# Wrong Turn (film series)
**Wrong Turn** is an American slasher film series created by screenwriter Alan B. McElroy, centered on travelers who take a wrong turn into the remote backwoods of [West Virginia](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-virginia) and are hunted by a family of inbred cannibal mutants. The first film was released in 2003, and six additional installments followed over the next two decades, including two prequels and a 2021 reboot that discards the original continuity.[1](https://fictionhorizon.com/wrong-turn-movies-in-order/) • [2](https://www.slashfilm.com/1540413/wrong-turn-movies-ranked/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Films | Seven: Wrong Turn (2003), Dead End (2007), Left for Dead (2009), Bloody Beginnings (2011), Bloodlines (2012), Last Resort (2014), and the reboot Wrong Turn (2021)[1](https://fictionhorizon.com/wrong-turn-movies-in-order/) |
| Original film | Released May 30, 2003; directed by Rob Schmidt, written by Alan McElroy; rated R, 1h 24min[3](https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/wrong-turn) |
| Original cast | Desmond Harrington, Eliza Dushku, Emmanuelle Chriqui, and Jeremy Sisto; produced by Brian Gilbert, Robert Kulzer, Erik Feig, and Stan Winston[3](https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/wrong-turn) |
| Box office | The 2003 film earned a modest $28 million[4](https://www.thereadingorder.com/wrong-turn-movies-in-order/) |
| Antagonists | Three cannibal brothers, Three Finger, Saw Tooth, and One Eye, named as the Hillicker brothers in Wrong Turn 4[1](https://fictionhorizon.com/wrong-turn-movies-in-order/) |
| 2021 reboot | A different continuity about a hidden community called The Foundation; 64% on the Tomatometer and 59% on the Popcornmeter[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wrong_turn_2021) |
| Critical standing | Wrong Turn 2: Dead End is the only film in the franchise with a positive critical reaction[6](https://www.popisms.com/MovieSeries/107620/Wrong-Turn-2003-2007) |
## The original film (2003)
The first [Wrong Turn](https://www.edgepedia.org/wrong-turn-2003-film), directed by Rob Schmidt and released on May 30, 2003, strands a group of young friends on an isolated road deep in the Appalachian hills of West Virginia, where they are relentlessly pursued by deformed cannibals.[3](https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/wrong-turn) The film earned about $28 million at the box office and launched the franchise.[4](https://www.thereadingorder.com/wrong-turn-movies-in-order/) Commentators have described it as an efficient backwoods slasher, with engaging leads in Desmond Harrington and [Eliza Dushku](https://www.edgepedia.org/eliza-dushku) and makeup effects for the deformed hillbillies by the late [Stan Winston](https://www.edgepedia.org/stan-winston).[7](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/features/feature-in-defence-of-wrong-turn/) The film appeared during an early-2000s revival of road horror that followed the success of Jeepers Creepers in 2001, alongside new franchises such as House of 1,000 Corpses (2003).[8](https://www.filmandmedia.ucsb.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/focus-2010-2011.pdf)
## The direct-to-video sequels (2007–2014)
Beyond the first, reasonably popular Wrong Turn, the rest of the entries in the series stayed away from movie theaters and went straight to home video.[7](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/features/feature-in-defence-of-wrong-turn/) [Wrong Turn 2: Dead End](https://www.edgepedia.org/wrong-turn-2-dead-end) (2007), directed by Joe Lynch, follows a reality television production filming in the woods whose contestants and crew are beset by the cannibals; it is the only entry in the franchise with a positive critical reaction.[9](https://stjenglish.com/wp-content/uploads/4-Ballard.pdf) • [6](https://www.popisms.com/MovieSeries/107620/Wrong-Turn-2003-2007)
[Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead](https://www.edgepedia.org/wrong-turn-3-left-for-dead) (2009) was directed by Declan O'Brien, who also wrote and directed [Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines](https://www.edgepedia.org/wrong-turn-5-bloodlines) (2012).[9](https://stjenglish.com/wp-content/uploads/4-Ballard.pdf) • [10](https://horrorobsessive.com/2022/03/07/were-all-gonna-end-up-hillbilly-barbecue-ranking-the-wrong-turn-franchise/) [Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings](https://www.edgepedia.org/wrong-turn-4-bloody-beginnings) (2011) works as a prequel: in 1974 the Hillicker brothers, Three Finger, Saw Tooth, and One Eye, escape from Glenville Sanatorium, and twenty-nine years later a group of Weston University students stranded in a snowstorm seeks refuge in the same building.[1](https://fictionhorizon.com/wrong-turn-movies-in-order/) Wrong Turn 5 follows college kids attending a Mountain Man Halloween Festival in a small mining town.[2](https://www.slashfilm.com/1540413/wrong-turn-movies-ranked/) Commentators have generally judged these later entries more harshly; one ranking places Wrong Turn 5 last with a score of 1 out of 10, calling it shockingly poor, while the films in the collection have IMDb ratings ranging from 4.1 to 6.1.[11](https://www.gravenoisemedia.com/the-gbhbl-definitive-ranking-of-the-wrong-turn-movie-series/) • [12](https://watch.rdd.media/collection/wrong-turn-collection/)
[Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort](https://www.edgepedia.org/wrong-turn-6-last-resort) (2014) functions as a soft reboot, and the film is generally treated as a different continuity from the earlier entries.[1](https://fictionhorizon.com/wrong-turn-movies-in-order/) • [10](https://horrorobsessive.com/2022/03/07/were-all-gonna-end-up-hillbilly-barbecue-ranking-the-wrong-turn-franchise/)
## The 2021 reboot
The seventh film, again titled Wrong Turn, was released in 2021, seven years after the sixth entry.[4](https://www.thereadingorder.com/wrong-turn-movies-in-order/) The series brought back the first film's original screenwriter, Alan B. McElroy, and replaced the cannibal mutants with The Foundation, a hidden community of mountain dwellers who use deadly means to protect their way of life when hikers led by Jen (Charlotte Vega) stray off the [Appalachian Trail](https://www.edgepedia.org/appalachian-trail); Jen's father is played by [Matthew Modine](https://www.edgepedia.org/matthew-modine).[2](https://www.slashfilm.com/1540413/wrong-turn-movies-ranked/) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wrong_turn_2021) The film runs 1 hour 30 minutes and holds a 64% Tomatometer score from 64 reviews and a 59% audience score from more than 1,000 ratings.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wrong_turn_2021) Critics were divided: [Mark Kermode](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-kermode) called it efficient and enjoyable with a haunting final shot, while other reviewers found the plot overcomplicated and the film disappointing and overlong.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wrong_turn_2021) • [13](https://www.kinotes.co/post/wrong-turn-2021) Some viewers argued that aside from the forest setting and the gore, little connects it to the original series, and that the antagonists and underlying lore are entirely different.[14](https://criticless.com/reviews/d3588f1e-c443-42c5-a93d-76a9b18b384c)
## Chronology and viewing order
The franchise's timeline is more complicated than many, because two entries are prequels and two are reboots. A chronological viewing order runs: Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings (2011), Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines (2012), Wrong Turn (2003), Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007), Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead (2009), Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort (2014, a reboot with a different continuity), and Wrong Turn (2021, another reboot with a different continuity).[1](https://fictionhorizon.com/wrong-turn-movies-in-order/) In release order the sequence is simply the numbered titles from 2003 through 2014 followed by the 2021 film.[1](https://fictionhorizon.com/wrong-turn-movies-in-order/)
## Reception and legacy
The series has a loyal cult following but a mixed reputation. Commentators note that it leans into Appalachian stereotypes about mountain folk, and that the later sequels sacrificed quality for inventive kills, a pattern common to long-running horror franchises.[2](https://www.slashfilm.com/1540413/wrong-turn-movies-ranked/) • [10](https://horrorobsessive.com/2022/03/07/were-all-gonna-end-up-hillbilly-barbecue-ranking-the-wrong-turn-franchise/) The first two films are generally regarded as the strongest entries, with quality declining from the third film onward.[11](https://www.gravenoisemedia.com/the-gbhbl-definitive-ranking-of-the-wrong-turn-movie-series/) • [10](https://horrorobsessive.com/2022/03/07/were-all-gonna-end-up-hillbilly-barbecue-ranking-the-wrong-turn-franchise/) Given the seven-year gap between the sixth film and the 2021 reboot, fans should not expect an announcement of a new installment imminently, according to the most recent coverage.[4](https://www.thereadingorder.com/wrong-turn-movies-in-order/)
## References
1. [All 7 'Wrong Turn' Movies in Order (Including Chronological Guide), Fiction Horizon](https://fictionhorizon.com/wrong-turn-movies-in-order/)
2. [Every Movie In The Wrong Turn Franchise Ranked, SlashFilm](https://www.slashfilm.com/1540413/wrong-turn-movies-ranked/)
3. [Wrong Turn, 20th Century Studios](https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/wrong-turn)
4. [Wrong Turn Movies in Order: Complete Watch Guide, The Reading Order](https://www.thereadingorder.com/wrong-turn-movies-in-order/)
5. [Wrong Turn (2021), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wrong_turn_2021)
6. [Wrong Turn (2003–2007 Movie Series), Popisms](https://www.popisms.com/MovieSeries/107620/Wrong-Turn-2003-2007)
7. [Feature: In Defence of the WRONG TURN Franchise, Starburst Magazine](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/features/feature-in-defence-of-wrong-turn/)
8. [Focus Media Journal Vol. XXXI, UC Santa Barbara Film and Media Studies](https://www.filmandmedia.ucsb.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/focus-2010-2011.pdf)
9. [The Humanities Review Spring 2012 (Finn Ballard), St John's College](https://stjenglish.com/wp-content/uploads/4-Ballard.pdf)
10. [We're All Gonna End Up Hillbilly Barbecue: Ranking The Wrong Turn Franchise, Horror Obsessive](https://horrorobsessive.com/2022/03/07/were-all-gonna-end-up-hillbilly-barbecue-ranking-the-wrong-turn-franchise/)
11. [The GBHBL Definitive Ranking of the Wrong Turn Movie Series, Grave Noise Media](https://www.gravenoisemedia.com/the-gbhbl-definitive-ranking-of-the-wrong-turn-movie-series/)
12. [Wrong Turn Collection — All Movies in Chronological Order, rdd.media](https://watch.rdd.media/collection/wrong-turn-collection/)
13. ['Wrong Turn' (2021), Kinotes](https://www.kinotes.co/post/wrong-turn-2021)
14. [GoldenAgeGeek's review of Wrong Turn, Criticless](https://criticless.com/reviews/d3588f1e-c443-42c5-a93d-76a9b18b384c)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Horror and slasher series film entries*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license