Genre: Horror, Slasher
Directed by: Nate Wilson
Starring: Ema Ines, Laurie Babin, Donald MacLean Jr.
Release Date: TBD (Premiered at Fantastic Fest 2026)
Platform: Shudder
Star Rating: 2/5
By Bryce Payne
“In a Violent Nature 2 has no shortage of brutal creativity, but outside of its impressive kills, there’s not
much to sink your teeth into.”
Back in 2024, the horror community was taken by storm when In a Violent Nature premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival—a gritty, brutal take on the modern slasher. The film quickly made an
impression with its unconventional approach, and more importantly, its absolutely gnarly kills. Two
years later, Johnny is back in IN A VIOLENT NATURE 2, which was selected as the first secret screening at
this year’s Fantastic Fest. Picking up where the first film left off, the sequel throws Johnny into a familiar
horror summer camp setting, and has him channeling his inner Jason Voorhees, as he begins hunting
down a new group of counselors. While the sequel delivers plenty of the practical gore that made its
predecessor stand out, it struggles to say anything within the formula.
Just like the first film, the story takes a backseat to the carnage. If the kills were what brought you to In a
Violent Nature, you’ll find plenty to enjoy here. The practical effects are once again the star of the show,
with each death attempting to top the one before it. There’s real creativity behind the gore, and the
filmmakers clearly understand that elaborate kills are what audiences are looking for. Unfortunately,
once you take those moments away, there’s very little holding the film together.
Set at a summer camp as the season comes to an end, the story introduces us to Alex, a bullied,
awkward kid who gets left behind,and forced to stay at the camp with his sister and the other
counselors. The film spends roughly thirty minutes establishing these characters and their relationships
before Johnny eventually arrives and begins cutting through them. The problem is that most of this
setup becomes irrelevant once the killings start. Plot threads are introduced and then abandoned,
leaving much of the early character development feeling like filler, rather than something that
meaningfully contributes to the story.
The film attempts to make Alex its central character, spending most of the runtime following him as he
wanders through the camp and encounters the aftermath of Johnny’s rampage. But it’s almost like
watching a blank wall try to emote. Alex has almost no reaction to the horrific events unfolding around
him, making him feel less like a protagonist and more like a vessel for the audience to experience the
story through. That could work if there were something compelling about his character, but the film
never gives us much of a reason to care whether he survives or not.
When it comes to the supporting cast, some are actually more interesting, which makes it even more
frustrating when several of them seemingly disappear from the story. Unlike the first film, which
maintained a more consistent focus on its characters and their eventual fates, IN A VIOLENT NATURE 2
frequently leaves the audience waiting for something to happen. Characters walk from one location to
another, discover the aftermath of Johnny’s latest attack, and then continue moving. Instead of building
tension, this approach often slows the movie down and keeps the audience at a distance from the
action.
There is no denying that IN A VIOLENT NATURE 2 feels like a love letter to Friday the 13th and the campy
B-horror movies that helped define the slasher genre. The summer camp setting, the hulking killer and
the increasingly outrageous practical effects all fit comfortably within that tradition. The problem is that
the sequel doesn’t do much beyond paying tribute to those influences. In an era where modern slashers
are constantly looking for ways to reinvent familiar formulas, IN A VIOLENT NATURE 2 feels content in
retracing a path we’ve already seen.
In a Violent Nature was a fun experiment in 2024, and it’s easy to understand why it developed such a
passionate cult following. Its sequel isn’t a complete misfire, and the kills are arguably even more
ambitious this time around, but there’s little here beyond the gore to justify another trip into Johnny’s
world. Fans of the original will likely find plenty to enjoy, while anyone who wasn’t won over by the first
film probably won’t find much here to change their mind. Ultimately, IN A VIOLENT NATURE 2 delivers
the brutal practical effects and slasher carnage its audience came for, but outside of that, it feels like a
retread that doesn’t bring enough new to the table.
