Exciting news for slasher fans out of yesterday’s San Diego Comic-Con announcement and an exclusive from Letterboxd – a sequel to this year’s In a Violent Nature is officially in production via IFC Films and Shudder.
The news of In a Violent Nature 2 (title tbc) was revealed during the The Bold Voice of Contemporary Horror panel (which featured FANGORIA’s own digital editor and icon Angel Melanson!)
Directed and written by Chris Nash, In a Violent Nature‘s plot reads as follows:
When a locket is removed from a collapsed fire tower in the woods that entombs the rotting corpse of Johnny, a vengeful spirit spurred on by a horrific 60-year old crime, his body is resurrected and becomes hellbent on retrieving it. The undead golem hones in on the group of vacationing teens responsible for the theft and proceeds to methodically slaughter them one by one in his mission to get it back – along with anyone in his way.”
While Nash is listed as writer on the sequel, his return as director has not yet been confirmed.
The “ambient slasher”, which uniquely showcased Johnny’s POV rather than his victims, premiered at this year’s Sundance, and immediately racked up audience hype among horror fans for its grisly, practical effects and one particularly imaginative kill.
Starring in In a Violent Nature were Ryan Barrett as the terrifying Johnny, Andrea Pavlovic, Cameron Love, Reece Presley, Liam Leone, Charlotte Creaghan, Lea Rose Sebastianis, Sam Roulston, Alexander Oliver, and Lauren Taylor. Without spoiling, we’re, uhh, not sure too many of them will be returning for the sequel…
In a Violent Nature 2‘s producers include Peter Kuplowsky and Shannon Hanmer, with Emily Gotto, Nicholas Lazo and Sam Zimmerman overseeing development for Shudder.
In a statement, Kuplowsky gives more details:
In a Violent Nature was originally conceived as a meta-sequel within a fictional slasher series, so we were always imagining mayhem beyond the scope of the original film […] That we now have the opportunity to continue following Johnny on his restless walk has us feeling incredibly grateful to our incredible partners at IFC Films / Shudder who believed in Chris’ vision from day one. We are thrilled to return for a new chapter and are excited to deploy Johnny as a conduit to further experiments in the genre.
Plot details for the sequel are still under wraps, but as we all know, with slashers, anything goes. Maybe Johnny will jet off into space? Or embark on a bloody showdown with another slasher icon? Maybe he’lll follow his true calling as a yoga teacher?
Whatever happens, we’re in. Check out the teaser poster for In a Violent Nature 2 below, and we’ll bring you all the updates as they roll in.
