WRONG Turn is a white-knuckle thrill ride born of the traditions of classic '70s-style horror movies, including a central plot which reeks of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, archetypal characters who have Dead Meat tattooed on their foreheads and lashings of gore.

Despite its strict adherence to the conventions of the genre, Rob Schmidt's slickly paced film is enormously entertaining and exhilarating, blessed with a deliciously sick sense of humour and fantastic special effects courtesy of Academy Award winner Stan Winston.

En route to an important job interview, Chris (Desmond Harrington) tries to bypass a major highway accident by taking a detour down a little used dirt path. He loses control of the vehicle and crashes into a Range Rover, barely missing the passengers: Jessie (Eliza Dushku), Carly (Emmanuelle Chriqui), Scott (Jeremy Sisto), Francine (Lindy Booth) and Evan (Kevin Zegers).

Stranded in the woods, the group seeks refuge in a deserted ramshackle cabin, only to stumble upon grisly hunting weapons and pickled human remains. Realising they have walked into a trap, the sextet battle against the elements and three deformed mountain men to escape from the woods unscathed.

After a deceptively slow opening, Wrong Turn accelerates smartly into top gear as the rapidly dwindling survivors come face to face with their deformed hunters, who are armed to the teeth with arrows, axes, barbed wire and large hunting knives.

You can guess which characters will be slaughtered almost from the word go, but the film still has great fun with the death sequences.

Contrary to its title, Wrong Turn knows where it is going and gets there in double quick time.

Rating: 7/10