movie tourist 2021

Aleksey Shevchenkov (Maket) Aleksandr Baranovskiy (Limon) Vladimir Petrov (Grisha 'Tourist' Dmitriyev) Evgeniy Terskikh (Kuban) Flaviya-Gertruda Mbayabe (Katrin) Sergey Vorobyov (Yenisey) Georgiy Bolonev (Kort) Aleksey Udaltsov (Zherar) Gleb Temnov (Sedmoy) Denis Volkov (Gradus)

Andrey Shcherbinin

December 2020. Former police officer Grisha Dmitriev arrives in the Central African Republic with a small group of Russian instructors. Grisha's assignment does not seem complicated, because the instructors' tasks are only to teach the local army soldiers the basics of tactics and methods of fighting. However, everything goes wrong from the start. Several bandit groups march on the capital to stage a coup d'Start in the country. Russian instructors together with their charges fight back against the bandits. But for Grisha, who has never taken part in military operations, this business trip turns into a living hell.

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December 2020. Former police officer Grisha Dmitriev arrives in the Central African Republic with a small group of Russian instructors. Everything goes wrong from the start.

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Critique: 1

The film itself is a form of conflict: Beautiful to watch, it tells us why we shouldn’t travel while simultaneously inspiring wanderlust.

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In general, not bad, although films about military exploits often turn out better than not bad in our country. If you perceive it as an action movie, then at one time it’s quite. The story of how a military instructor got himself into trouble and saved a bunch of people. The actress is a little above average. Nice picture. Everything Translated to English

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Story of Russian military advisors in the Central African Republic

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Movie trailer, where can you watch tourist online, movie score.

May 19, 2021,

Andrey Batov

Aleksei Shevchenkov, Evgeny Terskikh, Sergey Vorobyov, Georgy Bolonev, Aleksandr Baranovskiy, Sergey Pavlov

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The Tourist

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The scenery and the stars are undeniably beautiful, but they can't make up for The Tourist 's slow, muddled plot, or the lack of chemistry between Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie.

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HBO Max continues stealth drops of some of the best drama mini-series on television. Last year highlights included “The Head” and “ Station Eleven ,” and they start 2022 strongly with the fantastic “The Tourist,” a twisty tale that plays like an Aussie version of “ Fargo .” With sharp dialogue, clever plotting, and career-best work from Jamie Dornan and Danielle Macdonald , this is a great little thriller, a show that constantly keeps you guessing and entertained in equal measure.

The “ Belfast ” and “ Fifty Shades of Grey ” star plays an unnamed man (at least for a while) who is driving through the very remote Australian outback. He stops at a station to use the bathroom, banters with the guy behind the counter, and hits the road again. Looking in the rearview mirror, he sees a truck gaining on him with remarkable speed. The Man twists off the road to avoid it and the trucker follows, revealing through a POV from his cab that this is very intentional—he’s trying to kill this tourist. They race through the desert until The Man’s car crashes. He wakes up in a hospital with no memory of who he is or how he got there.

Enter a small-town officer named Helen Chambers (Macdonald), engaged to an awful man named Ethan ( Greg Larsen ) and thrust into a mystery about who this handsome Irishman is in a hospital bed. When The Man finds a note with a time and a location in his pocket, he heads to a small town called Burnt Ridge, where he meets a woman named Luci ( Shalom Brune-Franklin ) who might know about his past, ends up crossing paths with a sociopath ( Ólafur Darri Ólafsson ) who clearly wants him dead, and gets a phone call from a man who’s been buried underground. And then things get even weirder.

Created by the people behind the excellent “ The Missing ” (which aired stateside on Starz), the writing on “The Tourist” is a metronomic back and forth between reveals and how those reveals propel the narrative in a new direction. Pushing their way through all the chaos are Dornan and Macdonald, both phenomenal. Dornan finds a quirky, unsettled way to play a man who doesn’t know who he is without resorting to the cliché of the lost soul. If anything, he leans into more of a blank slate interpretation of amnesia, playing a guy who’s more open to what comes next because he can’t remember what came before. And Macdonald is charming and so incredibly likable that she becomes the heart of a show that can be cold at times.

Echoes of “ Memento ” and “Fargo” aside, “The Tourist” also has its own quirky personality. Some of those quirks get a bit extreme in late-season episodes in ways I can’t spoil, but the show is never boring. It’s a reminder that the Dornan who was so great in “ The Fall ” is still out there, and I hope it leads him to more bizarre, challenging roles like this one. There’s an argument to be made that there’s an even-better 100-minute movie in this six-episode mini-series, but that’s not the world we’re in right now. A story like this has a better chance to be told in the TV system than the mid-budget film one, and the writers don’t drag their feet or spin their wheels like so many streaming thrillers. They’re constantly moving our hero forward, keeping us uncertain about his past and even his moral center.

Some will argue that “The Tourist” gets too convoluted and I’ll admit that I enjoyed the playful uncertainty of the first half of the season more than the intensity of the second half. Although the show does get deeper in how it unpacks lies we tell ourselves and those we listen to from other people. It turns out that everyone on "The Tourist" has a secret or two, and almost all of them could use a car accident to reset the hole they've dug for themselves.

I'm not sure how intentional it is but the show never stopped reminding me of some of my favorite early Coen films—the noir danger of “ Blood Simple ,” the open roads of “ Raising Arizona ” (and a bearded hunter who seems unkillable), Macdonald’s very Marge Gunderson character—and yet these nods to greats are embedded in a breakneck plot that never slows down enough to distract from its own inspired storytelling. Take the trip.

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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Beretta 84FS

The leader of Insurgency (Bian Venyu) holds a Beretta 84FS .

Glock Style Pistol

One of the Chadian mercenaries uses a pistol similar to a Glock . However, this gun is hammer-fired and differs in design from a real Glock. It is likely a gas pistol replica.

Unidentified Pistols

Antoine (Wilfred Williams) carries a pistol in a holster. It appears to be a SIG-Sauer P220 pistol series model.

Stechkin APS

Pamir (Sergey Garusov) carries a holstered Stechkin APS .

Several Russian contractors carry the Makarov PM in their holsters.

Browning Auto-5

One of the insurgents is armed with a sawed-off Browning Auto-5 with a stock.

Most of Russian contractors, known as "Tourists", are armed primarily with the AKM .

Zhenya (Yevgeniy Terskikh) is armed with an AKMS .

Some of the Russian contractors are armed with AKS-74Us .

One of the Russian contractors is armed with a AS Val .

Norinco Type 56 Variants

Insurgents and Central African Republic government soldiers are armed primarily with Norinco Type 56 variant rifles.

One of the insurgents is armed with a Vektor R4 .

M4A1 Carbine

A bodyguard and one of the UN soldiers is armed with an M4 Carbine .

VSS Vintorez

One of the Russian contractors is armed with a VSS Vintorez .

Machine Guns

"Tourists", government forces, and insurgents all use the PKMs .

One of the "Tourists" is armed with an RPK .

Insurgents and government soldiers are armed with DShKM heavy machine guns.

A W-85 is seen on a technical.

The KPVT Heavy Machine Gun is seen mounted on the armored truck.

Type 69 RPG

The Type 69 RPG is used by insurgents.

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An F1 hand grenade is sen on the corpse of killed government soldier.

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Amazing tourist attractions and destinations being DESTROYED by the weather

Posted: 31 May 2024 | Last updated: 31 May 2024

<p>Some of the world’s most spectacular places are falling victim to severe weather as a result of climate change. Whether it’s melting glaciers, rising seas, fiercer storms or dreadful floods, the short and long-term effects of global warming are putting many of the world’s prime destinations at risk. Here we look at some tourist attractions that are under threat.</p> <p><strong>Click through the gallery to see how the climate crisis is impacting your favourite destination...</strong></p>

Weather watch

Some of the world’s most spectacular places are falling victim to severe weather as a result of climate change. Whether it’s melting glaciers, rising seas, fiercer storms or dreadful floods, the short and long-term effects of global warming are putting many of the world’s prime destinations at risk. Here we look at some tourist attractions that are under threat.

Click through the gallery to see how the climate crisis is impacting your favourite destination...

<p>An ancient complex of rock-cut caves, rich in Hindu and Buddhist art and statues, has been identified as a World Heritage Site at risk as a result of rising sea levels in a report by UNESCO. Found on Elephanta Island in Mumbai Harbour, the caves are one of the coastal city’s many treasures that are facing serious threat due to climate change with rising seas and an increased frequency of extreme weather events. In 2021, the state of Maharashtra was hit with its worst July monsoon in 40 years.</p>

Elephanta Caves, Maharashtra, India

An ancient complex of rock-cut caves, rich in Hindu and Buddhist art and statues, has been identified as a World Heritage Site at risk as a result of rising sea levels in a report by UNESCO. Found on Elephanta Island in Mumbai Harbour, the caves are one of the coastal city’s many treasures that are facing serious threat due to climate change with rising seas and an increased frequency of extreme weather events. In 2021, the state of Maharashtra was hit with its worst July monsoon in 40 years.

Every year, the walls of the Great Mosque of Djenne in Mali are re-plastered by the community. Cracks and erosion of the fragile mud structure, caused by rain plus temperature and humidity changes, are repaired. Part of UNESCO’s Old Towns of Djenne World Heritage Site, it is one of Africa's most revered religious monuments and the largest mud building on Earth. While the weather has long affected its structure, the changing and unpredictable climate could be catastrophic.

The Great Mosque of Djenne, Mali

The 2,000 traditional earthen houses of the Old Towns of Djenne, an important link in the trans-Saharan gold trade which sits on the floodplain of the Bani River, were built with the weather in mind. They sit on hillocks (or toguere) as protection from the region's seasonal floods. However, UNESCO's report notes the fragility of Djenne and other traditional earthen buildings in the changing climate as they are particularly susceptible to temperature and humidity.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda

When it comes to bucket-list wildlife encounters, trekking into the wilds of Uganda’s misty cloud forests to watch the mesmerising mountain gorillas go about their business is up there. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is home to almost half of the world’s mountain gorilla population but rising temperatures could drastically reduce the fragile habitat of the critically-endangered animals.

<p>Mountain gorillas can only be found in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and along the dormant volcanic Virunga mountain range that stretches into Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In addition to shrinking habitats, the gorillas are likely to be impacted by ripple effects of climate change as humans encroach on their territory. As the dry season gets longer and more severe, people will go further into the forest in search of fresh water for drinking and agriculture.</p>

Mountain gorillas can only be found in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and along the dormant volcanic Virunga mountain range that stretches into Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In addition to shrinking habitats, the gorillas are likely to be impacted by ripple effects of climate change as humans encroach on their territory. As the dry season gets longer and more severe, people will go further into the forest in search of fresh water for drinking and agriculture.

<p>The Dead Sea is in a shocking decline – losing up to four feet (1.2m) off its shores per year. Increasingly hotter temperatures caused by climate change are part of the reason it's shrinking, but there's more to the story: pipeline systems built in the mid-20th century have diverted the inland sea's primary water sources, so they now sit at just 5% of their original level. Plus, the water's alleged healing properties mean that cosmetic companies have also taken a share. The future of the Dead Sea is so uncertain that some experts estimate it'll be completely dry by 2050.</p>

The Dead Sea, Jordan/Israel

The Dead Sea is in a shocking decline – losing up to four feet (1.2m) off its shores per year. Increasingly hotter temperatures caused by climate change are part of the reason it's shrinking, but there's more to the story: pipeline systems built in the mid-20th century have diverted the inland sea's primary water sources, so they now sit at just 5% of their original level. Plus, the water's alleged healing properties mean that cosmetic companies have also taken a share. The future of the Dead Sea is so uncertain that some experts estimate it'll be completely dry by 2050.

Water is intertwined with the Venetian way of life and culture, but it’s also threatening its existence. The low-lying city faces seasonal flooding, known as acqua alta, four times a year but the frequency and severity is increasing. In November 2019, Venice was hit by the worst flooding since the Great Flood of 1966 following high tides and powerful storms. Many iconic buildings were damaged, including St Mark's Basilica.

Venice, Italy

<p>With Mediterranean Sea levels projected to rise five to six feet (1.5 to 1.8m) by 2100, not only are the city’s fragile monuments under threat, but its very existence is too. Construction on a system of flood gates, called MOSE, started in 2003 between the lagoon and the Adriatic Sea with the aim of gentling the effects of the acqua alta. Despite myriad issues and controversies, the gates were first activated in October 2020, preventing flooding of lower parts of the city, in particular Piazza San Marco.</p>

With Mediterranean Sea levels projected to rise five to six feet (1.5 to 1.8m) by 2100, not only are the city’s fragile monuments under threat, but its very existence is too. Construction on a system of flood gates, called MOSE, started in 2003 between the lagoon and the Adriatic Sea with the aim of gentling the effects of the acqua alta. Despite myriad issues and controversies, the gates were first activated in October 2020, preventing flooding of lower parts of the city, in particular Piazza San Marco.

<p>Rising temperatures and droughts are likely to affect one of the most biologically diverse regions on Earth – South Africa’s Cape Floral Region. The vast swathe of protected land, which covers 2.5 million acres, includes Table Mountain, Garden Route National Parks and Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. At least 30% of its plant species are not found anywhere else on the planet but with hotter temperatures and increased incidences of fires, the region’s wildflowers could cease to exist.</p> <p><strong>Liking this? Click on the Follow button above for more great stories from loveEXPLORING</strong></p>

Cape Floral Region Protected Areas, South Africa

Rising temperatures and droughts are likely to affect one of the most biologically diverse regions on Earth – South Africa’s Cape Floral Region. The vast swathe of protected land, which covers 2.5 million acres, includes Table Mountain, Garden Route National Parks and Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. At least 30% of its plant species are not found anywhere else on the planet but with hotter temperatures and increased incidences of fires, the region’s wildflowers could cease to exist.

Liking this? Click on the Follow button above for more great stories from loveEXPLORING

<p>A UNESCO report noted that "climate models suggest that by 2070 the [floral region] will experience average temperatures over 10 months of the year that would have been considered extreme in 1961 to 1990". As well as the flora, the fire-prone ecosystem’s bird population will also be affected by the increasingly extreme climate conditions, many of which pollinate the wildflowers.</p>

A UNESCO report noted that "climate models suggest that by 2070 the [floral region] will experience average temperatures over 10 months of the year that would have been considered extreme in 1961 to 1990". As well as the flora, the fire-prone ecosystem’s bird population will also be affected by the increasingly extreme climate conditions, many of which pollinate the wildflowers.

Lying 2,000 miles (3,220km) off the coast of Chile, it might be one of the world’s most remote heritage sites, but that doesn’t protect Easter Island from the irreparable damage caused by climate change. Rising sea levels are rapidly eroding the Pacific island’s coasts with some of its ancient stone statues at risk of being lost to the sea forever. It is one of the heritage sites most vulnerable to climate change in the world, according to a UNESCO report.

Easter Island, Chile

Having withstood the effects of wind and saltwater for more than half a millennium, the integrity of the moai, as the giant stone heads are known, is increasingly precarious. The island is dealing with other effects of climate change, including cooler waters, caused by fluctuating global temperatures, and less rainfall – 2017 was its driest year on record. Another threat to the mysterious monoliths are patches of lichen which are eating away at some of them.

White Cliffs of Dover, Kent, England, UK

Rising sea levels and increased stormy weather are expected to accelerate the erosion of soft-cliff coastlines, such as Britain’s fabled White Cliffs of Dover. Researchers found the chalky shores of southern England had retreated between nine and 12.5 inches (22 and 32cm) annually over the past 150 years. Substantial sections of the precious cliffs have fallen into the sea during the past decade's increasingly volatile winter storms – in February 2021 a huge chunk of the cliffs' middle section fell into the sea beneath it.

Great Barrier Reef, Australia

<p>The worst bleaching ever to affect the Great Barrier Reef took place five times in the last eight years, in 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022 and 2024, triggered by record-breaking sea surface temperatures. As well as warmer sea temperatures, the impact of ocean acidification, rising sea levels and the increased frequency of severe weather events remain a looming threat for Australia's natural wonder, and other coral reefs and marine systems around the world.</p>

The worst bleaching ever to affect the Great Barrier Reef took place five times in the last eight years, in 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022 and 2024, triggered by record-breaking sea surface temperatures. As well as warmer sea temperatures, the impact of ocean acidification, rising sea levels and the increased frequency of severe weather events remain a looming threat for Australia's natural wonder, and other coral reefs and marine systems around the world.

<p>A visit to the enchanting ancient town of Hoi An is a highlight of any trip to Vietnam. With its well-preserved, wood-framed merchants’ houses, the riverside trading port is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, the heritage body has highlighted the town, situated on the banks of the Thu Bon River, as at danger from climate change due to its flood-prone position. In 2017, Typhoon Damrey hammered central Vietnam with high winds and rains, causing the river to flood the town.</p>

Hoi An, Vietnam

A visit to the enchanting ancient town of Hoi An is a highlight of any trip to Vietnam. With its well-preserved, wood-framed merchants’ houses, the riverside trading port is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, the heritage body has highlighted the town, situated on the banks of the Thu Bon River, as at danger from climate change due to its flood-prone position. In 2017, Typhoon Damrey hammered central Vietnam with high winds and rains, causing the river to flood the town.

Much of Hoi An sits at no more than six feet (1.8m) above sea level, making it very vulnerable to storm surges and coastal erosion. UNESCO notes that the nearby popular stretch of sand, Cua Dai Beach, is already losing between 30 and 60 feet (9 and 18m) of land to erosion annually. The whole of the An Dinh district, where most of Hoi An's heritage houses are, has been flooded every year.

Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

One the world’s most spectacular, biologically significant and remote places is increasingly vulnerable to climate change. The Galapagos Islands, famed for their rich ecosystems and strange creatures that led to Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theory, are already feeling the impact of more extreme weather. Rising water temperatures during the 2014-2016, 2018-2019 and 2023 El Nino events (a warming of the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean) affected many facets of life.

<p>Scientists widely believe the Galapagos, where species thrive in its cool subtropical climate, will face yet more severe and frequent El Ninos as the climate changes. Rising sea levels will also reduce the size of beaches (important nesting areas for many species) and ocean acidification (caused by oceans absorbing more carbon dioxide produced by humans) will also cause a loss of biodiversity with ramifications throughout the food chain. Overtourism is another looming threat.</p>

Scientists widely believe the Galapagos, where species thrive in its cool subtropical climate, will face yet more severe and frequent El Ninos as the climate changes. Rising sea levels will also reduce the size of beaches (important nesting areas for many species) and ocean acidification (caused by oceans absorbing more carbon dioxide produced by humans) will also cause a loss of biodiversity with ramifications throughout the food chain. Overtourism is another looming threat.

<p>Perching on the windswept coast of Orkney, Skara Brae is the best preserved Neolithic village in northern Europe. It was built 5,000 years ago and is part of the UNESCO Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site. However, this extraordinary archaeological site is under threat. A climate study by Historic Environment Scotland found that the island's prehistoric treasures are extremely vulnerable to changes in the sea level, increased precipitation and storm intensity.</p>

Skara Brae, Orkney, Scotland, UK

Perching on the windswept coast of Orkney, Skara Brae is the best preserved Neolithic village in northern Europe. It was built 5,000 years ago and is part of the UNESCO Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site. However, this extraordinary archaeological site is under threat. A climate study by Historic Environment Scotland found that the island's prehistoric treasures are extremely vulnerable to changes in the sea level, increased precipitation and storm intensity.

Colombia’s historic port Cartagena is highlighted as another of the world's low-lying coastal cities highly susceptible to sea level rises and flooding, according to the UNESCO report. It was identified as one of 31 sites facing significant short and long-term risks due to the climate. The sea rise at Cartagena is more than twice the Caribbean average, due in part to land subsidence (sinking) that has likely been caused by extensive urbanisation.

Cartagena, Colombia

<p>Sat on the Caribbean coast, Cartagena de Indias was founded in 1533 and is famed for having one of the most extensive and complete complexes of military fortifications in South America. However, both the old and new parts of the city are vulnerable to the impact of hurricanes and other severe storms that are predicted to become stronger and more frequent as the oceans warm. For example, a sudden flood in February 2024 destroyed an ancient cemetery on Tierra Bomba Island. If sea levels continue to rise as predicted, Cartagena could be lost entirely to the waves by 2100.</p>

Sat on the Caribbean coast, Cartagena de Indias was founded in 1533 and is famed for having one of the most extensive and complete complexes of military fortifications in South America. However, both the old and new parts of the city are vulnerable to the impact of hurricanes and other severe storms that are predicted to become stronger and more frequent as the oceans warm. For example, a sudden flood in February 2024 destroyed an ancient cemetery on Tierra Bomba Island. If sea levels continue to rise as predicted, Cartagena could be lost entirely to the waves by 2100.

<p>Another unique part of the world threatened by warmer temperatures is the Shiretoko Peninsula, located in the northeastern corner of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Jutting into the Sea of Okhotsk, sea ice forms here in winter and plays a key part in the marine ecosystem, causing phytoplankton to flourish which feeds the fish and in turn provides food for rare creatures such as Steller's sea eagles, Blakiston's fish owls, Steller sea lions and brown bears. However, this ice has been diminishing over the last 30 years as a result of warmer temperatures. </p>

Shiretoko Peninsula, Hokkaido, Japan

Another unique part of the world threatened by warmer temperatures is the Shiretoko Peninsula, located in the northeastern corner of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Jutting into the Sea of Okhotsk, sea ice forms here in winter and plays a key part in the marine ecosystem, causing phytoplankton to flourish which feeds the fish and in turn provides food for rare creatures such as Steller's sea eagles, Blakiston's fish owls, Steller sea lions and brown bears. However, this ice has been diminishing over the last 30 years as a result of warmer temperatures.

<p>The ramifications of climate change on the world have been keenly seen in Greenland, where summers have become longer and the melting of its massive ice sheet has accelerated. If Greenland's ice sheet were to completely melt, global sea levels are likely to rise more than 20 feet (6m). The changing weather patterns are not only transforming the island's geography but its heritage – shorter winters and longer summers have affected hunting, dog sledding and endangered other traditional ways of life for the Greenlandic Inuit peoples.</p>

The ramifications of climate change on the world have been keenly seen in Greenland, where summers have become longer and the melting of its massive ice sheet has accelerated. If Greenland's ice sheet were to completely melt, global sea levels are likely to rise more than 20 feet (6m). The changing weather patterns are not only transforming the island's geography but its heritage – shorter winters and longer summers have affected hunting, dog sledding and endangered other traditional ways of life for the Greenlandic Inuit peoples.

Watching the calving (splitting and shedding) of ice from a glacier is a spectacular sight and a natural process, but the accelerated retreat of Greenland's glaciers is a worryingly modern phenomenon. In this image, water gushes down from Eqip Sermia – one of the country's most active glaciers – in unprecedentedly high levels during the unseasonably warm weather that swept in from the Sahara in August 2019.

Hindu Kush Himalayan Region, Asia

While low-lying countries are vulnerable to global warming, so too are the highest parts of our planet. Warming temperatures and changes in precipitation are causing Himalayan glaciers to retreat and drastically altering patterns of water run-off. At least a third of the glaciers along the Hindu Kush and Himalaya range will have melted by 2100 due to climate change, according to a landmark report.

<p>The loss of glaciers will have a devastating effect, including leading to landslides, flash floods and erosion, and will also impact water supplies in the long term. The glaciers are a critical water source for 250 million people who live in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region, which goes across Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan.</p>

The loss of glaciers will have a devastating effect, including leading to landslides, flash floods and erosion, and will also impact water supplies in the long term. The glaciers are a critical water source for 250 million people who live in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region, which goes across Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan.

The Maldives

As the planet's lowest-lying country (most of its land is just a metre above sea level), it's no surprise that the island nation of the Maldives is set to suffer hugely from climate change. Although it's loved by tourists for its glassy waters, some scientists predict that the islands could completely disappear beneath the waves by 2100. Additionally, 70% of the Maldives' rich coral ecosystems were devastated by the 2016 coral bleaching event, itself caused by rising ocean temperatures.

<p>Heading off to the Alps for an annual ski trip may soon become a thing of the past. Europe's stunning peaks are seeing a shorter season for winter sports with higher temperatures degrading permafrost layers, causing slope instability, rock falls and landslides. Glaciers are retreating here as they are in many parts of the world as the climate warms. The mountain chain’s glaciers are expected to shrink by more than 80% by the end of the century, according to research.</p>

The Alps, Europe

Heading off to the Alps for an annual ski trip may soon become a thing of the past. Europe's stunning peaks are seeing a shorter season for winter sports with higher temperatures degrading permafrost layers, causing slope instability, rock falls and landslides. Glaciers are retreating here as they are in many parts of the world as the climate warms. The mountain chain’s glaciers are expected to shrink by more than 80% by the end of the century, according to research.

<p>One of Europe's rapidly retreating glaciers is the Pasterze Glacier, Austria’s largest, which has lost half its volume since the 1850s. This image shows a sign where the Pasterze Glacier reached in 2005. Along with others, it has been receding due to higher summer temperatures and lower winter snowfall. Switzerland held a 'mourning ceremony' on its evaporating Pizol glacier in 2019 – the glacier in the Glarus Alps has lost up to 90% of its volume since 2006.</p>

One of Europe's rapidly retreating glaciers is the Pasterze Glacier, Austria’s largest, which has lost half its volume since the 1850s. This image shows a sign where the Pasterze Glacier reached in 2005. Along with others, it has been receding due to higher summer temperatures and lower winter snowfall. Switzerland held a 'mourning ceremony' on its evaporating Pizol glacier in 2019 – the glacier in the Glarus Alps has lost up to 90% of its volume since 2006.

<p>The commanding Statue of Liberty, America’s long-standing symbol of freedom, is not exempt from severe weather either, UNESCO reports. In October 2012, flood waters from Hurricane Sandy submerged three-quarters of Liberty Island and almost all of Ellis Island. Although the iconic statue itself was not damaged, the historic site's infrastructure was severely hit by the storm surge, including its docks, which were completely destroyed.</p>

Statue of Liberty, New York City, New York, USA

The commanding Statue of Liberty, America’s long-standing symbol of freedom, is not exempt from severe weather either, UNESCO reports. In October 2012, flood waters from Hurricane Sandy submerged three-quarters of Liberty Island and almost all of Ellis Island. Although the iconic statue itself was not damaged, the historic site's infrastructure was severely hit by the storm surge, including its docks, which were completely destroyed.

<p>In the future, it may not escape unscathed. The iconic landmark has been pinpointed as a heritage site at risk of being irreparably damaged and potentially washed away due to rising sea levels and intensifying storms causing huge storm surges. The water on the East Coast of the US is among some of the fastest rising water in the world.</p>

In the future, it may not escape unscathed. The iconic landmark has been pinpointed as a heritage site at risk of being irreparably damaged and potentially washed away due to rising sea levels and intensifying storms causing huge storm surges. The water on the East Coast of the US is among some of the fastest rising water in the world.

<p>With severe droughts all over the country and temperatures rising unusually high in the past decade, Portugal has experienced multiple devastating wildfires, including those that hit the popular destinations of Sintra in 2018 and Cascais in 2023. Beloved by tourists for their incredible landscapes, coastal splendour, national parks and enchanting castles, these regions within easy reach of Lisbon are at risk of being changed beyond our recognition.</p>

Sintra and Cascais, Portugal

With severe droughts all over the country and temperatures rising unusually high in the past decade, Portugal has experienced multiple devastating wildfires, including those that hit the popular destinations of Sintra in 2018 and Cascais in 2023. Beloved by tourists for their incredible landscapes, coastal splendour, national parks and enchanting castles, these regions within easy reach of Lisbon are at risk of being changed beyond our recognition.

Machu Picchu, Peru

Hidden deep in the Eastern Cordillera mountain ridge, Machu Picchu, Peru’s most popular tourist destination, has recently been put at risk due to wildfires. In 2021, the number of wildfires rose to 333 for the whole year – and the ancient city was threatened again by encroaching bush blazes in 2022.

<p>Due to the landmark’s precarious location, firefighters have difficulty accessing and stopping fires before they reach the Inca monument. In June 2022, a wildfire started only six miles (10km) from the archaeological park, but was luckily stopped four days later before it could reach the site itself. Unfortunately, it had already destroyed 98 acres of vegetation surrounding Machu Picchu before it was finally controlled.</p>

Due to the landmark’s precarious location, firefighters have difficulty accessing and stopping fires before they reach the Inca monument. In June 2022, a wildfire started only six miles (10km) from the archaeological park, but was luckily stopped four days later before it could reach the site itself. Unfortunately, it had already destroyed 98 acres of vegetation surrounding Machu Picchu before it was finally controlled.

<p>Greece is packed with ancient cultural monuments, swarmed by tourists year-round. In recent years, climate change has become a growing threat to these historic landmarks. In July 2021 Olympia, the site of the first Olympic Games, was put at risk by raging wildfires that lasted for weeks. Firefighters had to stop the fires from reaching the ancient town more than once.</p>

Olympia, Greece

Greece is packed with ancient cultural monuments, swarmed by tourists year-round. In recent years, climate change has become a growing threat to these historic landmarks. In July 2021 Olympia, the site of the first Olympic Games, was put at risk by raging wildfires that lasted for weeks. Firefighters had to stop the fires from reaching the ancient town more than once.

<p>One of the world's first major cities – contemporaneous with Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt – 4,500-year-old Mohenjo-daro is the jewel in Pakistan's archaeological crown, but devastating floods caused by an unprecedented 2022 monsoon season dealt the site dire damage. Walls that stood for millennia were swept away by the monsoon rain, which killed hundreds and left around a third of the country underwater, while much of the rest of the city suffered severe erosion. </p>

Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan

One of the world's first major cities – contemporaneous with Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt – 4,500-year-old Mohenjo-daro is the jewel in Pakistan's archaeological crown, but devastating floods caused by an unprecedented 2022 monsoon season dealt the site dire damage. Walls that stood for millennia were swept away by the monsoon rain, which killed hundreds and left around a third of the country underwater, while much of the rest of the city suffered severe erosion.

<p>A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mohenjo-daro was built by the ancient Indus Valley civilisation and contains a grid system of baked brick houses, a large granary and at least two assembly halls. The site's most important building, a large hemispherical 'stupa' associated with worship, was mercifully undamaged.</p> <p><strong>Liked this? Click on the Follow button above for more great stories from loveEXPLORING</strong></p> <p><a href="https://www.loveexploring.com/galleries/273069/the-worlds-oldest-landmarks-still-attracting-the-crowds-today"><strong>Now check out the world's oldest attractions still loved by tourists today...</strong></a></p>

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mohenjo-daro was built by the ancient Indus Valley civilisation and contains a grid system of baked brick houses, a large granary and at least two assembly halls. The site's most important building, a large hemispherical 'stupa' associated with worship, was mercifully undamaged.

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How ‘shawshank redemption’ turned a prison into a hellhole of a tourist magnet.

The former Ohio State Reformatory, where the Oscar-nominated film shot 30 years ago, is now a museum that draws over 170,000 people a year.

By Linda Laban

Linda Laban

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The Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio, where The Shawshank Redemption filmed.

When Andy Dufresne crawled to freedom through “five hundred yards of shit-smelling foulness” in The Shawshank Redemption , it was the ultimate act of hope. As the story’s tagline has it, “Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.”

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20 years of Wrong Turn : How a movie about murderous cannibals became an unkillable franchise

The Eliza Dushku-starring 2003 horror film was followed by six other movies, with two more planned. Some of the key figures in front of and behind the camera explained how it happened.

Senior Writer

In the early '90s, screenwriter Alan B. McElroy was driving from his Ohio home to catch a plane in New York when he made a decision that would inspire one of Hollywood's most bizarrely resilient film franchises.

"My wife and I were taking a trip to Jamaica, and it was the middle of the night because we had a flight first thing in the morning, and we were in a snowstorm," McElroy tells EW. "We came across a traffic jam. Someone came to us and said, 'Oh, this could last for 14 hours. The truckers all go in the back of their cabs and go to sleep, and you could be stuck.' My wife and I thought, 'We're going to miss our flight. What are we going to do?' "

What the couple did was consult a map, head back in the direction they had come, and take a small side road which allowed them to bypass the traffic jam. "As we're doing that, in the dark, in a snowstorm, we're thinking, 'Is this a smart idea?' " McElroy recalls. " Anything could go wrong! "

This was the starting point for the horror film Wrong Turn . Released 20 years ago by 20th Century Fox on May 30, 2003, the movie follows a group of 20-somethings whose choice to take a side road on a roadtrip through the wilds of West Virginia places them in the path of three in-bred cannibals, One Eye, Saw Tooth, and Three Finger. Starring Eliza Dushku , Desmond Harrington, and Emmanuelle Chriqui , Wrong Turn proved to be a minor hit during its theatrical run, but would go on to enjoy a remarkable afterlife, inspiring six subsequent films, including a 2021 reboot starring Matthew Modine .

"It's so bizarre," says cast member Chriqui. "We had no idea this horror movie was going to have part 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. When I heard about the reboot, I was like, 'Suddenly, I feel old.' "

When Wrong feels so right

McElroy got his big break writing 1988's Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and went on to co-write the screenplay for the 1997 comic book adaptation Spawn . Keen to develop original material, with his New York drive as inspiration, he began work on a short film, which the writer titled "Blur," about a bank robber whose car breaks down in the wilderness. "He comes across a cabin, and there's these three mountain men, and they were going to ambush him," he says of the concept. "I was going to shoot it in Ohio. I never got around to it."

In 2001, McElroy had a meeting with an executive at Original Film, the company founded by Fast & Furious franchise producer Neal H. Moritz. According to McElroy, the exec offered two pieces of advice. The first was to add four or five more characters so they could be killed off later. The second would become one the most significant contributions: "Give it a catchy title, like Wrong Turn," McElroy recalls. "He said, 'You'll sell it overnight.' So I did exactly that. I wrote it in three weeks."

Original Film passed on the project, but, in August 2001, Variety announced that Summit Entertainment and Newmarket Group had teamed to make Wrong Turn with four-time Oscar-winner Stan Winston aboard as a producer. Best known for his special effects makeup work on the Terminator and Jurassic Park franchises, Winston had directed and co-written the 1988 monster movie Pumpkinhead. "Stan loved horror films," says special effects creator and makeup artist Shane Mahan, who worked with Winston from the early '80s until his death in 2008. "Stan had done a bunch of horror films before he made bigger blockbusters. This was a proper horror film that we hadn't been able to do in a long time."

It was Winston's idea to have one of the three cannibals, Three Finger, be smaller than the other two. Originally, all three of the mountain men were huge. McElroy remembers, "Stan was the one who said, 'What if we create one that is smaller, but more agile and dangerous in that regard?' "

The project's clutch of producing partners was then joined by another company, the German-based Constantin Film, which provided much of the film's $10 million budget. At that point, McElroy says, "We were off to the races to make the movie."

Casting cannibals

Wrong Turn was directed by Rob Schmidt, whose debut film, Crime and Punishment in Suburbia , played 2000's Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize. "I had a little bit of heat," the filmmaker admits. Schmidt wanted to make a horror film and had taken a meeting about the next entry in the Hellraiser franchise, which was in the process of becoming a straight-to-video series under the stewardship of Dimension Films boss Bob Weinstein.

"I called my agent after the meeting and she said she wouldn't represent me anymore if I did the Hellraiser ," Schmidt says with a laugh. "But she took more seriously that I liked the idea of doing horror films." The director was sent the script for Wrong Turn , which he liked. "I had meetings, I want to say, at three different companies to get approved for it," he remembers. "There were a lot of companies involved. It was like the United Nations to get casting approved. I don't know what the tiniest country on earth is, but that was me."

Schmidt cast Harrington, the future Dexter actor, as the film's male lead: a doctor named Chris. Angel star Dushku became the movie's final girl, Jessie. Her traveling companions were played by Kevin Zegers, Lindy Booth, Jeremy Sisto, and Chriqui. "It was really cool because the late Stan Winston was involved," says Chriqui. "He was the king of monsters and creatures. He was on set with us, which is really special looking back."

The director chose a 6-foot-plus actor named Ted Clark to play One Eye and a 7 -foot-plus professional wrestler-turned-thespian called Garry Robbins to portray Saw Tooth. As Three Finger, Schmidt cast Julian Richings, whose many on-screen credits include the TV show Supernatural and this year's Beau Is Afraid . "He's a really interesting character actor," says Schmidt of Richings. "He was fearless about acting strange and it helped the movie enormously. He's the character that has the hysterical laugh."

Creating a 'mini wilderness'

Schmidt filmed Wrong Turn hundreds of miles away from the Appalachian mountains in a park north of Toronto, where the director says he ended up green-screening out the skyscrapers behind the trees. "It was more convenient than going to the West Virginia wilderness," he says. "But it was a big park. There was poison ivy. It's a park that had cliffs in it."

"It was almost like a mini wilderness," Richings adds. "We weren't likely to get many people wandering through."

That was just as well, given the fearsome looks Winston had designed for Richings and his two cannibal-playing co-stars. Chriqui was genuinely freaked out when she first encountered the actors in makeup. "We saw them out in the woods, literally for the first time, and it was terrifying ," she says. "One of them made these horrific squealing sounds and the whole thing was so scary. I was like, 'Wait, wait, wait, this is just a movie.' "

A scarier moment came in the film's second half, when Jessie (Dushku), Carly (Chriqui), and Chris (Harrington) seek safety in an observation tower. Their refuge is set on fire by the cannibals, forcing the trio jump into nearby trees. This sequence was shot in a studio where production designer Alicia Keywan built both the tower and a fake forest. While shooting the sequence, Chriqui wore a special rig designed to slow her fall, but she ended up dislocating her shoulder.

"I was up in this harness, basically falling out of the tree, holding a branch. It was that upward motion that dislocated my shoulder," the actress says. "It was all very dramatic and I had to go to the hospital. I think everybody was in shock. The good thing with a dislocated shoulder, though, is that, once you pop it back in, it's like instant relief. I went straight back to work the next day and just had to be super ginger with it."

The same sequence featured the killing of Chriqui's character, the most memorable demise in the film: Three Finger slams an axe through Carly's head and into the tree behind her. Viewers see a close-up of Chriqui's eye before the camera pans back and up, revealing that, while the top half of her head is still sitting on top of the murder weapon, the rest of her body is falling to the ground, crashing into branches on its way down.

Winston's colleague Shane Mahan recalls how the special effects team "put Emmanuelle in a fake tree with her head coming out, with an axe in her mouth, with a body suspended underneath that would be released and fall away." He says, "We designed the axe to be just big enough to not see the lower part of her face. It's an in-camera illusion, a magic trick really."

Reviews cut deep

Wrong Turn was released at the start of the summer blockbuster season, and the reception, McElroy says, was disappointing. "It was meant to be released in the fall, closer to Halloween, and then it got rushed out at the end of May," he explains. "The funny thing is that the West Virginia tourist board administration denounced the film. Literally, the governor came out to say, 'This is not who we are!' I thought, Oh good, I've hit a nerve. Fantastic ."

Many critics were equally unenthusiastic about Schmidt's film. Entertainment Weekly writer Scott Brown described Wrong Turn at time-of-release as "a blood-simple backwoods spatterfest that makes shameless use of the same old anti-rural moonshine Hollywood's been bootlegging for decades."

"The reviews at the time were not good," Schmidt acknowledges. "It definitely horrified me. Like, I'm speaking trauma."

Schmidt has more fond memories of visiting theaters after Wrong Turn opened and watching crowds experience the film, often with greater enthusiasm and "a lot of noise," he says. Speaking of noise, the reaction of the crowds to the character of Three Finger justified Schmidt's decision to leave Richings' now-recognizable cackle in the film, an element he says he was initially asked to "tone down."

"Kids in the theaters would imitate the laugh to scare the other people in the audience," Schmidt remembers. "And it was Julian. Julian did that."

"I didn't know that little story," Richings says. "But I still get people coming up to me and doing the Three Finger laugh."

No Dead End for this franchise

Wrong Turn earned $15 million in the U.S. and another $13 million around the world, just enough to open the possibility of a theatrical sequel. But the next movie in the Wrong Turn series, 2007's Wrong Turn 2: Dead End , was released straight to the booming home entertainment market. "I'll tell you why," says Schmidt, who now teaches filmmaking at Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University United International College. "Stan's contract and my contract paid pretty substantially for a sequel if it was a theatrical release." Instead, "Someone made a decision that cheaper DVD sequels was the way they would profit the most from the franchise," Schmidt continues. "So we did not do the sequel, the Stan Winston folks and me."

McElroy would also not be involved with the five Wrong Turn movies that followed. "They paid me off," he says. "My name is in there as 'characters created by,' but I had nothing to with 2 through 6."

Wrong Turn 2: Dead End was the directorial debut of Joe Lynch ( Mayhem , the upcoming Suitable Flesh ), who shot the film in Vancouver on a reduced budget of $4 million. Lynch cast punk rock legend Henry Rollins as the host of a reality competition show called The Apocalypse: Ultimate Survivalist , which attracts the attention of Three Finger, played here by actor-stuntman Jeff Scrutton.

Lynch planned on starting his film with one of the contestants being axed in half vertically in an attempt to top Schmidt's killing of Chriqui's character. "I needed to show the horror fans that we were not f---ing around," says the director. Lynch tried to convince Dushku to return and portray the film's first victim. "You had all these reality shows that were using [celebrities] like The Surreal Life and Celebrity Rehab ," Lynch says. "My pitch was [for] Eliza Dushku to play herself. Her agents' concern was, 'Are you making fun of our client?' I'm like, 'Not at all. If anything, this is an homage to the work that she did in [the first] one.' "

In the end, Dushku declined to return to the franchise and the part was taken by American Idol contestant Kimberly Caldwell. "No matter what, I was chopping someone in half," Lynch says with glee. "I just had to find the right person to do it."

Released on DVD by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Wrong Turn 2 earned an impressive $9 million. "At the time, it was the highest-grossing direct-to-video film in Fox's history," Lynch points out. When the studio asked the director if he was interested in making another Wrong Turn film, Lynch pitched an idea he had cooked up with fellow filmmaker Dave Parker ( The Dead Hate the Living! ).

"It was almost like an homage to Assault on Precinct 13 ," says Lynch, referring to John Carpenter's 1976 action-thriller. He lays out the concept: "In the beginning of the film, Three Finger gets arrested and brought to this police precinct, and then the rest of the family come to get him. So it would have been a siege movie. They loved the idea, but they said, 'Great, we're going to give you half the money that you had before.' So I politely passed."

It's a cost-cutting pattern that would get progressively more severe as the franchise went on.

A few detours

The next three Wrong Turn films were made by Declan O'Brien, a former Disney executive who had broken into directing with 2008's Roger Corman-produced monster movie Cyclops and would return to the Corman fold for 2010's Sharktopus . O'Brien killed off Three Finger at the end of 2009's Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead and then set his next two franchise entries (2011's Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings , 2012's Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines ) before the events of the original Wrong Turn .

O'Brien's trilogy of films was short on stars, although Wrong Turn 5 did feature Hellraiser actor Doug Bradley as the paterfamilias of the cannibal clan. Bradley leant proceedings a sinister edge, but his presence could not prevent the impression of a franchise in decline. "Declan was put in a really precarious position," Lynch says of the director, who passed away in 2022. "The more that they kept making them, the lower the budgets got, the smaller the production value got."

2014's Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort was shot in Bulgaria by local filmmaker Valeri Milev. The director had a reported budget of just $1 million, a reflection in part of the collapse in the DVD market in the years since the second movie. Milev attempted to pique the interest of viewers by adding a large amount of sex and nudity to the usual portion of gore, but the release of Wrong Turn 6 was barely noticed by anyone. The film's Rotten Tomatoes page has just one review, by Steve Barton of the horror website Dread Central, who dismissed the movie as "one hell of a wrong turn" for the series.

Wrong Turn 6 also had a sad real-life postscript. Shortly after the release of the film, the family of an Irish woman who had died the year before, sued Fox and other parties for including her image on a "missing" poster in the movie. Copies of the film were subsequently recalled and replaced by versions in which the image of the deceased woman was blurred out.

"I've not actually watched the other movies, but I've been aware of them," Richings says. "People have sent me clips, and it seems that, as the special effects have deteriorated, the violence has been upped. It's become a low-budget horror franchise, rather than the initial thing, which was Stan Winston trying to do a creature feature."

The road ahead

McElroy continued to enjoy a successful Hollywood career, with writing credits that include the 2006 John Cena action film The Marine and 2019's Fractured , a Netflix thriller starring Sam Worthington. While McElroy had no direct input on the slew of Wrong Turn sequels and prequels that followed the 2003 film, the writer did stay in touch with Robert Kulzer, an executive at Constantin. A few years ago, Kulzer got in contact with McElroy about bringing the franchise back. The question was, how do you update it?

McElroy wrote the script for a franchise reboot, which was titled Wrong Turn but entirely dumped the mythology of the series and its villains. The film pits a group of city folk against an ancient commune of Appalachian dwellers called the Foundation. The writer explains that the idea for the new film was to see the franchise's proper return to the big screen, but the plan, like so many, was derailed by the pandemic.

In the end, distribution company Saban Films gave the movie a limited theatrical release at the start of 2021 before the movie premiered on streaming services. If nothing else, this new Wrong Turn did at least attract the attention of some mainstream reviewers with Adam Nayman of The Ringer hailing the film as a "richer and more satisfying experience" than the first film.

McElroy has recently been writing on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and is developing a couple of projects with Blumhouse. He has hopes of continuing the Wrong Turn franchise with at least a couple more entries. "I had planned two more films, so there would be a trilogy, based around this idea of the Foundation and these characters," the writer says. "I'd love to finish it and see it all come out the way I wanted."

That, of course, would be good news for fans of the franchise, even if some of them understandably have trouble keeping close track of this seemingly unkillable series. If anything, maybe more sequels would help clear up a long-running misconception. "It makes me laugh, because a lot of people send me posts of my picture with a bow and arrow, and I'll realize that it's from Wrong Turn 3 or 4 or 5 or something," Richings says. "I don't like to write back and say, 'Actually, that's not me.' "

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