Exclusive: Cinematographer Nick Junkersfeld Discusses Gruesome Look of the New WRONG TURN Reboot
Josh Millican
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The original Wrong Turn premiered in May 2003, on the tail end of the slasher craze that was going on at that time (thanks to the likes of Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Urban Legend, and others). The film distinguished itself from other horror films with a different kind of evil lurking in the woods, brutally picking off innocent teenagers.
After slowly becoming a cult classic, the film sparked five new installments, the last one being 2014’s Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort. Seven years later, the franchise is back, with a new story helmed by original Wrong Turn writer Alan B. McElroy (Spawn, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers). This latest installment was directed by Mike P. Nelson and stars Charlotte Vega, Adain Bradley, Emma Dumont, Dylan McTee, Daisy Head, Bill Sage, and Matthew Modine.
Synopsis:
Despite warnings to stick to the Appalachian Trail, hikers stray off course and cross into land inhabited by a hidden community of mountain dwellers who use deadly means to protect their way of life. Suddenly under siege, the friends seem headed to the point of no return — unless one man can reach them in time.
Also bringing a fresh take to the franchise is cinematographer Nick Junkersfeld. To learn more about the overall look of Wrong Turn, we spoke to Nick about everything from the obstacles of shooting in the woods, to lighting the many cave scenes with torchlight. Read the exclusive interview below. Wrong Turn will be available on VOD February 26th, 2021.
Dread Central: How did you initially get involved with Wrong Turn?
Nick Junkersfeld: My close-collaborator Mike P. Nelson contacted me in May 2019 to tell me he was going to be directing the Wrong Turn reboot, and he had told his producers he wanted me to shoot the film. I was beyond excited because he and I had been trying to make a feature film together for a long time. I then pitched how I envisioned we might shoot the film to Mike and the producers, and they liked my perspective on how to bring this story to life.
DC: Before beginning work on Wrong Turn, did you go back and watch any of the previous installments? Or had you already seen them?
NJ: I’ve only seen the original Wrong Turn! I saw it back in 2003 and I haven’t watched any of the sequels. I did enjoy the original film, even if it doesn’t quite fit my personal taste (no pun intended hehe).
DC: This Wrong Turn is rebooting the franchise. Because of this did you go out of your way to do something new/different than the previous films to make it fresh?
NJ: The script itself went so far out of orbit from the previous films, that our approach to shooting the film was inherently different because of the enormous narrative change from the previous films. Something significant we did photographically was to shoot all of the scenes within The Foundation on 2x anamorphic lenses, and nearly all of the other scenes on spherical lenses. This is something I wanted to do in order to portray these completely different realities in a visual way. The only time we broke this “rule” is when Jen returns home at the end of the film and finds The Foundation has come down from the mountain to find her. In that scene, I felt it appropriate that we revert back to anamorphic because everyone in that scene was essentially living under the laws of The Foundation in that moment, whether they all knew it or not.
DC: Were there any specific challenges you had to overcome, photography wise, when making this film?
NJ: This was a really challenging film to shoot because of the tight schedule, various locations and the ensemble cast. Principle photography lasted 26 days and we used every last second. For example, shooting in the woods can be both liberating and restrictive. On one hand it’s easy because a forest can be so disorienting which allowed us to block the scenes flexibly, and even reuse certain locations. On the other hand, bringing equipment into these areas can be difficult and counter-productive. The scenes in the caves built by The Foundation were also challenging because we lit much of the scenes with firelight and maintaining the ambient light levels with torches was new challenge for me. Despite all of that, the crew did a spectacular job by keeping the production reactive and fluid.
DC: What was your favorite part of working with director Mike P. Nelson?
NJ: Mike brings a joyous energy to the set that is infectious and really helps coalesce the cast and crew. He and I have a lot of fun together and are constantly building off of the other’s ideas, looking for ways to elevate whatever we are making. It’s a supportive and liberating collaboration because we’re empowering each other to push and take risks for the sake of the film.
DC: Horror films have a very specific look to them, with darkness and shadows. Because the film is in this genre, did you feel like you needed to stick to specific “horror” perimeters?
NJ: Certainly, I felt much of this film should have a dark-feel and didn’t shy away from lighting setups with significant contrast. That said, I never try and bring a preconceived idea of how things should be to a project – I let script and director tell me what it ought to be and then go from there. I like to be open-minded at the outset because you can be surprised at what unexpected approach serves a film or a particular scene.
DC: Most of Wrong Turn takes place in the woods. What is the hardest part about shooting a film in the woods?
NJ: Choosing the right places to shoot the forest scenes was important because maintaining a consistent look throughout a day of shooting is difficult due to the sun’s movement. My approach was to use locations with dense tree canopy overhead to allow us to keep shooting without too much difficulty whether the day offered a completely clear sky, or if it was partly cloudy. Color-grading during post production helped bring cohesion to the film’s look due to the changing conditions. We were also very fortunate it hardly rained at all throughout principal photography. Camera-wise, we committed to handheld for much of the forest scenes for both the tone of those scenes, and for practical reasons.
DC: Besides this one of course, do you have a favorite previous Wrong Turn film?
NJ: Having only seen the original Wrong Turn, I’d have to choose that one! I do hope horror fans enjoy this reimagining of Wrong Turn and I give Alan McElroy and the film’s producers a lot of credit for taking the franchise in such a different direction. I think it has a lot of potential going forward.
DC: Are you personally a horror fan? If so, are there specific films where the cinematography really stuck out to you?
NJ: I am absolutely a horror fan, and grew up with Jason, Freddie, Michael, Pinhead and so many other icons of the genre haunting my dreams as a kid. A few recent films that come to mind that have made a great impression on me are The Babadook, The Conjuring and Under the Skin – both for their visual approaches and for the emotional thread they carried which elevated them to the top of the genre and beyond.
Are you excited to check out Wrong Turn on VOD later this month? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! You can also carry on the convo with me personally on Twitter @josh_millican.
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