Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines (2012)

Before we begin, here is my review for Wrong Turn.
And Wrong Turn 2: Dead End.
And Wrong Turn 3: Left For Dead.
And, of course, Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings.

The Wrong Turn franchise has proven, surprisingly enough, to be a consistently enjoyable series of movies. Each film takes the standard killer hillbilly horror archetype and just has fun with it, which makes for something hard to hate, even when standards slip below par.

This instalment has writer-director Declan O'Brien back in the main role, a man who may have made a mis-step with the third movie, but has shown how suited he is to the series since he started working from his own scripts.

The plot is as slight as it is illogical and enjoyable. A bunch of young folk turn up to enjoy the Mountain Man festival in West Virginian one Halloween and end up getting busted by the local Sheriff (Camilla Arfwedson). That would be bad enough, but they also end up being targeted by some killer cannibals. Their chances of survival may improve if the leader of these particular mountain men (Maynard, played by Doug Bradley) is released from the jail cell alongside their own.

The cast aren't too bad. Arfwedson is a little weak as the Sheriff, the group of youngsters (including Simon Ginty, Oliver Hoare, Paul Luebke, Roxanne McKee and Amy Lennox) all do enough to get by and Bradley has a lot of fun in his best role in some years, from the few that I've seen anyway. The script gets slightly carried away when it comes to his ramblings, but that's forgivable.
With a cast of disposable characters, the setting of a small town in which everyone not involved in the main story disappears within the first 20 minutes and gory set-pieces, this is a movie that puts fun ahead of everything else. Some of the deaths are quick, standard fatalities, but some are truly memorable, either due to nastiness or inventiveness or both.

If handled properly, I see no reason why this franchise can't squeeze out an extra one or two instalments. Who knew that all these Wrong Turns would make something right?

6/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing, and ALL of the links you need are here - https://linktr.ee/raidersofthepodcast
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share 

F AKA The Expelled (2010)

Written and directed by Johannes Roberts, F (released in America as The Expelled), is a low-key horror movie that springboards from a "hot button" social issue and develops into something surprisingly memorable and chilling. One of a number of "hoodie horror" movies released in recent years, this stands out from the pack thanks to the execution of the material.

David Schofield (who, to me, will always be THAT dart player from An American Werewolf In London) plays a teacher, Mr. Anderson, who ends up being assaulted in his own classroom by a pupil. Moving forward to almost a year later and Mr. Anderson is a broken man. He's separated from his wife, scared of every shadow, barely keeping his job and only able to force his daughter (Eliza Bennett) to spend time with him by giving her detention. His paranoia means that nobody takes him seriously when, one evening, he starts to suspect that the school is being targeted by some particularly menacing kids.

Roberts may have created a lean, effective script but it's what he does with the material while bringing it to life from the page that shows his strengths as a director. The camerawork is smooth, with a number of scares created subtly in the background of the shot, and the score becomes more and more haunting and downright spooky as the horror of the situation becomes clear to those caught up in it.

Schofield is as great as you'd expect him to be, but the supporting cast all do pretty solid work alongside him. Bennett is stuck with being a slightly annoying teenager, but the character has good grounds for her rebellious behaviour and the whole stroppy act doesn't feel overdone. Emma Cleasby, Ruth Gemmell, Finlay Robertson, Max Fowler et al do just fine. The only person who struggles is Roxanne McKee, not through any fault of her own. McKee seems to be onscreen as a visual aid, not that I'm complaining too much, but her character - a very pretty P.E. teacher who spends time after the standard school day working out some more before hitting the showers - is the least believable of the lot.

Choosing not to spoonfeed viewers, F instead decides to leave certain elements unexplained, preferring to leave people with plenty to think about after the end credits roll. Some people won't like that. They'll want more backstory and more answers. I really appreciated it, and think that it's this non-conformist approach that takes F up a grade (no pun intended).

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/F-Blu-ray-David-Schofield/dp/B004EMRZQ2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1379439004&sr=8-3&keywords=F