This is the classic tale of boy meets road. Boy leaves road. Boy meets a bunch of others who left the road. Boy and new friends are terrorized/killed by a mutant cannibalistic family living in the forest. It makes me so happy I could poo.

It highlights many of the age-old tried and true lessons we all learned in our youths and shows what happens if we are not mindful of those lessons. For instance:

1. If a gas station looks like a haunted gas station and the attendant looks like he may be a zombie, do not use the 700 year old map to find an alternate route to your destination.
2. If driving down a new road found in a map at a haunted gas station, drive less than 100 miles per hour down this completely unknown location. Even if this will make you late! Drive less than 80 if it is a dirt road with twists and turns in the middle of a forest.
3. If your car breaks down and you, along with some new buddies, stumble across a seemingly abandoned haunted house in the middle of the forest, do not walk right in like you own the place and go exploring. Walk back to the main road, even if that is 100 miles away.

I know, I know. This movie becomes a mite less entertaining if common sense was always first and foremost in everyone’s mind. This is where I imagine there is that inevitable split between those who are amused by idiotic decisions and those who now hate the movie due to its lack of realism. I think it’s amusing and realistic. There are a lot of dumb people out there. That being said, once the table is set the dining participants suddenly get much smarter and both sides will be happy with how things move forward.

There are certainly some top-notch gory effects and the mutant family is deliciously crazy and disgusting. The intensity/suspense of the situations is quite masterfully done as even scenes that maybe seem a bit familiar still have an adrenaline-inducing aspect to them.

The location is fun as well as there is an easy association to complete isolation when running in the middle of a forest. There does not appear to be any way that anyone could help them. It is up to them to escape or die.

There is a sequel to this movie, which has me curious, but not curious enough to get it before it drops in price. Always have to be careful when the sequel doesn’t make it to theaters.