Because I thought that 2007’s Wrong Turn 2: Dead End offered a surprisingly good direct-to-video sequel, I figured 2009’s Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead deserved a look. We head back to the West Virginia woods for more mayhem. To open, the usual collection of attractive 20-something folks get in touch with nature – and get slaughtered by a bunch of in-bred mutant cannibals.

After the intro, we head to prison and see hardened inmates who get carted off in a bus. On the way to a different prison, the cannibals attack the bus and drive it off the road.

The guards and prisoners escape but they find themselves stuck in the woods. As they attempt to get to civilization, they encounter Alex (Janet Montgomery), the only survivor from the rafters seen at the film’s start. We follow this group as they attempt to stave off slaughter.

If nothing else, the various Wrong Turn movies credit for the fact they don’t simply rehash the same story over and over again. While the first movie focused on the hot travelers of the sort referenced in this one’s prelude, Dead End used reality show contestants as its focus, and this one gives us a motley crew of prisoners. The series could’ve simply stayed with the same “lost in the woods” hotties of the first movie, so I appreciate that the sequels try to stretch the concept.

A little, at least, as graphic mayhem remains the focal point. It doesn’t matter if we see hot campers, prisoners or reality show contestants; fans just want to see kills, bloodshed and all the related gore.

And Left provides plenty of that material. Within the first few minutes, a hot topless girl receives an arrow through the boob and another through the eye, while her beau gets sliced into three pieces by a hidden contraption. That’s just an appetizer, as lots more grotesque footage appears.

Essentially, Left is a collection of kills around which the filmmakers built a story. I’m glad they chose a new crew of sheep for the cannibals to slaughter, but that doesn’t mean the tale varies much from the standard template. Yeah, the inmates are better able to fight back than college students would be, but other than that premise, nothing here stands out as new or fresh.

That turns Left into a tedious, plodding flick. The first two movies had enough creativity to make them interesting, but this one just seems cheap and tacky. All aspects of the production feel bare-bones. The second Wrong Turn wasn’t exactly a big-budget affair, but it felt notably more polished than this bargain basement nonsense.

That affects all aspects of the production, from cast to makeup to effects. The film does attempt some ambitious mayhem, but it bites off more than it can chew. For instance, when we see the character sliced into three parts, we’re stuck with some awful CGI. The visual flops miserably; the movie would’ve worked better with less ambitious kills that actually looked believable.

Even if the film boasted excellent production values, it’d falter due to relentlessly awful acting. No, I don’t expect Olivier and de Havilland, but I want better than this. I don’t get it. The world is filled with jillions of wannabe actors. Some of them have to be good, don’t they?

Maybe only one percent of all actors know what they’re doing. Unfortunately, none of that one percent shows up for Left. The majority of the actors relentlessly overact, though same – mainly Tom Frederic as the lead correctional officer – underact to such an extreme that they barely display a pulse. None of them display any skill; they just make a bad movie even worse.

And make no mistake: Wrong Turn 3 is a pretty awful movie. It boasts no redeeming values, and I don’t just mean in a social sense. It lacks any form of creativity or life.

Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.78:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Though this was a watchable presentation, it suffered from some blandness typical of low-budget productions.

Sharpness took a hit. While much of the flick demonstrated decent delineation, it rarely exhibited particularly strong definition. A few daytime exteriors – like those on the river at the film’s start – were crisp and distinctive, but too much of the movie came across as a little bland and soft. No issues with jagged edges or shimmering occurred, and I noticed no edge enhancement. Source flaws remained absent, though the flick could be rather grainy.

Colors tended to be a bit dull. Some of that stemmed from visual design, but I thought that the hues lacked much vivacity even at their best. Still, they were acceptable. Blacks were generally inky and dull, while shadows came across as passable. Low-light shots weren’t overly opaque, but they could be flat. In the end, this was a mediocre presentation.

I also failed to find anything especially impressive about the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Left for Dead. While the soundfield demonstrated a lot of activity, it didn’t delineate the elements in a particularly positive manner. Oh, some elements provided good movement and localization, but too much of the time, I thought the soundscape tended to be a bit mushy. We got sporadic instances of good information, but the mix was inconsistent.

Audio quality was fine, though. Speech appeared concise and natural, without edginess of other concerns. Music showed nice range and punch, and effects followed suit. Bass response might’ve been a bit heavy at times, but low-end was usually satisfying. Nothing bad affected the track, but the erratic soundfield left it as a “C+”.

Don’t expect much in terms of extras. A collection of featurettes called Wrong Turn 3 In 3 Fingers… I Mean, Parts runs a total of 18 minutes, eight seconds. It includes notes from director Declan O’Brien and actors Gil Kolirin, Tom Frederic, Jake Curran, Tom McKay, Christian Contreras, Janet Montgomery, Tamer Hassan and Chucky Venn. “Fingers” looks at stunts, action and gore, various effects, cast and performances, and O’Brien’s work on the set. While it doesn’t substitute for a commetary, “Fingers” offers a decent overview of the production. It touches on enough of the expected areas to make it reasonably informative.

Two Deleted Scenes fill a total of one minute, 24 seconds. The first (0:59) shows a little more of the local sheriff and his pursuit of the cannibals, while the second (0:25) lets us see his female deputy’s struggle. Neither one proves interesting.

A few ads open the disc. We get clips for The Marine II, Sons of Anarchy, and Wrong Turn 2: Dead End. No trailer for Left appears here.

After two good movies, I hoped Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead would be another relative winner. Unfortunately, it offered a tacky, cheap piece of garbage. The Blu-ray provides mediocre picture and audio along with only minor supplements. I doubt even big Wrong Turn fans will get anything from Left for Dead, as it’s a consistently weak film.