Summary

• Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort faced a major setback when it included a real missing person's photo without consent.
• The film was pulled from shelves and eventually re-released in 2015 after the controversial picture was removed.
• Despite mixed reviews, the movie was not a complete failure and was considered a soft reboot in the franchise.

Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort was initially released in 2014 and ended up being completely recalled due to a massive oversight by the editing team, but was eventually re-released. The franchise began with 2003's Wrong Turn, which quickly became a cult horror gem. However, since then the Wrong Turn movies have been known for churning out relatively quick, direct-to-video movies — as proven by the fact the first film was the only one to obtain a theatrical release. The second film, Wrong Turn: Dead End, did a brief film festival circuit in 2007, and received relatively favorable reviews.

However, after the second installment, the Wrong Turn franchise declined, focusing more on sex, blood, and guts than plot or acting. Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort, which initially released in 2014, was structured a little differently. It was intended to be an origin story about the West Virginia cannibal clan instead of connecting to the previous movies. Things didn't go to plan, however, and shortly after release, Wrong Turn 6 was pulled by 20th Century Fox for several years — though not because it was a bad movie.

Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort is available to stream on AppleTV+

Wrong Turn 6 Featured A Real-Life Missing Person

The Original Cut Of The Movie Had An Image Of Stacia Purcell

The release of subversive slasher movie Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort hit a critical failure when it was discovered that one scene included a family photo on a missing persons board in the background. The crew do their due diligence and inadvertently ended up being embroiled in a lawsuit for using a real person's image without their consent. Where most missing persons photos are manufactured for film, one real poster escaped director Valeri Milev.

Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort included an image of Stacia Purcell, a real-life missing person. Purcell was declared missing on October 30, 2013, but was found dead several days later after her body washed up in a nearby river. Even worse, Purcell's picture was portrayed as an 81-year-old man in the film, with the actual poster only slightly altered. In reality, she was a woman in her 60s.

Some copies that were already distributed ended up being sold on the Internet with a rather high price tag, going as high as $45 for a single copy once news of the scandal broke.

Stacia Purcell's family discovered that her likeness was used in Wrong Turn 6 without their consent and filed a lawsuit in Ireland, claiming damages as well as pain and suffering for seeing her portrayed in such a light. Because of this pending legal suit, 20th Century Fox had to pull all existing copies of the film from shelves. Some copies that were already distributed ended up being sold on the Internet with a rather high price tag, going as high as $45 for a single copy once news of the scandal broke.

Wrong Turn 6 Was Eventually Re-Released

The Movie Didn't Stay Pulled From Shelves For Long

For a while, there was no news about whether the film would be re-released, as much of Wrong Turn 6's future depended on the outcome of the court case. The film's initial release was met with mixed reviews from critics and audiences, with many saying the soft reboot of the Wrong Turn timeline wasn't the worst in the franchise, falling somewhere in the middle, and others saying it was one of the better entries.

It might have been an easier pill for those involved to swallow if the film had been universally panned, but since it wasn't an abject failure, the recall was a definite set-back. Eventually, Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort fixed their error by editing the photo out of the film entirely, and it was re-released in 2015. The initial cut with Purcell's photo is considered to be a rare collector's item among franchise fans.