The Wrong Turn 2: Dead End received even warmer reviews and led to a long-running franchise.
The original Saw had even more humble origins, with writer Leigh Whannell and director James Wan deg it as an ultra-low budget production. They eventually secured some financing and attracted names like Danny Glover, but while it was once destined for an STV release, it became a word-of-mouth smash. The original was more of a thriller than a gore fest, but the sequels would increasingly put more focus on graphic violence.
Both Wrong Turn and Saw have robust fanbases - even if later entries featured a sharp drop in quality. Both also featured memorable villains, with Saw's John Kramer/Jigsaw - played by Tobin Bell - and Wrong Turn's Three Finger being memorable antagonists. While both use traps, they couldn't be more different from one another, with Kramer always being liable to give haunting monologues while Three Finger doesn't speak at all. One thing these series have in common is that both Wrong Turn 3: Left For Dead and Saw III killed off these iconic antagonists - and thus created problems for future sequels.
Saw 3 & Wrong Turn 3 Killed The Franchise Villain
The original Saw was never designed to start a franchise, but its shock success made sure Kramer would return. However, the first entry also established he was dying from cancer, with the third movie featuring Jigsaw on his deathbed. He's eventually killed by that entry's protagonist Jeff, and had the Saw movie series ended there, it would have been a satisfying note to end on. Instead. Kramer left behind some apprentices and elaborate plans for further games. Since he was the icon of Saw, the later movies had to go to increasingly elaborate lengths to include scenes with him, usually via flashbacks.
The 2021 legacy sequel Wrong Turn, which introduced a new story and villains with no connections to the previous films.
As reboots go, Wrong Turn 2021 was much more creatively ambitious than Spiral, but it still received mixed reviews. The key to series like Halloween or A Nightmare On Elm Street lasting so long is their central villains, but both Saw and Wrong Turn ran into the same problem after killing their central bad guys off. Kramer is reportedly returning for the tenth movie, but time will tell if Three Finger will do the same for the next Wrong Turn.
