Wrong Turn’s Three Finger & Cannibal Killers History Explained

The Wrong Turn franchise has managed a six – soon to be seven – movie legacy that centers around a family of inbred cannibals. While they were only briefly explored in the first film, later installments sought to develop their twisted, dark history and get down to the roots of their existence.

The first film released theatrically in 2003, but all subsequent sequels went direct-to-video, though still saw a steady fanbase and popularity despite the lack of heavy promotion. In 2019, a seventh film, titled Wrong Turn: The Foundation was announced, with the original creator of the franchise, Alan B. McElroy, attached to write the film, which has been marketed as a reboot. While the first Wrong Turn is traditionally considered to be the best movie in the series, each one has its merits, and part of that is due to the colorful history of the cannibalistic villains who have allowed for staying power in the franchise.

While there have been different killers throughout the different movies in the Wrong Turn franchise, Three Finger is the most popular – and well known – of the bunch. Alongside his various family members, Three Finger has racked up an impressive body count and – despite appearing to be killed off briefly at the end of the first film – keeps coming back for more. Currently, Three Finger is the only cannibal to appear in all six movies. While it’s unclear whether the next movie will reboot the current batch of cannibals, a rather in-depth history has been developed in the current canon that revolves around Three Finger and his murderous family.

Three Finger & Cannibal Killers History Explained

The Odets family began with Maynard and Delilah, neither of whom appeared to have any mutations like their children, but could have still been the product of inbreeding. Maynard – who appeared as early as the first film – had his biggest role in Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines. Maynard has been played by different actors throughout the series, but was played by Hellraiser‘s Doug Bradley in the fifth installment. Bloodlines served as a prequel to Wrong Turn and built somewhat off what was established in Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings, which was meant as an origin story. As the story goes, Maynard and Delilah had five children: Three Finger, Saw Tooth, One Eye, Ma, and Pa, who were all deformed after their parents were exposed to toxic chemical run-off from a nearby paper mill.

While Delilah died an unknown, off-screen death, Maynard met his end in Wrong Turn 2: Dead End. More of the cannibals’ backstory was brought to light in the sequel, though it was established in the first film that the old man at the gas station – later revealed to be Maynard – had taken up a role of sending people into the wrong part of the wilderness so his family would be taken care of. While Maynard seems to have regrets about his family, perhaps because of what they’ve become after turning to cannibalism, though it could be shame regarding the inbreeding and mutations surrounding his family, or a way he deals with the grief of his wife’s death. Even so, his is complicit in their crimes, and while he does seem to be afraid of his sons, he still tries to protect them whenever and however he can.

Three Finger was the only surviving member of the first Wrong Turn movie, with his brothers – Saw Tooth and One Eye – being killed at the end of the film by Jessie Burlingame and Chris Flynn, the film’s survivors. A post-credit scene revealed that Three Finger did not perish alongside his family, and the sequel set up the birth of a new mutant – baby Three Toe – who survived the film with his brother, Three Finger, even though his mother (Ma) did not. The original three cannibals, Three Finger, Saw Tooth, and One Eye, returned in the fourth and fifth Wrong Turn movies, which served as prequels, but after the events of the second movie, Three Finger and Three Toe were the only survivors, and baby Three Toes perished in the third movie.

About The Author

Jack Wilhelmi
(581 Articles Published)

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Jack Wilhelmi is the horror features editor at Screen Rant, and has been with the site since 2019. He is a lifelong fan of the horror genre, and loves any excuse to discuss genre-related topics, since none of his friends dare challenge him in horror trivia. He has been published on the independent horror blog Morbidly Beautiful, and has covered major genre film festivals such as Cinepocalypse in Chicago. He has also served as a judge for the Ax Wound Film Festival.

In his free time, he is a devoted dog dad to a high-spirited rescue pup named Peter Quill and enjoys volunteering with various animal rescue organizations. Jack likes to travel and explore dark tourism-related and other various haunted locations. He enjoys studying psychology, the paranormal, and will watch literally any schlocky B-movie on the planet for a laugh.

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