May of 2003 was almost bone-dry for big-screen horror until 20th Century Fox released Wrong Turn; director Rob Schmidt and screenwriter Alan B. McElroy’s collaboration arrived in theaters the weekend after Memorial Day. Later on, the fairly successful film inspired a whole franchise of follow-ups, which exceeded the original in terms of sheer gruesomeness. However, this underrated offering of backwoods horror still delivers in areas its direct descendants do not.

As a reflection of the real world, horror steadily became urbanized. The late 1990s had all but abandoned the great outdoors as a dreadful destination and backdrop, especially in the wake of Scream. No longer did characters have to leave their neighborhood in order to feel threatened. The next decade, however, saw a comeback for travel terror; vacations overseas and across borders commonly unfolded in horrific fashion, and local sojourns, like that of Wrong Turn, did not turn out any better.