Wrong Turn 7 will officially reboot Alan B. McElroy's impeccable franchise in a way that could save it from its past faults — here's how. When the first movie premiered in 2003, it garnered a decent following, which led to several sequels that expanded on the origins of the Appalachian cannibals. In recent years, releases have been few and far between, but the announcement of Wrong Turn 7 as well as its December 2020 trailer drop brings new life to a franchise that was otherwise growing stale. Here's how the seventh installment can save the entire Wrong Turn franchise.

The movies follow a family of cannibals who live in the Appalachian mountains of West Virginia. They set traps, use various forms of homemade weaponry, and kill unsuspecting victims who dare to travel into the woods. It centers around three primary cannibals: Three Finger, Saw Tooth, and One Eye. As the series expanded, the various writers and directors made alterations to their storylines, created new cannibals, and even introduced a bizarre origin story in Wrong Turn 6: Last ResortWhile each additional movie added to the overall lore of the characters, it did not do the series much of a service, as they grew into having far more "torture porn" aspects like that of Eli Roth's work while simultaneously erring far too similar to aspects familiar to Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes. 

Related: Why Three Finger Is Missing From The Wrong Turn 7 Trailer (Will He Return?)

The Appalachian cannibals kill for seemingly no reason and have lived in the woods for an unspecified amount of time. Subsequent sequels to the 2003 movie made them into people who kill to survive and transformed them into slasher characters. They lost the basic concept of what they once were, but Wrong Turn 7 offers the franchise the ability to return to its 2003 roots, which is arguably a turn for the better.

Wrong Turn 2003 and Wrong Turn 7 Poster Art

Wrong Turn 7 is going in a similar route as 2018's Halloween. This move retcons the later sequels entirely and becomes a sequel to the first installment in the franchise instead. After the disappointment that was Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort, the movie series needed something to reinvigorate it. There may have been initial hesitation for fans when the project was first announced in 2019, but after viewing the trailer, it's clear that they are going back to the basics. Especially with McElroy's return, Wrong Turn 7 is guaranteed to deliver the scares that made the 2003 movie so great and make up for the failures of other installments.

The trailer for Wrong Turn 7 features several new traps that have yet to be seen in the franchise before and a possible cannibal who dons a skull as a mask. In a haunting three-second scene, they are standing behind a wall of fire, preparing to show themselves to whoever is looking at them. Perhaps there's a new cannibal in charge, considering the 18 years that separates the first movie and this one. The traps featured in the trailer are hidden ditches, which appear to be a system of tunnels, as a character is pulled down one by a chain. There is also a swinging tire with spikes in it and several other spiked objects that could drop directly onto the head of a passerby or swing at them from above. One of the most astounding traps includes the use of a trip wire. As the trailer begins, the group walking in the Appalachian mountains split a trip wire, which sets a giant tree trunk rolling down the hill straight towards them.

In Wrong Turn and Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, the creators were more focused on including some of the most gruesome traps and bodily injuries that they could. It wasn't a movie about the survival of cannibals, but rather the survival of innocent campers who just so happened to take a trip to the wrong side of the Appalachian mountains. In order to survive, they have to evade the horrifying traps and sadistic killers who lurk behind every corner, which is exactly what the trailer for Wrong Turn 7 showcases. This reboot will undoubtedly save the franchise with this direction, as it will return to the movie series' roots, amplify the gore, retcon the sequels, and ensure that the fear of the West Virginia woods remains in the minds of every viewer.

More: Wrong Turn: Every Cannibal In The Franchise (All 6 Movies)