On January 26th, 2021, a brand new horror film, written by Alan B. McElroy was released entitled Wrong Turn. You might be familiar with McElroy’s previous work as screenwriter for such iconic cult films as Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and Spawn and…oh wait…
Wrong Turn…released in 2003.
Okay, yes, I played you a little bit there. Obviously, we know about Wrong Turn. I rented it in 2004 from my friendly neighborhood Blockbuster (being too young to see it in theatres, my parents were kind enough to rent it for me). I mainly wanted to see it because I shamelessly love Eliza Dushku*. But I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Even if it wasn’t anything special, it didn’t need to be. It was a straight-forward lost-on-a-detour-and-now-you’re-being-hunted horror along the lines of The Hills Have Eyes, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Deliverance, a nod McElroy acknowledges. But he’s intelligent enough to know his horror, even naming his leading lady Jessie Burlingame – taken from Stephen King’s Gerald’s Game and playing to the “in-crowd” by tying his Jessie to a bed at the climax in much the same way King’s Jessie is trapped in the novel (though, with less barbed wire).
It takes some interesting turns, with the stranded discovering the home of the cannibal family before they actually know they’re in danger, a fun cat-and-mouse tree sequence that builds some real tension, and a great “oh look the cops are here” moment that’s cut off straight through the eye. And I truly enjoy that ending…the token gas station attendant recognizing the truck, hiding, and watching as protagonist Chris (Desmond Harrington) tears down the map that wronged him. It makes me laugh. I can’t help it!
On its 18th anniversary, Alan McElroy revisited his title with a fresh take on the original screenplay. When I say fresh take, I mean losing the mysterious, misshapen mountain men and replacing them with “The Foundation,” embracing horror’s trend towards cult terrors, but losing that fresh hillbilly cannibal madness that made the original a fun slice of the early 2000s genre.
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So looking back on Wrong Turn 2003, I want to take some time to talk about the real stars of Wrong Turn 2003: The Cannibals.
They’re credited as Three Finger, Saw-Tooth, and One-Eye, though unnamed in the narrative proper (the only thing that distinguishes them are their deformities). And though they die in an explosion at the end of the film, they do come back, as any good villain does, time and time again to wreck bloody havoc on West Virginian detourists in future installments. All would be campy mimics of the outlaws that came first, more Troma than trauma, which is one of the reasons why the first film is lauded as the best in the series.
The prosthetics were done by Stan Winston Studios (Stan Winston himself being a producer on the film), and made for a strong presence as the cannibals could be shown in full grotesque. It gives the film an intelligent monster feel that places itself nicely in the echelons of monster movie macabre. Because of S.W. Studios, there’s enough grue to keep up with the increasing demand of blood and guts of the early 2000s turn to torture porn, from axes through the face to full body dismemberments,.
One-Eye is a beast. A brute force antagonist who seems to be muscle of the three brothers, he was portrayed by Ted Clark in one of his last film appearances before seemingly dropping out of show biz. There’s not much about Mr. Clark after 2004, when he worked on stunts for Resident Evil: Apocalypse. But at 6’4”, the Australian barbarian could have easily continued his stunt work in the horror genre – perhaps even taking on the Jason mantel at some point, but it’s clear he stepped off screen after Wrong Turn. Or maybe he’s just lost in the woods somewhere…
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Saw-Tooth is the leader of the brothers, a formidable champion and watchdog for their quaint West Virginia stronghold. And he’s 7’4” – a whole foot taller than his bro, One-Eye. His work with a bow and arrow lends to some of the most terrifying moments in Wrong Turn. He also has one of the true jump scares of the film, when Chris turns back as they escape the homestead – cut to the previously sleeping Saw-Tooth who, though he hasn’t moved, is now clearly awake – and I swear it makes me gasp every time.
Saw-Tooth is portrayed by Garry Robbins. He was discovered in 1982 as a bouncer, plucked to star in the film Humongous (1982), and went on to play other Goliath characters in The Twilight Zone, In the Mouth of Madness, and Goosebumps. He was also a Canadian Pro wrestler known in WWE as the “Canadian Giant,” and a personal friend of Hulk Hogan. Though he only appears in four WWE matches, he wrestled all over the world, starting in Canada under the ring name “Paul Bunyan.” In New Japan Pro Wrestling, he tagged with Demolition Axe as “Demolition Hux.” He worked in Calgary alongside the Hart family, that pretty much makes him a legend in the wrestling biz.
Despite his monstrous and skilled portrayal of Saw-Tooth, his friends knew him as a “big happy-go-lucky guy — always out to help the little guy.” This seems to be a familiar story with giants, and as the guy who always wanted to help his community, he ran for mayor and city council of St. Catherine’s, Ontario, Canada. Though he lost the races, he was a staple of the community. He tragically passed away in 2013 at the age of 57.
In the most surprising turn I found researching the cannibals of Wrong Turn, the twitchy, tree-climbing Three Finger is someone you may know. He’s a classically trained stage actor from England. He moved to Toronto, Canada after touring the U.S. with the British Theatre company. He became a series regular on the Canadian War of the Worlds. He played a brief by memorable role in Cube (1997), and a janitor named Otto in Stephen King’s Kingdom Hospital. I knew him as “Death” from Supernatural.
His name is Julian Richings, and his most recent tour-de-force was Henry is Anything for Jackson. It completely blows my mind that the mild-mannered obstetrician, the calm, cool, collected harbinger of the apocalypse, donned full prosthetics and displayed immense physical prowess to bring the creepy Three Finger to life. He’s one of those actors that, as soon as you know him, you recognize him in everything. And rewatching Wrong Turn with this knowledge, it’s impossible to imagine anyone else bringing the cannibal mutant to life. Of course, others tried, but Richings’ portrayal is one-of-a-kind.
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In one of the stories about the accident-prone production (let’s just say, poison ivy, broken ankles, and dislocated shoulders were involved), Eliza Dushku accidentally set Richings on fire. Dushku fought with producers for her “kill shot.” Giving Chris the final, fatal explosion, Dushku was adamant her character Jessie had more loss and, therefore, more invested in the demise of the brothers, and she should have her final moment instead of just being “saved.” She fought for her shot, and director Rob Schmidt gave in. This meant going one-on-one with Three Finger. Before her fatal axe blow (a moment that ranked highest amongst test audiences), Jessie hits Three Finger with a flaming board. For a brief moment, you see Three Finger fall out of frame, his arm still ablaze. This was never supposed to happen, and wranglers had to put him out before continuing shooting. It was kept in the final cut. I just hope they gave Richings stunt pay!
Many times in horror cinema, the monsters are played by stunt men. And while they did their own stunts, Clark, Robbins, and Richings were actors first. Physical and animated beings that bring their mountain men to life. Dushku herself has reminisced they were a pleasure to work with and wonderful actors themselves. Despite some troubled times, it’s a production she remembers fondly. And despite skipping out on future installments, their characters lived on through sequels and prequels because these actors created such amazing characters in whose footsteps others would follow – but never fill.
I haven’t seen 2021 Wrong Turn yet, but I have a feeling The Foundation just won’t feel as original, or as brutally inescapable, as One-Eye, Saw-Tooth, and Three Finger. But I’ll have to wait and see.
*Total aside, but I just need to say this: Eliza Dushku has this thing for me. It’s the same way with Megan Fox. I unapologetically love them, as women and actresses. Although there are probably no Academy Awards in their future (their beauty and teeny tiny waistline probably got them more roles than their acting chops), they somehow remain normal human beings through all the Hollywood crap I’m sure they had to deal with as teenage, impressionable, “I wanna make it” actresses. Read or watch any interview with either of them, and they’re relatable, interesting, and real in a way other actresses seriously lack.
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Buy me a coffee
 and talk about the real stars of the film: The Cannibals, One-Eye, Saw-Tooth, and Three Finger.){kind=link}
Wow great article Catie. I’m surprised at how much you know about the production. Just to clarify I’m actually 6 foot 7 and from Toronto Canada not Australia. I never really cared too much about my filmography so I don’t bother to update IMDb or anything. Yes doing the stunts for nemesis on resident evil apocalypse was my last significant film experience. I have a few more before wrong turn that I don’t often get credit for. I did retire from film shortly after resident evil and teach seminars in quantum physics and the subconscious. Which is what I really love to do. All three of us Gary who I often ran before he died and Julian were Canadian. We were disappointed that they didn’t call on us again for the sequels but they were lower budget direct to video and didn’t have the Stan Winston team involved in them. But the original stands on its own. Thanks for writing such a great article. Ted Clark