Wrong Turn at Tahoe joins a burgeoning special collection of direct-to-video Cuba Gooding Jr. movies (including the recent Hardwired that co-starred Val Kilmer). The movie isn't outrageously awful so much as it doesn't ever really go anywhere such that it even has the potential to take a bad turn (that's the only groan-inducing metaphor, I promise).

Contrary to Pete Hammond's box quote, Tahoe isn't ever intense or gripping, let alone really qualify as a thriller. Gooding is a henchman with a kid who works for Miguel Ferrer. Harvey Keitel plays a rival crime lord. Someone steps on someone's turf, some shit gets real, and some shit goes down, all thanks to some moron who shot their mouth off. Welcome to DTV Actionland, where every ride is the same one with a different paint job and style of clothing to fit the time period. If you rent this at your local Blockbuster that hasn't yet closed, Keitel's entrance scene is worth watching even if what comes before it gives you fits. The girl in her underwear on the cover is a red herring and a half: the movie is solely comprised of events that lead to things getting worse for unlikeable, unsympathetic people through a desaturated color filter and "extra grime" lens. Wrong Turn at Tahoe is like fast food so greasy, it makes you want to take a shower and a blood test afterward. Of course, that's exactly what some people are looking for.