In 2003, writer Alan B. McElroy and director Rob Schmidt introduced the first Wrong Turn movie, which was incredibly frightening and grotesque. The film saw inbred cannibals prey upon a group of stranded friends in the middle of the woods. Six films later, the new Wrong Turn movie has taken a new direction to the franchise. Directed by Mike P. Nelson and written by Wrong Turn scribe Alan B McElroy, the seventh film of the franchise follows Scott (Matthew Modine) as he searches for his missing daughter, Jen (Charlotte Vega) in the Appalachian trail next to a town filled with unhelpful and rude locals.
The townspeople seem very aware of the Appalachian trail horrors and the dangers that lurk inside them, one of the townies even says, “Nature eats everything it catches.” Noted as a couple of weeks earlier, Jen and her friends enter the strange town off the Appalachian trail and are met with similar hostility and unwelcoming comments. The diverse group of hikers are called out by the “boomer” townies who are quick to judge their way of life and mannerisms.
On their hike, they stray from the recommended path to check out a civil war fort that leaves them lost and panicked. Things go south as they come face to face with The Federation, descendants of a group of people who fled to the mountains to maintain their independent and self-sustaining way of life.
Jen is an intelligent Gen Z character and although filled with a diverse cast, the other characters could have been fleshed out further as we learn more about The Federation than the group of hikers. As the two groups are pitted against each other, it brings an interesting ethical message about who are the real “villains” when it comes to judging their community and lifestyle. Contradicting themselves, the mountain people want to live in peace but set deadly traps to ensure nobody leaves and survives the woods. It’s hypocritical since they attempt to seek justice for crimes committed against their own people and have no tolerance for others giving them a taste of their own medicine.
Wrong Turn stays away from the cannibalistic nature of the other films. The flick can be appreciated as a great survival cult horror movie but it definitely doesn’t feel like part of the Wrong Turn franchise. Although, the murders are equally as disturbing, including decapitation, and various forms of torture.
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We are left without the same charm of the other movies but this redux is still an enjoyable film that can be appreciated for its own merits. There’s a different type of terror, violence, and a villainous bunch of skull-wearing mountain dwellers in the new Wrong Turn. If compared to the previous films, it definitely takes a detour. It’s an engaging and surprising survival horror film and worth a watch without the expectation of comparing it to the previous Wrong Turn titles.
