text:
Christie Talks With Jon Stewart About Health Care, Springsteen On The Daily Show
Governor Chris Christie was back in the national comedy spotlight talking about superstorm Sandy, Bruce Springsteen and President Obama with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central's Daily Show.
Christie and Stewart, at opposite ends of the political spectrum, agreed on the fact they want to see New Jersey come back from Sandy and want a hug from Bruce Springsteen. Christie said he got a "slow dance" hug from Springsteen back stage at the NBC fundraising concert, who told him they were now friends.
Christie talked his post-storm tours of the shore and his shock at the destruction, saying it wasn't just "millionaire homes on the beach" that were destroyed but the homes of working class people.
Stewart talked about the irony of Christie bashing the President on the campaign trail in the days before Sandy struck New Jersey and then praising him in the days after the storm. "It tells me people have different skill sets at different times," said Christie to laughs from Stewart and his audience.
"He wasn't a leader until you needed leadership," cracked Stewart, suggesting that he may have to set up his own political party because he is "too nice" to the President.
The tone turned serious when Stewart noted that the same day Christie was in Washington looking for money for New Jersey he vetoed the health exchange program for New Jersey that is part of of Obamacare. Stewart joked that maybe Obama would throw some more money towards New Jersey if Christie approved the measure.
Christie says the President understands there are "all kinds of different kinds of issues" and that they will agree on and others that they won't. Christie later explained that he vetoed the measure because he can't get an answer about how much the state exchange will cost.
Stewart asked about how Christie can justify vetoing the measure based on cost but yet wants a billions in relief for New Jersey without knowing exactly how much he needs.
"If you have cancer and you don't have health insurance, that's Hurricane Sandy," said Stewart. Christie countered that people will still have health care, just not from a state-run exchange.
Stewart said that the GOP, if they don't need something, see things like health insurance as an "entitlement." Christie said he is representing all people, Democrats and Republicans in helping New Jersey get back on its feet from Sandy.
Stewart, a Lawrenceville native, ended the interview by suggesting the two go to Delorenzo's restaurant in the Bridesburg section of Trenton and solve the world's problems over a tomato pie.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook
Law enforcement at Brighton Arms in Neptune City


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THURSDAY, Oct. 17 (HealthDay News) -- The use of donor eggs --
whether from family, friends or strangers -- by infertile patients
undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) has risen in the last
decade, and results have been favorable, with an increasing number
of healthy babies born at term.
Researchers evaluated data from the majority of U.S. fertility
centers from 2000 to 2010, tracking the number of good outcomes --
defined for the study as healthy single live births of infants
delivered at term (37 weeks or later) and weighing 5.5 pounds or
"The chance of delivering an infant at term weighing more than 5.5 pounds is becoming more and more common with donor eggs," said study author Dr. Jennifer Kawwass, a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility fellow at Emory University School of Medicine and guest researcher at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Good birth outcomes increased from 18.5 percent to more than 24
percent during the decade, the study found.
The number of donor egg cycles annually increased from nearly
11,000 in 2000 to more than 18,000 in 2010. The proportion of
patients using frozen instead of fresh embryos rose from about 27
percent to more than 40 percent.
Couples electing to have a single embryo transferred rose from
less than 1 percent to more than 14 percent, the researchers noted.
Multiple transfers increase the chances of having twins or other
multiples, which in itself raises the risk of health problems for
each baby.
The study is published online Oct. 17 in the
Journal of the American Medical Associationto coincide with
the release of the research at the joint annual meeting of the
American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the International
Federation of Fertility Societies, held in Boston.
Egg donors can be anonymous or can be family or friends, Kawwass
said. If the donors are compensated, the average fee is about
$6,000, she noted. Donors must first pass psychological and medical
testing. Then, over about two to four weeks, donors receive IVF
ovarian stimulation to produce eggs, and then undergo egg
In the study, Kawwass also found that the average age of donors
(28) and recipients (41) didn't change over time. Recipient age did
not affect birth outcomes.
The study looked at data from 443 clinics, representing 93
percent of all U.S. fertility centers. The data came from the CDC's
National Assisted Reproductive Technology Surveillance System.
Fertility centers are required to report in.
Kawwass said it is difficult to compare the success rate of
patients using donor eggs (24 percent) to that of women not using
donor eggs, because IVF outcomes are categorized by maternal age.
However, previous research by her group found that about 42 percent
of cycles not using donor eggs in 2008 resulted in a good outcome.
But the group includes women of all ages, she said.
In the new research Kawwass also found some downside. Women with
certain causes of infertility -- uterine or tubal factors -- were
less likely to give birth to a healthy baby, and so were black
women. She can't explain ethnic/racial differences in results.
Dr. Evan Myers, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Duke
University School of Medicine, in Durham, N.C., wrote a journal
editorial to accompany the study.
"This study confirms that donor eggs have a high success rate," Myers said. "In some ways it confirms what we already knew. The older you are, the harder it is to get pregnant."
The take-away message for women in IVF treatment, he said, is
this: "If the chances of success with their own embryos are low,
and if they are willing to consider donor eggs, the likelihood is
good they will have a healthy baby."
Among other research that needs to be done, Myers said, is the
effect of ovarian stimulation on donors. Not enough is known about
the effects of donating, he said, especially in women who do it
often and long term.
More information
To learn more about infertility, see the
American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
EBSCO Information Services is fully accredited by URAC. URAC is an independent, nonprofit health care accrediting organization dedicated to promoting health care quality through accreditation, certification and commendation.
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Copyright © EBSCO Information Services. All rights reserved.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The bill also has a wide range of support from all sides of the energy industry, including consumer and environmental groups, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric, as well as many of the state's municipal utilities.
The senator began his persistent effort to establish the 33 percent standard four years ago, and in 2009 his Senate Bill 14 passed both houses but was vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger over what energy contracts would qualify to meet the goal. Last year Simitian's Senate Bill 722 addressed those concerns but it did not pass the Legislature in time.
The current law, also authored by Simitian and passed in 2006, applies only to investor-owned utilities and independent sellers. It set a 2010 deadline for 20 percent use of renewables, a goal utilities expect to exceed this year. It will remain in force until 2020, when SB2X takes effect.
In a press release announcing the signing of the bill, Simitian said the measure will bring in investment dollars, tax revenue and jobs; improve air quality; address climate change; protect rate-payers from price spikes like the one in 2001 by diversifying the state's sources of energy; and allow the country to base its foreign policy on American interests rather than energy needs.
The timing of the legislation is particularly apt, as the price of petroleum continues an unabated upward spiral, while entrepreneurs in the Valley and elsewhere rush to bring the cost of renewable energy down.
Simitian's hard work and persistence on this legislation deserves recognition throughout the state, but particularly here in his district, where the vast majority of citizens are committed to addressing global climate change and many companies are innovating in the field of green technology.
This story contains 371 words.
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text:
24.2009 Loans by Development Bank of American Samoa.Cite as [A.S.C.A. § 24.2009]
(a) The Development Bank of American Samoa may make agricultural crop loans in ac-cordance with the policies prescribed in this chapter, except that collections of loans and interest shall be handled in accordance with the rules applicable to the Bank's funds.
(b) The Director of the Department of Agriculture is authorized to cooperate with the Bank, without reimbursement, in serving any crop loans made by the Bank.History: 1962, PL 7-24.


text:
American Samoa Gov't v. Foma'iCite as [American Samoa Gov't v. Foma'i, 1 A.S.R.2d 61 (Trial Div., 1982)]
AMERICAN SAMOA GOVERNMENT, Plaintiff,
FOMA'I, et al., Defendants.
High Court of American Samoa
Trial Division
CR No. 72-82
CR No. 73-82
CR No. 75-82
CR No. 76-82
CR No. 77-82
CR No. 78-82
CR No. 79-82
December 3, 1982
Provision in American Samoa constitution that requires exclusion of evidence does not entitle Defendant to litigate fourth amendment claim before magistrate as well as trial court.
GARDNER, Chief Justice.
The basis for the motion was that the magistrate erred under Rule 5.1 of the Rules of the Criminal Procedures of American Samoa in refusing to consider defendant's motion to suppress under Fourth Amendment grounds. That section provides: "Objections to the evidence on the ground that it was [1ASR2d62] acquired by unlawful means are not properly made at the preliminary examination. Motion to suppress must be made to the High Court..."
This Rule of course, is simply an adoption of the Federal Rule as set forth in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedures, Rule 5.1. This rule has never ben a subject of a direct attack, but has been approved, albeit obliquely, in a series of cases. See Giordenello v. U.S., 357 U.S. 480;Costello v. U.S., 350 U.S. 359; U.S. v. Blue, 384 U.S. 251.
However; the defendants contend that American Samoa has a peculiar situation which would distinguish it from the Federal Rule since the Exclusionary Rule here exists by constitutional mandate and is not court imposed as in the Federal system.
Section 5 of the American Samoa Revised Constitution, after setting forth the provisions of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides: "Evidence obtained in violation of this section shall not be admitted in any court." As indicated, it is the defendants' contention that since the Federal Exclusionary Rule is court mandated and the American Samoa Rule is expressly set forth "in the constitution, the approval by the courts of the Federal Rule has no application and that under this constitutional mandate, they were entitled to press their Fourth Amendment claims in the District Court. They contend that the District Court is a"court," and therefore they have a right under this section to present and litigate their Fourth Amendment contentions in that court as well as in this court. Thus, they demand two bites of the apple, one before the magistrate and one before the High Court. While this procedure is approved by statute in some state jurisdictions, we decline to apply it to this jurisdiction under some kind of constitutional interpretation ploy. Insofar as this argument is concerned, we are singularly unimpressed and equally unpersuaded.
A constitution is not a document etched in steel. It is a flexible, vital living document drafted for the operation and perpetuation of government and able to accommodate itself to changes in the lives of those who must live under it. A constitution is designed to meet new conditions that may arise in the progress of a community. It must be interpreted in such a flexible way as to bring it in accord with the public interest. Ullman v. U.S., 350 U.S. 422. Such is the history of the United States Constitution. For example:
The first amendment prohibits any abridgment of the freedom "of speech. This is in absolute terms, yet one only has to remember the words of Justice Holmes that that amendment gives no one the right to shout "fire"' in a crowded theater. Additionally, assaultive language and pornography are subject to control in spite of the seemingly absolute language of the amendment.
So too, the right of the people to bear arms (amendment II) is being infringed daily and no one contends that this is a violation of the constitution.
The Fifth Amendment provides that noone shall be held to answer for a serious crime except upon a presentation or indictment of a grand jury. obviously, this seemingly absolute command is nothing of the kind. Perhaps 90 percent of all criminal prosecutions in the United States are by the complaint-preliminary information manner. As a matter of fact, as we all know, there is no such thing as a grand jury in American Samoa and if Article 5 were to be applied, literally, a criminal could never be tried here. (See American Samoa v.Willis, 1 ASR 675.)
We point out these rather obvious items because they reflect the concept that a constitution, to exist throughout the years and centuries, [1ASR2d63] must be able to adapt itself to contemporary situations and must be interpreted in a flexible way for the reasonably efficient operation of the community.
The fact that this language appears in this constitution as contrasted with the existence of the Exclusionary Rule by court fiat is, in our opinion, immaterial.
The United States Supreme Court has long since held that the Exclusionary Rule need not cover all proceedings or all persons. "As with any remedial device, the application of the Rule has ben restricted to those areas where its remedial objectives are thought most efficaciously served." U.S. v. Calandra, 94 S.Ct. 613, 620. In dealing with grand jury proceedings, the court held that an extension of the Exclusionary Rule would seriously impede the grand jury. "Because the grand jury does not finally adjudicate guilt or innocense, it has traditionally been allowed to pursue its investigative and accusatorial functions unimpeded by the evidentiary and procedural restrictions applicable to a .criminal. Permitting witnesses to invoke the Exclusionary Rule before a grand jury would precipitate adjudications of issues hitherto reserved for trial on the merits and would delay and disrupt grand jury proceedings. Suppression hearings would halt the orderly progress of an investigation and might necessitate extended litigation of issues only tangentially related to the grand jury's primary objective." U.S. v. Calandra, 94 S.Ct. 613, 620. The court went on to explain that while suppression might be an important method of effectuating the Fourth Amendment, it does not follow that the Fourth Amendment requires adoption of every proposal that might deter police misconduct. The court felt that it would be unrealistic to assume that application of the Exclusionary Rule to grand jury proceedings would significantly further the goal of that rule.
Calandra dealt with the grand jury. As far as we are concerned, the rationale of Calandrais equally applicable to preliminary proceedings before a magistrate. We see nothing to be obtained by imposing the Exclusionary Rule on those proceedings. This would do nothing to deter illegal police conduct and would seriously impair the magistrate's ability to carry out his responsibilities in winnowing out needless prosecutions and seeing to it that only those against whom the prosecution could show probable cause be brought to trial.
A magistrate does not sit as a tribunal which is empowered to conduct a trial. The District Court may, as a District Court, conduct trials of misdemeanors and certain civil matters. However, when the District Court Judge becomes a magistrate for the purpose of conducting a preliminary examination, he merely decides whether or not a defendant should be held for trial. Courts have jurisdiction to try cases. A magistrate does not. A magistrate is not a court. Therefore, the word "court" in Section 5 of the American Samoa Revised Constitution does not apply to a magistrate conducting a preliminary examination. A magistrate exercises no trial jurisdiction when conducting a preliminary examination. This is not simply a matter of semantics. It is basic and fundamental. The magistrate, in short, acts as an arm of the High Court in winnowing groundless and needless cases that would otherwise appear before the High Court and ascertains that only those against whom probable cause has been shown should be held for trial. The magistrate acts as a substitute for a constitutionally mandated grand jury. The only distinction is one which inures to the benefit of the defendant inasmuch as he is allowed to cross examine witnesses at a preliminary and is not allowed to do so before a grand jury.
In short, we can find no distinction between the Exclusionary Rule as [1ASR2d64] mandated by the Supreme Court of the United States and that mandated by the Constitution of American Samoa and find no constitutional flaw in Rule 5.1, Criminal Court Rules of American Samoa. Therefore, the motion to dismiss the information will be denied.


text: I do think they could use the sensors to detect earth quakes as an early warning system. If they are sensitive enough to detect ground surface wave propagation, they certainly are equipped to detect sub-surface earth wave energy emissions. If they can be used in this manner described, it could certainly save thousands of lives. Tell me what you think: Merrily McCarthy 916 South Chance Avenue, Fresno, Calif. 93702; #1-702-300-6842 Correct E- mail adress: email@example.com


text:
Who is Top Banana in Sustainable Banana Business?
When it comes to fresh produce, establishing brand recognition is a tricky business. Many commercially grown fruits and vegetables are indistinguishable from one company to the next. Bananas are one standout exception largely thanks to the Chiquita company's groundbreaking ad campaign in the 1960's. The company also has a jump on sustainability marketing, having worked with the Rainforest Alliance since the 1990's. Now there's a new banana vying for attention in that arena: Dole has just announced that it is selling bananas from farms in South America that are certified by the Rainforest Alliance.
Dole and the Rainforest Alliance...
Dole's South American certified farms are located in Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala. The farms meet the Rainforest Alliance's standards for environmental sustainability, but there is much more to the certification program than that. The Alliance uses standards developed through its work coordinating the Sustainable Agriculture Network, a coalition of local organizations that supports social equity and economic well being in addition to environmental protection.
More Sustainability Points for Dole
In the spirit of competition, Dole has stepped sustainability marketing up a notch by using the Internet to create a personal connection between consumers and farmers. Dole Organic's website enables consumers to make an e-visit to the exact farm where their banana was grown, by referencing the farm's code number on the Dole sticker. The website provides information on the farm's certifications, along with photos and a map. It's a creative strategy that reinforces brand recognition by encouraging more consumers to take a closer look at their fruit stickers, while leveraging the company's Alliance certification. Don't be surprised if Chiquita comes up with its own extra layer of consumer engagement.
More Companies Aiming for Rainforest Certification
The Rainforest Alliance's core constituents are the communities of small farmers and local employers who have come to depend on sustainability strategies for their survival, but the organization also recognizes that industry leaders with high name recognition play a critical role in transitioning the global food supply to more sustainable practices. In addition to working with Dole and Chiquita. the Alliance is working with Kraft Coffee and Unilever, which is aiming for 100% sourcing from certified farms for its Lipton teas by 2015. Mars, Inc. also plans to transition to sustainable cocoa.
Article continues: http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/05/top-banana-sustainable-banana-business/


text:
Alisha writes: Mindy….help, please! We are doing tall eiffel vases and want various shades of purple and orange for the centerpieces. We are also doing our own bouquets. I don't know how to mix and match what flowers!
Bouquet Inspiration Photo: Jenn Hopkins Photography | Floral Designer: Rachael Kasie Designs
via The Knot
To recreate and view the floral stems used to in this colorful inspiration bouquet, please click HERE:
- 2 Purple Ranunculus Sprays
- 3 Cymbidium Green Orchids
- 5 Yellow Orange Tulips
- 4 Purple Hydrangea Blooms
- 3 Orange Ranunculus Sprays
- White Lace Ribbon to wrap your bouquet
- 1 Orange Tulip & Ranunculus Bloom for Boutonniere


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Tall Texan rising to the Occasion
Brian Blano / AP
A lot has been written lately in the Tampa Bay community on Rays starting pitcher Jeff Niemann, but most of those humor-based postings have to do with the many different type of animals both alive and cartoonish that have been attributed to the 6′ 9″ pitcher. No one has written about the trails and tribulations that followed this tall Texan and why the Rays had such faith in him in fourth pick in the 2004 draft. Sure he might still get those animal references even after he could hit that magical 15-win plateau that has eluded countless Rays pitchers in the past.
The guy who has been compared to a tall lanky giraffe, the lovable Sesame Street character Big Bird ( minus the yellow skin) might just have more animal references to show for his success by the end of the season. Why not compare him to a phoenix, who rises from the ashes and takes to the sky in victory. That image actually might fit the Texan better than a lot of the other characters associated with him right now.
Success has not always been right at Niemann's feet during his adventure to become the team leader with wins on the Rays staff. There have been times where the dream might have seemed dead and buried, or that to even step onto a Major League ballpark might be a distant dream. People always chat about the positives in a person's climb to the top, but forget to show the perils and the strides made to even finally take that wind-up and throw to the plate for the first time in the MLB. Sometimes the story we see just starts a bit later than when the player actually began their trek.
Sure the Rays thought enough of him in 2004 to gamble their fourth pick that year. Amazingly, the Rice University graduate was the second of three of his teammates selected in the first eight picks of the draft. He was sandwiched between teammates Phillip Humber selected by the NY Mets with the third selection,and Wade Townsend selected eighth by the Baltimore Orioles. Niemann had posted a 28-4 record at Rice and looked like a solid selection for the Rays that season.
His 28-4 record was a bit deceiving to the eye because he lost three of those games in his junior year after coming back from off season arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow. But even in his limited duty that season he went 6-3 with 94 strikeouts in 80 innings. To add insult to injury, he also pulled his groin muscle during this season to complicate his throwing style. And this all followed a sophomore year where he went 17-0 and tied an NCAA record for the most wins in an undefeated season. He was a first team All-American, on the NCAA National Championship team with the Owls.
All this added success followed a high school career where no MLB team even though enough of his baseball skills to draft him in the later rounds. He went totally undrafted and did not garner any interest from the MLB community. So off he went to Rice and in the summer of his sophomore season he elected to play in the renowned Cape Cod League for Harwich Mariners where he went 2-0 and did not allow an earned run in 19.1 innings of work that summer.
He was even asked to join USA Baseball National Team, but elected to venture into the New England landscape to participate in the Cape Cod adventure instead. This followed the year where the Niemann and the Owls had a huge amount of success and garnered a lot of attention. But it would be two years before Niemann would sign his first MLB contract, and a huge 5-year struggle before he felt accepted on the same fields as some of his teammates.
Niemann made no bones about the fact he wanted to play baseball for the Rays. He ended up signing within 204 days after he was drafted, and did not throw a single pitch that summer while volunteering for his Rice Baseball coach's summer youth camp. But right away the press anointed Niemann as the best prospect in the Rays organization, which meant the trail would be littered now with abnormal expectations and extreme pressures to excel.
Niemann quickly moved up the Rays Minor League system his first season finally stopping at the Double-A level with the Montgomery Biscuits for the final three weeks of the 2005 season. He had made his professional debut earlier in the season while at Visalia before finally coming to the Alabama team. He threw 11 starts between the two clubs going a combined 0-2 with a 4.11 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 30.2 innings. But what might have sent up some smoke signals to the Rays medical staff was his time from June 12-August 2nd where he was on the DL for right shoulder inflammation.
His DL stint now behind him, Niemann threw three starts the rest of the season for the Biscuits totaling 7.2 innings while giving up 3 hits, 3 runs and posting 12 strikeouts. It was not a hugely productive season because of the injury, but Neimann again showed he had the internal make-up to strive at this level. His injury in June did produce some extra anxious moments for Niemann in the off-season as he had right shoulder surgery to shave the joint between his collarbone and shoulder.
It was starting to look like the Tall Texan might have been used too much in college, and that his stamina and health might have accelerated his injury situation. He ended up back in St. Petersburg, Florida at the Rays minor league complex for an extended stay after Spring Training and finally made his Biscuit return on June 19, 2006. He ended up making 14 starts that season, and on a positive note, he surrendered 3 earned runs or less in 12 of those games. He did drop his first four starts before going 5-1 with a 1.75 ERA the rest of the season.
But the best of yet to come for Niemann that season as he threw a one-hitter against the Jacksonville Suns during a 7-inning start on July 24th. He also played a important part in the Biscuits playoff run when he made two starts in that Championship run going 1-0 with 2.92 ERA and 14 strikeouts. He even started Game 1 of the series against the Suns and came away with a 3-1 victory. After the season he was again selected as the top prospect in the Rays system by Baseball America.
In 2007, he started the season with the Triple-A Durham Bulls and was selected to play in the 2007 Futures game at the All Star game. That season he did stay pretty much injury free until he suffered a bout with shoulder fatigue in August. But while with the Bulls, he posted 12 wins that season, which was the third best win total in the International League. He posted a 123 strikeout total for the year, and was ninth in the IL in ERA with a 3.96 mark. Along with teammates JP Howell, Mitch Talbot, the three helped lead the IL in strikeouts and ERA that season.
And that was the breakout season he had been waiting for since 2005. He also went 2-0 in two Playoff starts with wins over Toledo and Richmond. He also ended the regular season with a nice
peak going 8-2 over his final 13 starts with a 3.57 ERA. And for the first time since he was with the Rays, he was not the top prospect in their farm system. This year Baseball America considered him the tenth best prospect in the Rays system. The fall from grace might have had more to do with his injury history than his production, but it did take the pressure off him to pitch his game in 2008.
Lost in the translation by Baseball America's ranking was the fact Niemann had gone 30-12 with a respectable 3.32 ERA in his last 63 starts prior to the 2008 season. Because of a streak of injuries in the Rays camp during Spring Training, Niemann got two starts in April, but not before he also was the Bulls Opening Day starter in Durham before the Rays recalled him after a Matt Garza injury on April 9th. He won his Major League debut four days later against the Orioles giving up only a homer to Nick Markakis while scattering 6 hits in the game.
He became the first Rays pitcher since Scott Kazmir to win his debut, and the seventh pitcher overall in team history. He did show a bit of nerves in that game throwing 28 pitches in the first inning before finally settling down and tossing 65 the rest of the game. In his second start against the Chicago White Sox, Niemann got blown out by the Sox in a eight run 3.1 inning start. He suffered the loss in that game and was optioned to Durham on April 21st.
He did not let the last loss at the Major League level get to him as he went 9-5 in 24 starts with the Bulls posting a 3.59 ERA, and his .207 Opponents Batting Average was the seventh best among all minor leaguers. He even held right-handed hitters to a paltry .162 average that season. His totals ranked among the leaders in the International League in ERA (3.59) and his 128 strikeouts were the fifth best in the IL that season. And to put some icing on the cake he threw two complete games that season, which tied him for the top spot in the I.L.
He also recorded double digit strikeouts three times during the season, and once during the playoffs. He did make some noise in the post season as he made two starts and pitched an IL-high 14.2 innings and struck out 19 hitters, which was second in the league to Phil Hughes of the Scranton Yankees. He also tossed a remarkable game during the possible elimination game against the Louisville Bats going 8 innings while giving up only 1 run and two huts while striking out 11 that night.
After the Bulls loss to Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Yankees for the Governor's Cup, the Rays recalled Niemann and he made three relief appearances in September. On September 19 against the Minnesota Twins he came in for his first relief appearance since 2005 when he was with the Montgomery team. During that stretch he earned his first relief win and second career victory on September 23rd in a game in Baltimore. After that magical 2008 season he volunteered his services in hurricane ravished Surfside, Texas where his family used to spend summer vacations.
That brings us to the 2009 season. The book is still being written on the successes and the accomplishments of Niemann this year. But since that first start shelling in Baltimore, the Rays rookie pitcher has made huge strides and changes to his pitching demeanor and the success is showing now for the Texan. With his complete game shutout last night against the Oakland A's, Niemann is no longer being viewed as a weak addition to this rotation. Right now he is one of the most consistent members of this young Rays staff.
I guess I am going to have a wait a bit before I post again on the final triumphs and statistics of Niemann in 2009. But you can bet the Toys R Us giraffe references and the Big Bird jokes will fly for the rest of the season. That is until the rest of the Rays Republic can lean back and look up into the tall Texans eyes and see he is only Jeff Niemann, Rays starter and only one of six active pitchers 6'9″ or taller in the MLB. And please, do not ask him how the weather is up there? Please.
24 Comments
Niemann had a great day throwing a complete game and getting the shutout! Lets' hope he keeps it up! Go O's! Please check out my blog again
It was great night for pitching. That's for sure. Glad Maddon left him in to work out of his own jam. Takes class.
Niemann is such a great story, and I hope he continues to be successful for the Rays. Slowly, but surely, you guys are climbing back in to the playoff picture. But, gahh!, you said the words "Philip Humber". Now I need to go lie down for a little bit.-Erinhttp://plunking-gomez.mlblogs.com
He has a bit to go, but he might just make the Rookie of the Year award a bit more interesting if David Price doesn't get going soon.
It could maybe give the Rays two candidates to take seriously for the award this fall.
Rays Renegade
I hate to admit it, but we drafted two of those ex-Rice pitchers and so far Niemann is the only one to show some great results.
Wade Townsend, the least remembered of the group did get selected by the Rays, but he recently retired from baseball after Tommy John's surgery and then a shoulder injury again in 2008.
Rays Renegade
Can't ask him how the weather is? Can you tell him to get his head out of the clouds? (ok, I know, I know…BE NICE! It's just so tempting. Especially since I'm so short!) Ok, no more tall jokes. I promise.
I can't believe how well he's doing. I remember watching/hearing about him during spring training, and thinking who IS this guy? Well, I know about him now. I hope all the Rays fans down there are warming up to him as well!
Wow Ginny,
He has actually been on the radar for two seasons as a possible MLB caliber player, but has not shown the total package.
But the Rays had confidence in him to give him that fifth slot right out of Spring Training.
I actually thought it was his slot to lose, and he did everything right.
It cost us Jason Hamel, but he is doing good in Colorado right now.
Rays Renegade
It's really great to see him doing so well after all he's been through.
The guy is living up to the potentila, which is a huge thing anymore.
So many guys come into the league and can be great for a few years, then they fall by the wayside.
Neimann so far as been consistent when he has had a chance to pitch.
I still think he is the right choice for the fifth spot, and could play havoc with the Rookie of the Yeard voting splitting David Price's action.
Rays Renegade
The guy is living up to the potentila, which is a huge thing anymore.
So many guys come into the league and can be great for a few years, then they fall by the wayside.
Neimann so far as been consistent when he has had a chance to pitch.
I still think he is the right choice for the fifth spot, and could play havoc with the Rookie of the Yeard voting splitting David Price's action.
Rays Renegade
I am glad to see all of our voted did have a positive influence on his selection.
But again, Ian Kinsler got shafted too.
Since Dustin Pedroia went out of the line-up to attend to his wife, you would normally think that a second baseman would be selected…………..like Kinsler.
But this did happen a few years ago to Indian Travis Hafner when he had great numbers and did not get into the All Star game.
Rays Renegade
See? The fact that I had never seen/heard of Jeff until this season goes to show how much coverage I get. I'm still shocked than I even got some Spring Training games.
I'm learning very quickly that if the Jays are not involved, it doesn't matter to our sports guys up here. Seriously, I've learned a whole lot about the Rays just from being on here. Just makes me love the Rays even more…and give serious consideration to changing cable companies.
That is what regional sports networks do, they get you to support thr local sports product.
What do you think minor league hockey, regionalized lacrosse and MMA fighting has to thank, local small segments of sports channels.
I know when I lived in Seattle years ago there was not a huge MLB Network, or even a "Baseball Tonight" to gather news from. It was ESPN or the local paper only.
Times have changed for the better.
Rays Renegade
I was very impressed with Niemann when he pitched against Toronto. He is an imposing presence on the mound, has a live fastball and low 70 curve to compliment it. Jays hitters were really confused with him. I also saw him pitch very well against Oakland. Great find for the Rays.
Man, did you guys put a hurt on the Jays in past couple of weeks! 3rd place is yours, you earned it. No doubt the second half will be better. The way you guys are playing now, I'm predicting you take the divsion again.
As per your conversation with a certain starter today, I hope he and the others have a blast in St Louis! I've never been to an All Star Game, wasn't even in North America when they played in 1991 in Toronto, but I hope it really is as fun as it all seems. Great to hear the guys are cheering each other on. Great friends helps to make a great team. I'm proud of them for that.
I was hoping the series up there in the last days of June wasgoing to be moire of a dog fight.
I hope you guys can rebound in the second half and make it tough for everyone, even the Rays.
That will make all of us tougher for the struggle of October this year.
We have a reputation now in our division, and all four of the top squads right now need to get the fight going a bit harder after the break.
Rays Renegade
I was going to go to this year's event, but the funding did not work out the way I had hoped for……….
Instead I am thinking of crashing a local haunt where a few of the players are going to watch the game.
It is going to be awesome to see Carlos lean back and blast the ball tomorrow night.
Rays Renegade
I was going to go to this year's event, but the funding did not work out the way I had hoped for……….
Instead I am thinking of crashing a local haunt where a few of the players are going to watch the game.
It is going to be awesome to see Carlos lean back and blast the ball tomorrow night.
Rays Renegade
Could you check out my latest post? I changed from Birdland to Cal's Corner, Please check it out and comment
Yea I think it's amazing how the A's find these pitchers year in and year out. I've never seen Anderson pitch, but now i'm interested to see what he's got. As for Shields, I always like to watch him throw, he doesn't always have his best but he's a grinder. I love Niemann though, that start against Halladay where he outdueled him was tremendous. Then I see him come out of the bullpen in Texas, which bothered me, and then, another start, another gem.
Pitcher's Duel,
I did not understand the Niemann benching instead of letting him pitch until the break, but I am actually thinking Maddon was trying to get Shields 2 starts at home this last homestand.
Shields has been unlucky, that is the perfect word for it. He has gone up against number 1 starters most of the year and has come away with a loss or no decision.
Niemann has the highest wins on the Rays staff right now. Andy Sonnanstine and Edwin Jackson got that cushion last season and brought home over 12 wins each.
Niemann and David Price might get those rewards in 2009.
Rays Renegade
Thanks for the back story on Niemann. You always give us such great perspective on the players we only get to see during the games. I promise that if I ever met him, I wouldn't ask him about "the weather up there." LOL!
I always have been one of the those people who know there is always something hidden that is interesting about everyone, especially athletes and players.
It might be a hidden talent like music or painting , or maybe the could have been a singer in a rock and roll band.
But the fact is it makes them more like us and less of a star put up on a platform for the world to admire.
I know I alwasy wanted to be treated like the guy next to me in the bar when I was playing ball, but the image always got in the way.
Rays Renegade


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Pulitzer Prize Winner Seymour Hersh at IC March 24-25
Contributed by Melissa Gattine on 03/13/05
Thursday, March 24, 7:30 p.m., in Ford Hall Auditorium, Hersh will present a public lecture entitled "Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib," based on his recent reports in The New Yorker magazine and his book on the subject. A reception and book signing will follow the lecture. Books will be available for sale.
Friday, March 25, Hersh will participate in a "town hall" question-and-answer session at 9:00 a.m. in Park Auditorium. This session is open exclusively to Ithaca College faculty, students, and staff.
Seymour Hersh is one of America's premier investigative journalists. He has reported some of the most important news stories of our time, including his 1970 Pulitzer prize-winning stories on the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War. Hersh has published eight books, which have earned him the 1983 National Book Critics Circle Award, the Los Angeles Times award for biography, and a second Sidney Hillman award, for The Price of Power: Kissinger in the Nixon White House. Hersh has also won two Investigative Reporters and Editors prizes, for the Kissinger book, in 1983, and in 1992 for a study of American foreign policy and the Israeli nuclear bomb program, The Samson Option. In 2004, Hersh won a National Magazine Award for public interest for his three pieces, "Lunch with the Chairman," "Selective Intelligence," and "The Stovepipe."
Seymour Hersh first wrote for The New Yorker in 1971 and has been a regular contributor to the magazine since 1993. His journalism and publishing prizes include the Pulitzer Prize, five George Polk Awards, the National Magazine Award, and more than a dozen other prizes (Sigma Delta Chi, Worth Bingham, Sidney Hillman, etc.) for investigative reporting on My Lai, the CIA's bombing of Cambodia, Henry Kissinger's wiretapping, and the CIA's efforts against Chile's Salvador Allende. In the 1980's Hersh revealed the CIA's illicit sale of U.S. weapons to Libya; the drug-running, vote-stealing, and other criminal activities of Panama's General Noriega; the CIA's complicity with South Africa's spying on the African National Congress; the deceit and incompetence of the 1983 U.S. invasion of Grenada; and the growth of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. - By an 8-7 vote on Thursday, a federal appeals court has struck down MCRI, the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative.
Known as Proposal 2 in 2006, Michigan voters overwhelmingly approved it. The law says universities and other public entities in this state cannot use race to give preferential treatment in admission or hiring.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette already said he plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
To understand the history of MCRI you need to go back to 1995. Jennifer Gratz, a white high school student, applied to the University of Michigan and was waitlisted while other students at her school with lesser grades and test scores were admitted. The difference? Those admitted were minorities.
Gratz and another student sued the University of Michigan over its race preferences and won at the Supreme Court level. That victory put MCRI into motion and ultimate victory in 2006.
Ever since it became law, various groups have been suing to overturn it, including the ACLU.
"We are thrilled with today's landmark decision. It is a tremendous victory for racial justice and access to democracy," said Michael Steinberg, ACLU Director in Michigan.
Gratz calls the decision flawed.
"I think it's outrageous. With all due respect to the court, they do not have the right to overturn the will of the people and declare equality unconstitutional in Michigan," she said.
Schuette says he's going to fight it out at the Supreme Court. Now, the question is will the highest court hear the case.
Copyright 2012 by ClickOnDetroit.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Film Only
~Wrong Turn~
Released : 2003
Running Time : 84 minutes
Director : Rob Schmidt
Rating : 18
Availability : currently priced from 1p (used) to £4.54 (new) on Amazon. A five DVD boxset is also available priced at £17.00.
Wrong Turn is the first installment of five films. It starts of with a couple rock climbing and meeting an untimely death. Fast forward a bit and Chris Flynn is on his way to an interview. He has to take a detour through the mountains of West Virginia as there is a blockage on the highway. He accidently crashes into a car and hooks up with a group of five friends. With two damaged cars, the group splits up to find help. The group are completely unaware of the cannibalistic, inbred men who live in the forrest. Who will survive?
~Main Cast~
Chris Flynn - Desmond Harrington
Jessie - Eliza Dushku
Carly - Emmanuelle Chriqui
Scott - Jeremy Sisto
Evan - Kevin Zegers
Francine - Lindy Booth
Three Finger - Julian Richings
Saw-Tooth - Garry Robbins
One-Eye - Ted Clark
~My Thoughts~
My Wrong Turn DVD came as part of a box set of DVDs including two starring Desmond Harrington. I am quite fond of him as an actor and like The Hole and Ghost Ship (films where he plays a main role). There have now been five Wrong Turn films released and I would say that the first one was probably one of the best. The films have gradually become a bit more bizarre each time.
As far as hillbilly/mountain men films go, this one is just as good as The Hills Have Eyes. Aside from Desmond Harrington, the other cast members are unknown to me. I would say Chris Flynn (Harrington) has the main role anyway and is well used throughout the film. The plot is good but not unheard of or unique. It is based around a group of youngsters becoming lost in the forest and being hunted. The forest/mountain setting gives an instant indication that this is going to be a creepy film with plenty of gore and it really doesn't disappoint in this respect.
The film starts well with the rock climbing murder giving a good idea of what is to come in the film. Chris takes the lead role in his stride and takes charge of the group of youngsters. I can't say that many of the other character performances stand out as being spectacular. Carly is newly engaged to Scott and is rather irritating. She doesn't get the concept that you need to stay quiet to avoid being captured and is one of those typical, whining characters that everyone hates. Jessie gives a better performance and there is a good connection between her and Chris through the film. The other characters have relatively small roles and do not add much to the film in my opinion. I find that the surroundings and use of lighting and suspense music to be the main contributing factor to this film rather than the amazing acting.
The film develops well. It takes a short while for the film to pick up pace at the start but soon the group start to make some gruelling discoveries in a cabin within the woods. As time goes on, they become aware of the cannibals and are evidently scared and traumatised by what they witness. To be fair, I was quite sickened by some of the actions of the cannibals but not to the same extent as with similar films. I found this to be quite a freaky though not overly scary film. A particular uncomfortable scene was 'jaw dropping' and had me going 'ewwwww'.
Wrong Turn does have some suspense aspects. It is never quite known when the cannibals will sneak up on you. The cannibals or hillbillies themselves are quite funny. They are badly deformed through years of inbreeding and are exceptionally scrawny and ugly. Their laughs are highly irritating and echo through the forest at regular intervals. I know this was probably to alert the group that they were nearby and to be very scared indeed. With this being the first Wrong Turn film, I feel it would have been better to add a bit of background history of how these mountain men came to be who they are.
This film relies heavily on violence, slashings and general nastiness. The cannibals rely on axes, bows and arrows and other awful contraptions to lure and kill their prey. I feel that the murders were quite varied rather than predictable and samey like with other films. This definitely makes the film more appealing and it doesn't becoming boring. There is a lot of blood and gore in the film and whilst it isn't as awful and visual as with other slasher films, it isn't for the faint hearted.
As far as hillbilly films go, Wrong Turn does have a sense of realism. The group do exactly what most would do when faced with being chased by a bunch of inbreds with no where to go except further into the forest. The fear factor is there and executed well in my opinion. The film comes to a fine and satisfying conclusion. The follow up films, whilst based around the cannibals, do not feature any of the original cast except for Three Finger (who is played by a different actor) and are quite different in terms of plot.
I have watched this film on several occasions and really never tire of it. I find it entertaining yet mildly scary. The first time I watched it was as part of a DVD night with several others and we enjoyed it but I am fine watching it myself. I find it to be well directed and acted but not entirely original.
The 18 rating is a little too high in my opinion. Aside from the blood and gore, there is a mild reference to sex, some swearing and drug taking but nothing particularly offensive to someone of a slightly younger age.
I would recommend Wrong Turn but don't expect anything outstanding or new.
Thanks for reading :)
RELEASED: 2003, Cert. 18
RUNNING TIME: Approx. 84 mins
DIRECTOR: Rob Schmidt
PRODUCERS: Erik Feig, Robert Kulzer & Stan Winston
SCREENPLAY: Alan B McElroy
MUSIC: Elia Cmiral
Desmond Harrington as Chris
Eliza Dushku as Jessie
Emanuelle Chriqui as Carly
Jeremy Sisto as Scott
Julian Richings as Three Finger
Garry Robbins as Saw Tooth
Ted Clark as One Eye
A young couple is climbing up a rock-face. The guy gets to the top, with the girl underneath asking for a hand upwards, only to see him fall down dead at the summit. He then rolls over and drops down the chasm, already dead before the fall...and it is obvious he was pushed. The girl struggles in an attempt to escape whatever is at the top of the rock, then falls to her own death.
The scene then changes to Chris, who is driving to an important meeting and gets stuck in non-moving traffic. He is informed by one of the other drivers in the traffic queue that the road won't be clear for a couple of hours. Chris then decides to try and take the back roads route, hoping to miss the snarl-up and make his meeting on time. On his way, he stops off at a log cabin to use the phone, but the owner of the cabin - a true blue mountain man - is borderline hostile, and Chris finds the public pay-phone there doesn't work anyway. He consults a map stuck to the cabin's outer wall, and prepares to drive off and find a road which is indicated on the map. On leaving the man in the cabin, Chris bids him to take care, and as he drives away, the man mutters under his breath... "It's you who ought to take care."
Whilst driving along a road which is little more than a dirt-track, leading deep into the West Virginian woods, Chris accidentally crashes into the back of a stationery vehicle which belongs to a group of friends, which had burst tyres caused by a stinger-type object made of barbed wire that had been fixed across the dust road.
After the group accepts Chris's apologies, he, Scott, Carly and Jessie agree to set off and try to find help, leaving their other two friends behind...who, on the group's return, they find butchered to death.
From that point onwards, Chris, Scott, Carly and Jessie have to rely on their wits to avert suffering the same fate as the other pair...as someone or something murderous is on the loose in the forest.
Just before the first scene of Chris getting stuck in traffic, the open credits to Wrong Turn are quite fast-flashing images of newspaper cuttings and snippets of medical reports about what can go wrong when in-breeding runs rife, such as in places like the very rural parts of West Virginia mountain communities. Right away, that sets a chilling, albeit somewhat predictable scene in that it is obvious the viewer is about to launch into watching a film whereby the 'bad guy or guys' is or are mountain men spawned from in-breeding.
The atmosphere of the film is set very well in that there is a fairly sinister mood present, but it is far too much like the 1972 classic, Deliverance. However, such is acknowledged when Scott refers to it whilst negotiating with Chris, Carly and Jessie as to what they are going to do in order to get help.
Once the nasties get underway, Wrong Turn becomes extremely gory in parts, as Chris, Carly, Scott and Jessie are pursued by a small group of bizarre, flesh-eating mountain men (Three Finger, Saw Tooth and One Eye). The makeup used to create this cannibalistic trio is almost laughable....nobody human really looks like that, no matter how deformed.
The acting is OK by the whole cast, but I found the character of Carly to be intensely irritating. I got almost angry with her constant stupid questions, such as "What's happening?", "Where did they go?", "What are they doing now?" and similar, to the point where I wanted to scream at her to shut the f*** up for five minutes as how the hell would anybody know the answers? She is also a bit dippy, and a whimpering wet rag when that was the last thing the rest of the gang needed her to be. However, in one way I did feel a little bit sorry for her, but to find out why, you'd have to watch the film yourself. Her character is compensated for by Jessie, who overall is a far more together, gutsy young woman.
The music to Wrong Turn is quite percussive, urgent-sounding orchestral, and very dramatic in parts, but it does suit what is going on in the film fairly well.
Similarly to Deliverance, Wrong Turn is a film which contrasts the darker side of the human condition with an absolutely lovely geographical setting, but Deliverance does it so much better. Whereas Deliverance exudes, almost right from the start, a very realistic sinister atmosphere which is true to life, Wrong Turn, although it is sinister to begin with, misses the spot a bit....probably because even early on, you know it is going to rely on blood, guts and gore for its thrills, whereas Deliverance remains realistic throughout, which overall makes it far more sinister than Wrong Turn.
There are a couple of points in Wrong Turn where I jumped a little bit, and although as said above the film is richly splattered with blood and body parts, I have seen much more graphic presentations of flesh mutilation in films than this. However, it is still pretty gory. The parts which made me jump actually had nothing to do with the horror element, being more centred around situations where people had to make sharp moves or when a loud noise crashed through the speakers into my brain.
The tension levels in Wrong Turn are quite respectable, although I would have preferred to see the mountain men element put across far more convincingly, and the taunting that took place to have been something which could possibly happen for real....but then it would veer far too close to Deliverance for comfort.
The storyline is pretty much predictable in that it's a group of people trying to get away from and outwit their pursuers, relying on their wits and strategy...which is nothing new in this movie genre. However, the whole thing is filmed pretty well, with some rather good and imaginative camera shots being used that serve to enhance the atmosphere to a degree.
Wrong Turn is a film which is high on entertainment value, although it does get far too stupid as the action and tension mount. Another film it here and there put me in mind of is The Hills Have Eyes, it overall coming across as a combination of that and Deliverance. The killers are grossly over-portrayed, with lots of grunting, slurping, sucking noises and are more like creatures from early episodes of Dr. Who than the result of small mountain community in-breeds, coming across as laughable rather than scary. However, the man who Chris encounters close to the beginning of the film is far more realistic, being typical of a backwoods West Virginian rural mountain dweller.
If you like slasher-type horror films, Wrong Turn could be something you'd enjoy very much, but I wouldn't recommend that anybody who has an aversion to watching flesh being cut up should watch it. I personally was very entertained, but it isn't something I'd choose to see again, simply because I now know the outcome.
Overall, I'd say that Wrong Turn is a predictable, but high-action and enjoyable (if that is the right word) piece of entertainment which although I'd not file it in the 'bad movie' bucket, wouldn't manage to reach my all-time favourites list. It is over the top and throwaway, but does have some interesting, fairly gripping moments. If you are of an easily rattled disposition though, it might be better to give it a miss.
At the time of writing, Wrong Turn can be purchased from Amazon as follows:-
New: from £2.51 to £27.91
Used: from 1p to £15.22
Collectible: only 2 copies currently available @ £2.00 and £6.99
Some items on Amazon are available for free delivery within the UK, but where this doesn't apply, a £1.26 charge should be added to the above figures.
Thanks for reading!
~~ Also published on Ciao under my CelticSoulSister user name ~~
Wrong Turn was released in 2003, and falls firmly into the horror/slasher genre. Directed by Rob Schmidt, it is set deep in the woods of West Virginia. Chris Flynn, a medical student late for an interview, takes a supposed shortcut through the backroads of the forest. Swerving off the road and into a car full of vacationing students, the group trek through the woods to find help. However, it soon becomes apparent that their respective accidents were no accidents - and before long, they are in a fight for their lives as the inbred and cannibalistic forest dwellers hunt them down.
The plot is pretty paint-by-numbers horror movie, and I can easily count half a dozen films within the genre with the same plot. All of these were of course inspired by the 1970s classic, Deliverence, where a similar premise saw a group of men fighting for their survival as they are chased by insane mountainfolk. However, with this stale concept, there are some surprises. The first is the quality of acting - while there are a handful of throwaway actors, these are balanced by the formidable acting talents of Eliza Dushku (who has proven herself on the small-screen on Buffy, Angel and Dollhouse), Kevin Zegers and Desmond Harrington (who now appears on Showtime's 'Dexter'). Dushku and Harrington make for really compelling leads, with them pulling off the physicality required for such roles and also providing a lot of unspoken and unresolved sexual chemistry. Their charismatic performances really carry the film, and their respective talents breathe a little life into the slightly flimsy characters on screen.
The adrenaline filled plot movies relentlessly, and there is never a moment in which you feel like you are losing interest. With a runtime of around eighty minutes, there is really no dip in the pacing, which is a testament in some degree to the quality of the storytelling. I am a huge fan of the horror genre, but in terms of shocks and gore, there is really very little bloodshed shown on screen and very few jumpy moments. It feels more like a thriller as I felt my heart pounding due to the suspense, as opposed to anything particularly explicit on-screen. With chases through the woods, dodging flying arrows and tense climbs through the trees; as the film progressed, it was clear that the director's focus was on the hunt and not the kill. I think ultimately, this was a good thing because the rise of 'torture porn' (i.e. senseless and excessive bloodshed in films with no reason other than to pad out meagre plots) has essentially cheapened the impact of many films in the genre. It also keeps the momentum going, as you see the film more from the perspective of those who are surviving, so you feel their fear and urgency, as opposed to dwelling on those characters who have been lost.
I suppose the major problem with the movie was the way in which the forest people were presented. In 'Deliverance' and 'the Texas Chainsaw Massacre', what truly made the adversaries chilling was how human they were. 'Wrong Turn's mountainfolk felt like... monsters. The make-up was oddly unconvincing, which is surprising, given that other elements of the movie appear very high-budget. The animalistic grunts and the lack of backstory means they aren't particularly chilling, and seem darkly comical at times (I doubt the director intended that). It seems that our fear of the group's adversaries relied on our other forays into the genre, and assumed we were all familiar with the backstories of 'the Hills Have Eyes' or 'Deliverance' to know how and why these people were this way.
I think ultimately 'Wrong Turn's strengths lie in the two lead actors, the adrenaline-fuelled plot and the high-quality set pieces. However, the film makes little to no effort to add its own unique twist to this very tried-and-tested plot. It entertained me, and the hour and twenty minutes flew past, but there was no lingering sense of unsettlement or discomfort, which I always rather masochistically enjoy. It is definitely an enjoyable way to pass an evening, and is definitely more tame than most horrors, so would probably appeal to those who prefer thrillers as opposed to gore. It is not especially memorable, but similarly, there is not much to critically savage the film about it. Quite simply, your basic cookie-cutter horror.
Wrong Turn
Running: 84 minutes
Category: Horror
Director: Ron Schmidt
Year: 2003
Language: English
Country: United States
Extras: Yes
Desmond Harrington as Chris Flynn
Eliza Dushku as Jessie Burlingame
Emmanuelle Chriqui as Carly
Jeremy Sisto as Scott
Lindy Booth as Francine
Kevin Zegers as Evan
The movie starts very dramatic with two mountain climbers are being killed. You don't see who killed them but you hear this strange laughing. The movie continues with a man, named Chris, driving a car, who has to take different route, because the road is blocked. This route leads him further into the forest. Suddenly he sees a death dear and gets distracted that he doesn't noticed the car in front of him and drives straight into it. He's unharmed, but not his car and the other car, which was already standing still. The people of the other car, a group of five teenagers where stranded and three of them decides to walk with Chris back down the route to find a phone. A couple stay behind with the car, but soon enough they get some unpleasant company. Also the rest of the group don't manage to find a phone but they sure find something really unpleasant!
Acting skills
Jessie is one of the teenagers of the car and is being played by Eliza Duskhu and the only actor I know in this movie. Eliza has played in the television show Buffy the Vampire slayer and more recently in the show Dollhouse. She always plays a though person, who you better not get into a fight with, but she definitely shows a more vulnerable and softer side. She has to because her character sees some pretty disturbing things. Desmond Harrington plays the part of Chris Flynn, a medical student who crashes into the other car. Very unlucky for him and he's shocked in the beginning but then gets tougher during the movie and is more the one that take cares of the other ones, especially Jessie. A nice performance and he comes across very believable. I think all the actors where pretty good in this movie and they really brought their fear across the screen.
There are a few extra's on the DVD such as commentary of the director who tells about his experience with shooting the scenes of the movie and working with the actors. There are also a few interviews with the crew and cast on the DVD and a making off the movie, where you get a look behind the scenes. Nice amount of extras which gives you some more information about the movie.
My opinion
I really enjoyed this scary horror movie! The first time I heard about this movie I knew I wanted to see it straight away and was curious about the horrific scenes that are in the movie. The movie doesn't disappoint and brings the fear across the screen. The movie is about cannibalism, where people in a remote forest trap travellers with only one goal and that's to kill and eat them. Scary thought and especially when you see the stuff of the people they killed in their house, like a doll, it's really creepy. The movie starts off really well with the two people being killed, but you don't actually see who kills them. It makes it scarier, because you want to know who did it. Later on when the group arrives they don't take too long with introducing the characters. Long enough so you get involved, but not too long that it gets boring. I would really recommend this movie but not for people with a weak stomach!
Starring a bunch of little known, photogenic American actors/actresses, 'Wrong Turn' is a fairly generic horror film in which a group of travellers in the backwoods of the US find themselves stranded in an isolated forest road after crashing their vehicles, soon discovering that they are not alone as they begin being hunted by a ravenous gang of mutant, cannibal hillbillies that have been feeding off passers by for many years.
The film borrows heavily from 'The Hills Have Eyes', and to its credit the hillbillies themselves are portrayed very well, consisting of savage and grotesque-looking hunter-gatherers that live in a ramshackle farmouse adjacent to a huge field full of the cars of previous victims, setting traps for their human prey and hunting them with bows and bladed weapons.
The film goes really over the top on the gore front, and a particularly nasty scene sees a couple hiding under a table inside the farmhouse whilst giggling mutant hacks one of their murdered friends to pieces on the table above, and though the film is in every way generic and resorts to dodgy cgi graphics on occasion, its monsters are convincing enough and the action tense enough to make it reasonably engaging to watch, whilst the performances of the central characters, whilst unremarkable, are at least competent throughout.
Not a brilliant or original film then, but my the standards of modern Hollywood, 'Wrong Turn' is a better-than-average horror in the vein of 'The Hills Have Eyes', and 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'.
Main Cast:
Desmond Harrington ... Chris Flynn
Eliza Dushku ... Jessie Burlingame
Emmanuelle Chriqui ... Carly
Jeremy Sisto ... Scott
Kevin Zegers ... Evan
Lindy Booth ... Francine
Julian Richings ... Three Finger
Garry Robbins ... Saw-Tooth
Ted Clark ... One-Eye
Whilst on his way to a job interview, Chris Finn finds himself in a huge traffic jam so decides to take a short cut through forests and deep woods in America's deep south. He has obviously never seen the film Deliverance, or he would have stayed well away! During this short cut he takes a...
Wrong Turn
...just as the title of the film suggests may well happen. Accidentally running into an oncoming vehicle, he soon joins forces with five other soon-to-be-killed young and beautiful folk and they begin to search for a help.
Now, this is a horror film and it boasts such phrases as 'Not for the faint hearted,' so rather than be surprised or even enthralled by the story, you are just waiting for the next person to be killed. And - boy - are they killed! There seems to be a deranged band of deformed cannibalistic lunatics roaming the woods with sharp things that they use to kill people with.
The great Stan Winston (Special effects supremo) is associated with this film and it was directed by Rob Schmidt. Desmond Harrington plays Chris and other stars include Eliza Dushku and Jeremy Sisto. With a running time of 84 minutes it is just about right in length. It is a quick dose of pure horror.
Guess you must wonder if I liked it?
Well, I did enjoy it. It was your typical teenagers-go-into-the-woods-and-meet-psycho(s)-with-sharp-knifes, sure, but it was told well and had a few bits of ingenuity to it as well.
This film is not particuarly scary, but it get me everytime, i absoulutly hate these types of film, where you have a group of attractive young people and you know they are all going to die!
The 5 youngsters are on a road trip hence the film title, they take a 'wrong turn' as does a snazzy young guy in a siut on his way to a job interview. Trapped alone in the forest, they stumble across a lonley house, thinking they have been saved, they sigh relief, until that is they are set upon by some starnge inbred canabalistic creatures. The 'road trip' then becomes a battle of wit. The youngsters are trying desperatly to contact the authorities and escape with thier lives.
The film is very simmilar to other films such as 'The Hills Have Eyes' and 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'. The acting is fairly poor, but i think this is because the plot line is so predicatable. However the film despite this it is fairly good. they storyline helps keep you in suspense and you may find yourself willing the youngsters to escape.
I do find these films educational, in a sense of, Im never gonna take shortcuts through woods with a group of my friends in tow!!
I got my hands on a Wrong turn DVD by coincidence. Not expecting anything special, just something to kill time that I have and I was bored. But I was surprised, how good turned out to be.
Story that movie tells is about six people lost in the woods somewhere in USA (Virginia more exactly). More strange than that they are all good looking. Chris Flynn (played Desmond Harrington), gets in an accident in the middle of the woods, hitting a car that was in stuck in the middle of the road. That is how he meets five friends that are in this wood trying to camp on the area. But suddenly they become a target of strange, deformed and very violet men (if you can call them that). Killing everything, using bows and arrows, axes, kniws on the moust brutal way. So blood, guts, body parts are all over the place. They bring what is left of the bodies to there cabin and store them for latter to eat.
They are killing our group of six one by one. Chasing them thro the wood, pushing them to their limits. In the end Chris and Jessie Burlingame (played by very sexy Eliza Dushku) are the only one survive, bringing the fight to them, blowing and shooting them up.
Wrong turn is a horror move that has everything that you need. Sexy women (and in this movie the man are good looking also), violet deaths, interesting and fresh idea, even the acting is good, maybe a little lacking in scary moments.
Take a trip to the back of beyond & start having a very bad day.
Its far too much like a lot of other horror flicks in this genre. A bunch of people being chased through a forest by people who want to kill them for no reason at all.
We start with 2 rock climbers getting brutally killed and you know the film is going to be pretty blood ridden. Then we see a guy in a hurry to an interview. He isn't ever going to get there but that's not important. It's the fact that he took a short cut. And was drink driving. (Yes, I saw the beer he was chugging from in his hand. Not many people notice that).
Then crashes into a Range Rover because he isn't looking where he's driving. How can a cd be so important that you have to keep driving while you aren't even looking? I'd rather he died right there. He deserved it.
Then we meet the people he hit. Forget 2 of them because they are dead within minutes of us meeting them. Bye Bye Stoner Bloke, Bye Bye Lindy Booth (or least it looks like her & having checked her resume it IS her!). The car the bloke hit was stopped by barbed wire and we find out this was a trap left by inbred mountain men who trap, kill and eat people.
There aren't many scares, most of the film is predictable and the fact that one of the three mountain men is seen to have survived an explosion is really obvious. I hope they don't bother making a sequel.
"Slasher" (from the verb "to slash") is the name of a particular horror sub-genre. In this type of movies, we usually follow a group of teenagers (generally high and horny) as they are massacred by a crazy or deformed (or maybe even both, and that's the worst case scenario... for the victims, not for the audience) killer. 70s are considered the Golden Age of slasher movies, with masterpieces like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" or "Halloween"... both ruined by pointless sequels, but we'll talk about it next time.
What's the point of this introduction? Well, I think it's impossible to talk about "Wrong Turn" without knowing what a slasher is.
TITLE: Wrong Turn
DIRECTOR: Rob Schmidt
US RATING: R (under 17s are admitted only if accompanied)
MAIN ACTORS: Eliza Dushku, Desmond Harrington, Jeremy Sisto, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Lindy Booth
PLOT SYNOPSIS: Medicine student takes a shortcut because the main road is heavily trafficked and hits the car of five young boys and girls (OK, you're in the middle of nowhere, but you should still park the car properly!). They look for help and they find a group of deformed cannibals!
Rob Schmidt said it clearly: this movie is a 70s throwback. Call it a homage to classical horror movies, call it a blatant rip-off, it doesn't really make a difference.
The characters are as stereotypical and by the numbers as they can: we have the horny couple (hey, didn't you see "Scream"? If you have sex in a horror movie, you die!!!), the loving couple, the apparently tough chick, the stupid cop, the weird gas station attendant, the funny black guy... no, the funny black guy isn't there. I didn't miss him, anyway.
If you are used to horror movies, you'll have no problems in guessing (or should I say stating?) who will survive and who will die; obviously, the characters that are supposed to die will make a clearly wrong choice at every given occasion. They should be put in the book "How to survive in a horror movie", chapter "Bad examples".
So: average plot, stereotypical and completely clueless characters... this should be a real stinker. Instead it works. The location is perfect: those woods are very scary! The director also chooses to give us only a few glimpses of the deformed cannibals (at least until the third act kicks in), and I think it's a good choice: sometimes, it's far more frighetning when you don't see the "bad guys".
The acting ranges from mediocre to pretty good (a good news, as the script is not that great), but I must say my judgement was probably influenced by all those beauties: Lindy Booth, Emmannuelle Chriqui and the divine Eliza Dushku!
But the real highlight of this movie is the gore factor. Director Schmidt, unlike many other newcomers, isn't shy to show killings in all their graphic detail. No flash-cuts here, guys. And a couple of death scenes are quite original, too!
Ok, I think that's all. I hope you enjoyed the reading!
This film is currently showing on Film 4 - the channel that seemed a really good film channel before it became free to viewers last year. This is a review of the film and not the DVD... as if I'd buy that.
"Wrong Turn" portrays the tale of a group of 6 pretty young things, three men and three women, out on a camping trip. They all come together when their two cars take the wrong turn in the back woods of Louisiana. One car runs over some barbed wire purposely left across the road causing it to skid and crash into another car heading in the opposite direction. Everyone survives the crash but it's not long before they run into trouble in the shape of three gruesome mountain men who are the ones that set the trap and who have been living in the woods so long they've turned cannibal.
The campers find themselves in the middle of a forest where mobile phones conveniently receive no reception and there doesn't seem to be a garage or burger bar for miles around. Most of the group decide to walk back the way they came with the hope of finding help while two remain behind with their dilapidated vehicles. Little do they know that three hairy retards in dirty overalls are watching them from the trees, licking their lips at the tasty meal in their midst. Needless to say the two stay behinds are the first ingredients on the menu list.
The characters who make up the camping party in the film are not too annoying. The only recognizable actors for me were Eliza Dushku from Buffy and Desmond Harrington who has made a few duff movies. I can't say the acting overall was that bad but like the movie, the individual characters are rather predictable. You won't care what happens to them and most of them are gradually and deservedly knocked off one by one - usually with an axe to the head - before they are dragged back to the meat hut to be chopped up ready for the cooking pot.
Those employed in the make up department must have been on speed when they set to work on the hairy disfigured cannibals. You never really get to see their faces for most of the film which is just as well because they look ridiculous. Well put it this way, if you met any of them out in the woods on a dark night, you're more likely to burst out laughing than shiver in your boots. Meeting Bill Oddie would be far scarier. None of the cannibals talk but instead grunt and gargle except for a skinny one who prances about laughing in a squeaky voice. It all makes you wonder how on earth these hillbilly mutants buy petrol for their truck and ammo for their shotguns. One can only guess what their after dinner conversations must be like. And don't they get tired of having meatballs for dinner everyday? We get to see their grim log cabin when the rest of the happy campers (they are all quite happy up to this point) stumble into it just before they meet their foe who are on their way back for supper. The cabin is supposed to be so dirty and disgusting, but it just looks comical. One of campers discovers something cooking on the stove in a big pot and is disgusted to find that there is no veg nor seasoning. There is a slab where the prime joints are no doubt laid out and cut. The bath tub full of grunge and body parts might explain why the cannibals look as if they haven't had a wash since soap was invented.
The movie follows a familiar mindless plot. Deliverance, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the Blair Witch Project come to mind but these films are in a different class and far more effective. Even if I was a fan of the genre, this film really has nothing new to offer and is a weak effort in every department. The climax to the movie is a whimpering finale that left me falling asleep as opposed to being on the edge of my seat. Maybe gore just isn't gory anymore. Even vegetarians won't find this meaty movie scary. The only one good thing about the film was the scenery and location - it certainly does look like a nice place to go camping.
Certification: 18
Running Time: 1 hr 38 minutes.
Directed by Rob Schmidt.
Produced by Brian J. Gilbert, Robert Kulzer, Stan Winston.
Written by Alan McElroy.
Starring Desmond Harrington, Eliza Dushku, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Jeremy Sisto, Lindy Booth, Julian Richings, Kevin Zegers, Garry Robbins, Ted Clark.
Whilst trying to get to a very important interview Chris Flynn meets horrendous traffic that apparently wont clear up for hours. On an important deadline, he decides to turn back and find a shortcut, after a while he drives into an old gas station and tries to use the broken pay phone. Receiving a less than enthusiastic greeting from the shops owner, he just looks at a map attached to one of the walls, and discovers a shortcut through the woods, which should get him to his destination well in time. Whilst travelling through his new route, he smashes into a van, rendering his car unusable and hurting his back, on the crash site he meets the owners of the other car -who have just discovered that their vehicle broke down because somebody set a long piece of barbed wire across the road- and joins up with three of them (the plucky Jessie Burlingame, slightly annoying Carly and the love struck Scott) to find some help, leaving two of the twenty something's back at the crash site where they quite happily proceed in having as much sex and drugs as possible, but wait, isn't that a shadow lurking behind the trees?
What started out as a short cut and day trip turns out to be a frantic fight for survival, after the young group are forced to see their friends get eaten by mutated cannibals and discover some horrific discoveries in their lair. In the overcrowded forest where the inhabitants are inbred murderers, the trees have eyes and there's no place to hide will our brave group of explorers escape with their lives?
Wrong Turn made quite a splash in 2003 as there was only limited advertising buzz surrounding it, due to even the tamer scenes being too 'intense' to make trailers out of and what they did show disgusted many movie goers, but to be honest I don't think this movie is all about gore. Wrong Turn succeeds where other recent horror flicks have failed because it doesn't rely on gore to scare the audience it is just there to make the viewers squirm (one scene in the hut, when the cannibals eat a young woman is particularly grizzly) but the real trick is in the slow building tension, that this little thriller establishes so well. I don't think I could say that I was scared by this film, but I can tell you that I was on the edge of my seat for the most part -and covering my eyes for the rest- by the end I felt battered as this film is a no holds barred attempt at film making and actually, much to my surprise works very well.
By the end of the opening credits we are aware that this isn't going to be a 'nice movie' so all the fear are already established inside of you, so throughout the first fifteen minutes (which is used to do a bit of characterisation and background) you are waiting for something scary to happen even though there is no sign of it. Largely the success of Wrong Turn can be put down to its location. The woods offer a wonderfully claustrophobic sense to the movie making the audience fell closed in with these characters and offers a whole arsenal of places and weapons that the mad killers can hide in and use which again works to keep the viewers hyped up and expectant.
I am pleased to say, that for a teenage horror flick the performances in Wrong Turn are actually fairly good. Desmond Harrington is convincing as he strong doctor, I believed in his character and his bravery and strength and also thought that he allowed the more emotional aspects of his role shine through (even though the characterisation is very minimal) Desmond delivers the dialogue with professionalism and gathers a good chemistry with cast (it is most potent with Dushku)
Eliza Dushku is one of my favourite young actresses at the moment, she always seems to understand her role and establish an emotional bond with the audience, making her instantly likeable. Her role in Wrong Turn is thankfully not just the virginal blonde who eventually develops some brain cells and discovers who the murderer is, Jesse actually is quite spunky and intelligent which makes a nice change. Dushku is again wholly convincing in her role and suits it perfectly adding a lot to the production and rising above the standards of most recent Hollywood horrors.
Surprisingly the script for Wrong Turn (penned by Alan B. McElroy) is very unhollywoodish and fairly intelligent, there are attempts at keeping the characters human as we do get a bit of emotion trickle through and the premise although unoriginal and unrealistic allows for a lot of avenues to be explored, the well scripted 'frightening scenes' are often hair raising and the action is structured well, never allowing to pace to become slow. Sadly though Wrong Turns screenplay is far from perfect, a lot of the backup characters are wooden and two dimensional, some of the elaborately gory set pieces are over the top and some of the decisions that the young group make are excruciatingly unrealistic.
Steering away from the self consciousness post modern horror flicks that now come out in droves Rob Schmidt opts for the more serious slasher film, but his direction cant hold the film together, even though the potential was there. To me his direction is rather slap dash and self indulgent, instead of concentrating on real scares he tries to make the gore matter more (thankfully the script kept him on a leash, there is a real sense that he was limited and couldn't just run wild with the film) Schmidt does not orchestrate the physical effects very well and doesn't give his talented cast chance to shine. It is a shame that his efforts to steer his film weren't more successful as this had the idea and ambition to become a modern day classic.
One of the main problems I had with Wrong Turn, is that it runs out of steam pretty quickly. As the cast is relatively small the body count isnt very high, which means that although the thrills stay up for the final quarter as only a few survivors try to escape, it stops becoming a fast and furious horror and turns into and edgy thriller, which may disappoint some horror veterans (something I am most defiantly not)
Stan Winston was brought in to do the makeup for wrong turn and makes three horrific villains that manage to become quite scary. Overall I thought that Wrong Turn was a fairly good thriller, that rose above most instalments in its rather clogged up genre because of decent death sequences, alright acting and plotting.
You Can Buy Wrong Turn On DVD For: £8.97
I've got to admit that I went into Wrong Turn with extremely low expectations. I'd heard the films reputation as the latest cheesy horror movie to hit the market, and well, we have to face facts here. The old story of a group of teenagers trapped in the woods with a group of crazed, cannibalistic inbreeds is hardly anything new. What else could I expect but a lame rehash of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Yet I found myself drawn to the watching the film, I'd had a bad day, was in a bad mood and just wanted something to complain about. Unfortunately director Rob Schmidt couldn't provide me with what I was looking for, he had to take the wrong turn himself and produce one of the most intense American horror movies I've seen in years. (before people start complaining, I'm not into the supernatural so there's obviously going to be certain films I haven't seen.)
It didn't always look that way though. At the start I was sitting in my seat in full complaining mode as I sat through one of those lame, clichéd pre title scares. It really was bad, 2 incredibly dumb hikers are taking some recreation time. The girl is stuck asking for help and the guy is ignoring every word of it, until he suddenly goes quiet and the audience guesses the reason why. You can guess how it goes from there, someone throws his body off the edge, she drops, then she runs and as she gets within a few feet of her car she trips. She looks up at the car and an unseen person drags her back into the woods. Absolutely nothing new there then, and a totally useless scene designed to tell the audience that "there's something bad in the woods." Of course it's a fair bet that in a room full of people who chose to watch the film, the majority of the audience knew this already.
Anyway, after the decidedly creepy credits the film continues on with it's traditional nonsense. Guy decides that with the highway in a major traffic jam, the only way he wont be late for his job interview is to cut through a mountain road in the woods, but along the way he bumps into another car damaging his own in the process. the Dr, and 3 of the passengers from the other car decide to head off back to civilization leaving the 2 remaining friends to wait alone by the cars. In true horror movie tradition they decide to get up to what teenagers get up to in the woods, and then die immediately after. Yet from this point on, and for some strange reason, the film suddenly gets good. The characters who went off, find an empty shack and since it's empty they decide to investigate. The inside of the shack is very Silent Hill in it's design, with it's rusty fridge freezer's, which store things you'll be glad you'll never see, and a quick search of the shack reveals it to be a slaughter house. Schmidt draws the scene out for all it's worth as the cannibals arrive home and the characters have to hide.
The camera work used keeps rapidly cutting between the characters hiding under the bed and the characters in the cupboard. Neither of which have a very good view of what's happening, but combined can see just enough to make the scene scary. For the first time in the film you find yourself involved in the film. You still don't really care about the characters themselves, but you do feel like you yourself are there with them. The audience member becomes a character, trapped in a cabin hiding, whilst crazed cannibals cut up a corpse mere inches from you. It's a feeling that's then carried throughout the film, as none of the characters ever get developed yet you can still relate. It's like all of your worst Nightmares placed on the screen, and as such the atmosphere is unrelenting. The cannibals that follow the party never get bored of hunting them, and every time the characters think they've lost them they prove themselves right there. This means that there is never a chance for big exposition scenes because the film happens in exactly the same way as a nightmare, which, in my experience, rarely leave time for conversation.
In fact the nightmarish nature of the film was so strong, that by the time the film reaches it's most memorable set piece, in the tree tops no less, I was almost willing myself to wake up just to get some relief from the unrelenting nightmare. It doesn't come though. With the exception of a quick reference to Deliverance, that to be fair did come before the film got good, Wrong Turn is not a film that tries to rely on irony. This is a path that is seemingly essential for any modern horror movie released in America, but by ignoring the very notion of humour Wrong Turn is able to intensify the horror of the situation even more.
Before I end this review though I would like to give some credit to makeup artist Stan Winston who's work went a long way to building the atmosphere of the film. While the fast editing on the kills themselves mimics the quick, and largely painless deaths, Winston's work on the after effects make the deaths seem much more unpleasant. I don't really like gore in my movies, and yet I can't imagine Wrong Turn working without the extremely detailed effects by Winston, because the very knowledge of what will happen to the bodies gives the characters an even bigger reason to try to live. (though parents and anyone who is offended by violence will want to avoid it for this reason. I probably wouldn't watch it again myself because it is very graphic) However it's in the creature effects on the inbred cannibals where he gets to be the most creative. These people look entirely convincing and each of them have their own unique characteristics. My favorite has to be the little one, who's energy and enthusiasm for the kill reminded me greatly of Leatherface, history's most memorable inbred cannibal. It's a shame that I have to make the comparison but it can't be avoided, because there's no denying that in it's story Wrong Turn is very similar to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Yet that film was made 30 years ago and so it's nice to see that in a time where nearly every slasher movie has to be dripping in irony, that a film can be released that is serious, intense and just plain scary.
Sadly, while I was well prepared to grant the film 4 stars the ending spoiled things. I wont spoil it here but, like the start, the closing act reeks of studio intervention. It's a film that would have benefited from a more negative, less mainstream ending, but since that is not the case it has to lose points for leaving the audience with a lack of the adrenaline it had filled them with previously.
If you go down to the woods today, you?re sure of a big surprise. If you go down to the woods today you?d better not close your eyes. Because far from bears are men with sharp glares and very big scary knives. You know it?s just one of those days when you?re late for an important meeting, you?re met with a traffic jam so you decide to take the back roads. Only you have an accident with another car and there?s not a phone in sight. So you go in a group in search of help, but what you encounter are a bunch of inbred mountain men with cannibal tendencies. This is what happens to Chris Flynn, his wrong turn leads to hell. No one is safe as he bands together with a bunch of teens including the very nubile Eliza Dushku. However they?re lost and they?re prey. Wrong Turn has a very simple concept. In fact it?s nothing more that your usual gory horror film but it?s one that works purely because it keeps itself very tight and very tense. This film reminded me of the dirty old horror movies of the seventies such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, it also has hints of Deliverance and surely takes influences from a number of video nasties such as I Spit On Your Grave. What the film does is not shy away from the subject matter. This is not a film for those with a weak constitution as you get to see some of the mountain men?s cannibal exploits on screen, It?s not amusing like Hannibal, it?s actually pretty un-nerving. Director Rob Schmidt creates a good environment within the film. There are a great number of set pieces such as a silent stalking though the woodland at night. There is also one shock moment that easily rivals anything in Final Destination. It?s something you just don?t seen coming. The mountain men are well realized with Stan Winston?s make-up effects creating some very grotesque individuals. One of them by the name of Three Finger is particularly frightening with his weasel movements and Lecter style noises. Desmond Harrington and
Dushku are also good in the main roles. Dushku is far from the damsel in distress and is a strong female lead while Harrington plays the male hero role well. I also appreciate any film that doesn?t go down the predictable route of having a happy ending where the two fall in love after their hellish journey. Now I?m not saying that Wrong Turn is an amazing film, it?s limited concept means it can?t reach those heights but it?s a film that was much better than I expected. For example it could have filled it?s sou dtrack with rock music but it doesn?t do that, it goes for unsettling score instead. Wrong Turn does exactly what it says on the tin and for once isn?t the sugar coated kind of horror you?ve come to expect.