Exclusive Interview with Frank H. Woodward on Writing Wrong Turn 6
On tap right now we have an exclusive interview with Frank H. Woodward, writer of the upcoming sixth entry in the Wrong Turn franchise, Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort. Read on for the skinny on this latest round of hillbilly inbred horror!
Dread Central: You’ve only recently made the switch from focusing on documentary films to horror narratives as a screenwriter, your first feature having been Black Forest. One can see the appeal of doing a completely original concept your first time out the gate, but was there any hesitation in adding your name to a long list of others in a horror franchise for the sophomore script?
Frank H. Woodward: Black Forest got me in the door. I’d been writing spec scripts for a while, but that was the first one to be produced. As a freshman writer, I felt my next step was to challenge myself, and writing within the parameters of an established series is the kind of challenge all screenwriters should face if they mean to sharpen their game.
DC: How creative can you be when you have the limitations of what came before?
FHW: Just because the Wrong Turn films were on their sixth installment didn’t mean there wasn’t room for creativity, however. In fact, I think that’s one of the other goals for a writer… finding imaginative angles.
In the case of Wrong Turn, there was a lot of unexplored territory. That allowed me to try new ideas and hopefully expanded the universe. For any series to have long life, it has to have a world where many stories can exist. I felt the Wrong Turn series had barely explored its world even after five films. In Last Resort you’ll meet new characters and discover an expanded mythos. If we did our jobs right, the series has someplace to go in film 7… if there is a film 7.
DC: Ultimately, what made you decide to take the plunge? (Aside from rent and car payments, of course!)
FHW: Outside of the challenge I mentioned above and all I could learn from that experience… it’s the horror. I love horror movies! I’ve made three documentaries exploring that genre. Why not write Wrong Turn 6? It promised to be fun, and it was.
FHW: I had seen the first two films and thought they were pretty good. The first film was a Stan Winston creation. That’s quite a pedigree! And WT2… that was just bug nuts fun! The opening kill alone is a classic. Beyond that, though, I can’t say I was a fan of the series. It was part of the horror movie landscape and I respected them, but after film 2 I had lost track.
Once I was hired to write WT6, I watched the whole series. They were… well, they delivered on the boobs and the blood. Nothing wrong with that, but I think that’s the minimum requirement for films like these. I tried to do more with WT6. Give more of a story. Craft interesting characters. It wasn’t that I set out to make it better; I just wanted it to be good.
But a good script is just the beginning. You need a creative director (like Valeri Milev), talented actors (like Anthony Ilott and Sadie Katz, just to name a few of the ensemble we had), and a crafty crew. WT6 had all of these things, and I think the team effort to make the best film we could is paying off. Audiences and fans have been enthusiastic about the finished film so we must have done something right.
DC: Were you hired to write from an existing idea or treatment, or were you able to come up with an all-new mythology?
FHW: The producers came to me with certain parameters. They had a location. They wanted the three Hillicker Brothers to be in there. They also knew they wanted to go in a new direction from the previous sequels.
Well, any time a producer tells you they want to go in a “new direction,” it immediately frees you up to explore. So I pitched them on the idea of the location being an old health resort like the one in Battle Creek. Places old timers went rusticating, had a colonic or two, and enjoyed the healing waters. Now what if the Hillickers were more than cannibalistic hicks? What if they had ties to this resort that hinted at a deeper heritage?
Heritage, or rather the devolution of heritage, are also themes in a lot of H.P. Lovecraft stories like “The Lurking Fear” and “Rats in the Walls.” Being a fan of Lovecraft, I thought these stories had elements I could use here as well. It’s hidden in the mix, but it’s there.
So I cooked up this new mythology, and fortunately Fox and the producers liked it.
DC: Oftentimes the writers of horror franchises are brought on to direct the next one in line… has that been offered to you yet, or are you hoping that will be the case?
FHW: Well, first there hasn’t been any official decision to make Wrong Turn 7. Not yet. And when Fox finally decides, I wouldn’t be surprised if they stick with Valeri. Valeri is a wonderfully twisted talent and a big reason why this film looks as good as it does. He took the kills I wrote and elevated them to a whole other level.
If WT6 is a success, I wouldn’t be surprised if Fox and the producers hired the same creative team. I sure hope they do anyway. I have ideas about where to go next and would love to work more with Valeri this time around.
DC: Of course, Wrong Turn movies are known for their extreme gore and inventive kills. Did you study the other films before writing this one to make sure you would not be duplicating anything that’s gone before?
FHW: We made a conscious effort not to repeat too much in terms of gore and kills. It’s hard, though, because after five films fans expect certain things. Barbed wire and arrows have always loomed large in the Hillicker arsenal. We had to have those in the movie and that may seem familiar. That said, I’m fairly sure there are at least two or three new deaths in this one.
DC: Aside from Wrong Turn 6, what’s your favorite one of the franchise, and what do you love about it?
FHW: As I mentioned above, WT2 is the one I enjoyed most like a lot of the fans. Director Joe Lynch brought a sense of humor and fun to that film. It’s hard not to get caught up in that spirit while watching it.
DC: What’s next on the horror agenda for you, Frank?
FHW: You mentioned directing before. That’s next for me. I just shot a short film called Balloon which is a lot more sinister than it sounds. I’m also working with Balloon’s producers to develop a feature film called Exit. Exit would be my directorial debut… if all goes well.
I also haven’t retired from documentaries and hope to make an announcement about my next one soon. It will have something to do with horror and sci-fi. That much I can promise you.
Helmed by Re-Kill‘s Valeri Milev, Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort arrives on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD on October 21. Sadie Katz, Aqueela Zoll, Anthony Ilott, Chris Jarvis, Rollo Skinner, Billy Ashworth, Joe Gaminara, Harry Belcher, Raymond Steers, Luke Cousins, Tabitha Luke Eardley, and Roxanne Pallett star.
Synopsis
The unrelenting terror starts when an emotionally troubled young man, Danny, inherits an isolated backwoods hotel that may hold the key to his secret past. A trip to the peaceful resort quickly transforms into a blood-soaked killing spree as Danny’s friends are brutally murdered one by one.
Danny discovers that Three Finger and his flesh-eating kin are to blame, but the chilling surprises they have in store for him have only just begun. Danny ultimately learns that he has an unthinkable connection to the clan of hillbilly cannibals, but now that he knows the shocking truth, he will face an even more horrifying choice.
Categorized:News
