Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings

The fourth installment in the cult horror franchise Wrong Turn, Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings, takes a different approach by adding a seemingly unrelated backstory that sets the stage for the cannibal family's origins. The story begins with a group of friends, Beth (Woodrow Palmer), Tom (Tony Tillman), Will (Christian Antidormi), Dan (Wendy Jacob), and Kristen (Katherine Barrell), embarking on a winter camping trip in the Appalachian Mountains. The group consists of thrill-seeking college students, eager to escape the monotony of their daily lives. However, their excursion quickly turns disastrous when a sudden snowstorm hits, leaving them stranded with limited supplies. Initially, they seek shelter in the abandoned Sanator and soon discover that it has been vacant for years, having been the site of numerous past tragedies. Despite the ominous atmosphere, they find temporary refuge in the decrepit structure. The friends set about collecting firewood, ensuring they'll have sufficient heat to withstand the harsh weather conditions. Meanwhile, off-screen, a fictional narrative is introduced, portraying a mentally unstable individual named Willard, a veteran of the Vietnam War, suffering a traumatic event that led to his downfall. Back in reality, in the Sanator, the friends gather around the radio to listen to a war story, hinting at the theme of war and trauma. As the story progresses, tensions grow within the group, sparked by petty disagreements and differing opinions over the best course of action to escape the snowy terrain. Inexplicably, a human remains is found, discovered with evidence of an execution. This unspoken event signifies a chilling realization that someone in their group may have met an untimely death. A strange disquiet starts creeping into the camp when a figure is seen, resembling Willard, however, he is later found to be a younger version of the cannibal, cutting firewood and watching the group leave the area. Tensions escalate as they soon discover they are being pursued by three inbred mountain men, reminiscent of the original Wrong Turn genre. The chase is relentless, and sooner rather than later they manage to corner themselves inside the building only to be pursued relentlessly. As events unravel, the disquiet turns into an all-out fight for survival as one by one, members of the group meet a graphic, brutal end at the hands of the three cannibals. Their family's history is tied to the Sanatarium, that served as an isolation unit, where their parents had gone to hide the then seven-year-old Willard after witnessing the death of their parents by Willard's father and killing several of the institution workers. It finally becomes clear that Willard was taken in and care for until growing up in the hands of those people leading to Willard's psychopathology. Those same people after turning the isolated area in family hunting grounds also forced Willard into the life he now leads as a cannibal tracking/killer, explaining the back story further at a gruesome, unceremonious end of the group and deepens the cannibal's origins.