. Script wise, anybody familiar with both “The Monkey’s Paw” and “Tales from the Crypt” can see the twists coming. Yes, there’s a betrayal and a murder, motivated by greed. Yes, an avenging zombie appears at the end. Francis’ direction is colorful and there’s a handful of fun moments but “Last Respects” is otherwise forgettable. [5/10]
Every supernatural themed show has to cover Bigfoot eventually and usually sooner rather than later. The obligatory Bigfoot episode of “Lost Tapes” at least has a good reason for its story to be recorded. The episode follows a park ranger who is documenting black bear poaching in the Pacific Northwest. Naturally, she has set cameras up all over the forest and frequently records herself. After finding and deactivating many traps left around the woods, she attracts the ire of a poacher. Meanwhile, the ranger is also capturing glimpses of Bigfoot on her camera. While the poacher is hostile, the sasquatch appears more benevolent.
“Bigfoot” is one of the best episodes of “Lost Tapes.” Which means it still has some problems. Yes, there’s some tedious footage of people running through the forests, the camera shaking like crazy. The actor playing the poacher makes the character as ridiculously sleazy as possible, which includes spying on the park ranger with his own camera. Yet making Bigfoot a kindly protector gives the episode some novelty value. If nothing else, it gets some decent mileage out of the spooky sasquatch cries. The conclusion happens entirely off-screen, allowing the audience’s imagination to fill in the violence. Meredith Thomas is decent in the lead role. The pseudo-educational segments are actually interesting, as they spend more time discussing the realities of poaching then the possible existence of Bigfoot. It’s still awfully silly stuff but this was definitely one of the series’ prouder moments. [7/10]
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