By JOEL HARLEY
Christian Francis
Echo On Publications
WRONG TURN holds a special place in my heart. The first adult-rated horror film I ever saw on the big screen, it kicked off a love of the hillbilly horror subgenre that still pervades today. Directed by Rob Schmidt and released in 2003, its story is a work of perfect simplicity.
A car crash on a remote country road. A small cast of pretty young things, played by likeable actors. Three horribly deformed, inbred cannibals brought to life by special effects guru Stan Winston. Savage kills and inventive set pieces. A slick, mean-spirited version of Deliverance for teenagers, it didn’t seek to reinvent the wheel as much as put it to very good use.
Over two decades later, author Christian Francis of Echo on Publications has emerged with a brand-new adaptation of the film’s screenplay. Francis has become a prolific figure in the field of film novelizations lately, publishing his takes on The Descent, Dog House and Maniac Cop trilogy. Opening with an introduction from original screenwriter Alan B. McElroy, it quickly becomes clear that this isn’t the WRONG TURN that made it to screen.
Doing away with the film’s pre-credits sequence entirely, we meet Thomas Avon (Chris Flynn in the film, played with square-jawed sincerity by Desmond Harrington) on the road through the backwaters of West Virginia. Not much changes with the name switch. He’s still got places to be, even if he’s no longer on his way to a job interview. Crucially, though, he remains a massive doofus whose every action only succeeds in making things worse for just about everyone.
Also doing away with the gas station scene (now a greasy spoon), the book resumes course – a car crash in the woods, and an encounter with plucky final girl Jessie Burlingame and her doomed friends. Here’s where the book and screenplay deviate most sharply from the film. Carly, Scott, Francine and Evan are noticeably more mature, if not older. Much of Jessie’s characterization is swapped as well, making Carly a more formidable figure and Jessie much less so. It’s hard to imagine Buffy star Eliza Dushku playing this Jessie. Emmanuelle Chriqui probably could have handled a harsher Carly, though – and it’s a shame that the film doesn’t keep the throughline of her shitting on Avon/Flynn throughout. What hasn’t changed is Avon and Jessie’s palpable horniness, even if it comes across as much dorkier. Just try imagining Dushku delivering a line like “I’ve got magic in my blood” with a straight face.
Next, the book enters its strongest section as the gang first encounters the cannibals’ cabin in the woods. It’s in this chapter that Francis’s prose sings, exploring every nook and cranny of the hillbillies’ home in horrific detail. The film did it well, but the stench practically emanates from the page in the book, making the discoveries there feel even more distressing. Where Francis’ version of The Descent rushes through its build-up, WRONG TURN luxuriates in that sense of dread.
By the time the story hits the road again, all involved are profoundly changed by what they have witnessed. This includes Francis’ readers who will be blindsided by a show of depravity that the film ultimately balks at.
Not done yet, the book takes another diversion into an ambitious set piece that is absent from the film version. Whether it would have played as well on screen as it does on the page is up for debate. It certainly doesn’t flow quite so smoothly, but it’s in keeping with the franchise’s penchant for mean-spirited violence and explosive action beats.
WRONG TURN is a consistently surprising version of the story, frequently zagging where the film once zigged. Not everything works (be grateful that the alternate ending never saw the light of day), but it’s a treat for loyal fans of the series.
Like the 2003 flick, Christian Francis’ WRONG TURN is brisk, fierce and rough around the edges. While not all its changes are for the better, it’s a fun glimpse at what could have been had the film taken an even bloodier, meaner direction.
WRONG TURN from Echo On Publications is available on May 30.
