WRONG TURN 3: LEFT FOR DEAD is the third in a series of hillbilly slasher flicks that nobody wanted or asked for. However, despite the obvious limitations with this film series, I find the movies kind of fun: they offer simple, comic book-style story lines, loaded with cheesy acting and even cheesier gore sequences. In truth there's little to dislike about these films.

The central thrust of the plot here sees a prison van attacked by a redneck mutant. The surviving prisoners and prison guards are forced to trek through the forest to safety, where they hook up with the sole survivor of another attack. The viewer's left questioning as to what's going to kill them first - tensions within the group, or the increasingly demented attacks from the mutant himself.

It's hardly high art but WRONG TURN 3 is relatively amusing for its genre. The cast members certainly breathe life into their exaggerated characters, and I particularly enjoyed Tamer Hassan's turn as a Mexican (!) convict and crime boss. There's a little nudity and peril here, but most of the emphasis is on the violence, which is rubbery and explicit. Hardly disturbing, but kind of fun anyway, and the pacing is fast enough that you never have time to get bored or question the plot holes.

While rafting in the Bluefish River area, four college kids are attacked by the mutant cannibal hillbilly Three Finger (Borislav Iliev). Only the teenager Alex (Janet Montgomery) succeeds in escaping running through the woods. Meanwhile, a group of dangerous criminals are transported from the West Virginia Grafton Penitentiary in a custody bus escorted by three security guards through the backwoods. When they park in a rest stop in a police station, Sheriff Carver (Bill Moody) is informed about the missing teenagers. The bus driver heads to their destination with the guards and the prisoners but a tow truck driven by Three Finger hits the bus that falls off the road. They are attacked by Three Finger and the perilous Carlo Chavez (Tamer Hassan) dominates the guards and the other prisoners. When they accidentally meet Alex, the girl tells how sick and threatening Three Finger is; sooner the survivals discover that Alex is telling the truth.

"Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead" is a poor sequel of this good franchise; actually is a terrible collection of clichés. The story is totally predictable; most of the characters are unlikable and maybe only Alex and Nate are charismatic; the "Freddy Krueger face" Three Finger is absurdly indestructible and without any credibility; the awful conclusion is a trigger for a possible sequel. The beautiful Janet Montgomery resembles Linda Fiorentino when she was young. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Pânico na Floresta 3" ("Panic in the Forest 3")

This franchise continues leaving a lot to be desired. So much room for potential never taken. Some special effects were clever, but most ho-hum. A group of friends rafting rapids and survivors of a crashed bus load of convicts fight for their lives in the deep back woods of West Virginia. A family of hideously deformed cannibals led by their inbred leader known as Three-Finger(Boris Illiev)stalk the group of lost travelers in the woods. Very easy to tell this film is budget challenged. The story does get a bit gory, but mostly is very predictable. My favorite scene is of a victim being sliced in thirds...head to crotch.

Cast members include: Tom Frederic, Janet Montgomery, Tamer Hassan, Emma Clifford and Gil Kolrin.