Why So Blu?

Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines (Blu-ray Review)

The backwoods of West Virginia are deeper, darker and deadlier than ever in this all-new, unrated chapter of Wrong Turn! The cutting-edge terror continues when a small town hosts the legendary Mountain Man Festival on Halloween where crowds of costumed partygoers gather for a wild night of music and mischief. But a killer celebration soon gives way to a blood-soaked feeding frenzy when an inbred family of hillbilly cannibals trick and treat themselves to a group of visiting college students who are just dying for a good time.  Let us see what Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines has to offer. I guess the fifth time’s the charm, right?

Film 

Yep, nearly 10 years later we now have a fifth entry into (I’m assuming it’s a successful franchise since they keep making more of them) the twisted hillbilly-mutant-serial killer series known as Wrong Turn. Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines takes place in those rugged West Virginia mountains where our disgusting inbred killers lay in wait for some young, stupid, and tasty college students to go off of the wrong trail and get snatched up.

This time our mutants, affectionately known as: Three-Finger, Saw-Tooth and One-Eye, are led by their fellow (normal looking) kinfolk, Maynard (Doug Bradley), who acts like more of a guardian than an actual blood relative. I have not seen any of the other Wrong Turn flicks, with the exception of part one. That one had Eliza Dushku. This one has no one worthy of note except for Mr. Bradley. This is nothing more than a paycheck film for Mr. Bradley and I have no problem with that. You gotta make a living even if the material is horrid.

The college friends are here for a sort of Burning man type festival, but they quickly get sidetracked by the hillbillies that are trying to kill them. I know films like this try to cut budgets every way they can, but wait until you see the almost plastic looking “town” that is supposed to be some sort of small West Virgina enclave. It’s so laughably bad that it may actually reel you in. It didn’t work on me, because I just laughed and pointed at how bad and fake it looked. All of the actors were horrible and Doug Bradley was the only saving grace in the entire thing. Oh, and three of the kills were actually pretty cool, but everything else sucked on such a monumental level.

Honestly, I don’t know why I’m still typing. Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines is impossible to spin into a positive light. There’s nothing redeeming about the film at all and it’s *SPOILERS AHEAD* set up for a sixth entry. Seriously?

Avoid like the plague, I beg you.

Video 

Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines is presented in 1080p, 1.78:1 widescreen. The film was obviously shot in digital and it shows. Contrast levels tend to fluctuate as do black levels. Those same black levels crush here and there, as well. Color separation is Wrong Turn’s strong suit as the colors do looks bold and vibrant. Sharpness levels also hold up nicely. Not the best video presentation I’ve seen, but it’s still quite above average. This flick needs all the help it can get.

Audio 

Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines is presented in DTS-HD MA 5.1. This is one movie that the lossless surround sound does a bit of justice on all things considered. Dialogue is centered, screams, muffled tones and all can and will be heard in all their fake (bad acting) glory. Gunshots benefit the most in addition to the sounds that come from the kills throughout the picture. The surround channels are pretty still and that’s not a good thing since the film is supposedly a backwoods feature. It’s pretty dead back there in the surround field. One can consider this a “front driven” sonic experience.

Extras 

A few short extras are scattered about. We get a compilation of the various kills committed by our hillbilly serial killers, an audio commentary by writer-director Declan O’Brien, director’s diaries, and a day in the life of some really boring actors. You’d think that the audio commentary would be the strongest of the supplements, but it’s not. O’Brien is very self-congratulatory. There really is no need to be, because Wrong Turn 5 is anything but high art.

• A Day in the Death
• Hillbilly Kills
• Director’s Die-aries
• Audio Commentary by Declan O’Brien

Summary  

A few kills and Doug Bradley yelling out curses every other word aside, Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines is a complete waste of time. The Blu-ray offers up some decent tech-specs and few lackluster extras. Don’t waste your time. I already did it for you. You’re welcome. 😉

 

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