The Wrong Turn and Friday the 13th slasher franchises don't have any direct connections on the surface, but one tie does exist. Friday the 13th is one of the grandfathers of the slasher movement, in many ways helping to establish the genre via its lengthy run of sequels. It wasn't the first slasher, but it served to codify lots of genre tenets that would remain in place for decades, especially the inclusion of often gratuitous amounts of gore or nudity.
Friday the 13th - along with proto-slashers Halloween and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - also put in place the concept of the "final girl," a female character who manages to survive longer than any of her friends, and eventually takes it to the killer directly. Wrong Turn, a series that debuted in 2003, served as a blend of the traditional slasher and its sister sub-genre of backwoods cannibals on the loose, as seen in films like The Hills Have Eyes or the aforementioned Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Wrong Turn isn't a pure slasher franchise but it edges into the genre, especially as the sequels progress forward. Interestingly, the early version of Jason seen in Friday the 13th Part 2, who wore overalls, attacked with pitchforks, had a scraggly head of hair, and a deformed face probably could've fit right in with Three-Finger's family. However, it was a later Jason performer who ended up tying the two series together.
In 2007's Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, Three-Finger is now surrounded by a new family of cannibals, which seems appropriate, since he himself is no longer played by original actor Julian Richings. One of the new mutants is simply named Pa, a hulking brute sure to strike fear into anyone unfortunate enough to encounter him - before he strikes them physically that is. Pa is played by Ken Kirzinger, who had the honor of being chosen to play Jason Voorhees in 2003's Freddy vs. Jason, a massive crossover more than a decade in the making.
There was much controversy among the fanbase over that decision, as multi-time Jason actor Kane Hodder badly wanted the role, but for some mysterious reason, New Line wanted someone else. In the end, Kirzinger did well in the role, which contrarily to popular belief does take skill to pull off. Kirzinger's next big horror role was Pa in Wrong Turn 2, which actually kept him on a good track, as this sequel is easily the most acclaimed follow-up in the franchise. Interestingly, Kirzinger had actually played Jason twice, having worked as a stuntman and bit player on Friday the 13th Part 8, and doubled for Hodder in a few scenes. Considering how messed up Pa looks in Wrong Turn 2, he probably could've been Jason's dad, had Pamela Voorhees ever ventured up into the mountains of West Virginia at some point. That's probably not the case, but it's fun to imagine.
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