Just when you thought it was safe to return to the woods, Johnny's back! That's right folks, writer-director Chris Nash's terrifying, traipsing masked murderer is set to return in a follow-up to the filmmaker's experimental slasher In A Violent Nature. The news came during “The Bold Voice of Contemporary Horror” panel at Comic-Con this past weekend and was later confirmed by Variety, who also shared a first-look teaser poster for the horror sequel. Check it out below:
Ahh, nothing like a bloody meat hook to kick off a Monday morning, right? Anyway, said meat hook — and the return of Ry Barrett's lumbering death bringer — are about the only things we know for certain about In A Violent Nature 2 for now (if it's even called that — maybe it'll be In A Pacifist Nature instead with less blood and more birdsong?). We do however now have confirmation that Johnny's sophomore outing is currently in early development at IFC Films and Shudder, and that Nash will be returning to write and direct the sequel. Whether it will continue in the vein of the first film, which offered a unique twist on the slasher genre by telling its story from the killer's POV rather than his victims', remains to be seen.
“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,” said producer Peter Kuplowsky in a statement accompanying the sequel's announcement. “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.”
We'll bring you more news on just what exactly those further experiments in the genre entail as soon as we get them. But in the meantime, if you missed In A Violent Nature at the cinemas, Nash's claret-spilling horror walking simulator (in a good way!) is set to hit Shudder on 13 September. And yes, that would be a Friday The 13th. Spooky, eh?