Wrong Turn(2021)
2021 · Mike P. Nelson · 110 min
Jen and a group of friends set out to hike the Appalachian Trail. Despite warnings to stick to the trail, the hikers stray off course—and cross into land inhabited by The Foundation, a hidden community of mountain dwellers who use deadly means to protect their way of life.
Horror · Thriller
6.01.4k votes
TMDB score
3/5
Intensity
3/5
Gore
2/5
Stays with you
How Wrong Turn scares
The movie opens like a normal hiking trip with friends joking around, then slowly turns into a tense survival nightmare once they wander off the marked trail. The middle section leans into brutal traps and sudden violence, but the back half slows down again and spends real time inside the hidden community, which changes the mood from chase-movie panic to something more uneasy and morally messy. It's less about constant jump scares and more about dread building as the group realizes how trapped they really are. Fans of backwoods horror who like a slower build with bursts of brutal violence will get the most out of it.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, Wrong Turn rates psychological 3/5, visceral 4/5, gore 3/5, lingering effect 2/5, and overall intensity 3/5.
- Psychological: 3 of 5
- Visceral: 4 of 5
- Gore: 3 of 5
- Lingering: 2 of 5
- Intensity: 3 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 25 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 92 of 100 — leans Real-world
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 55 of 100 — balanced
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A slow-building hike into unease that steadily escalates into brutal set pieces before a tense, drawn-out final stretch.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 4, 5, 3.
How scary is Wrong Turn?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, Wrong Turn rates 3/5 — solidly scary, building its fear through slow-burn dread rather than shocks. It works on both fronts, unsettling the mind while going for the body. Expect it to be moderately gory and scary but not punishing. Some of it will follow you to bed, but it lets go within a day or so.
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