The secret’s out … or, at least, the first secret screening of this year’s Fantastic Fest. Johnny’s back and massacring camp counselors in IFC/Shudder’s hotly anticipated slasher sequel, In A Violent Nature 2. Nate Wilson co-directs with original director Chris Nash (who retains screenwriting duty), but runs the same walking simulator from hell playbook. More stomping through the woods, more ultraviolent slasher kills, and plenty more dead air sans musical score. There’s a stronger narrative drive behind Johnny’s second killing spree, but that’s the only major update.
In A Violent Nature 2 focuses on dweeby loner Alex (Lucas Nguyen) on the final day before Camp Puddingstone sends its attendees home. Unfortunately, Alex misses the bus after his bullies cruelly cut his hair, use glue as a styling product, and shove him in a trunk. At least Alex’s sister, Julie (Olivia Scriven), is one of the counselors staying to celebrate before closing Puddingstone for the season. So, Alex sulks in the corner while Julie and her friends act like the drunk, horny counselors in every camp slasher. That’s when Johnny (a menacing Ry Barrett) crashes the party, and mayhem erupts.
It’s very Friday the 13th Part 2; it’s just a psycho killer and counselors, sans Alex. Nash even treats In A Violent Nature 2 like your typical franchise sequel, jokily tweaking Johnny’s urban legend. Characters debate how to summon Johnny, whether it’s Alex’s newly introduced method of blowing into an antique fireman’s whistle — the film’s supposed instigating action — or the magical necklace blamed for the first film’s events. Horror sequels frequently muddy the waters of continuity, and you can tell Nash adds some cheeky lines to acknowledge so, like a satirical wink for genre audiences. Is Johnny really a Candyman-type with conjuring instructions, or is it just a bad-luck coincidence that Johnny was stalking nearby when Alex blew his instrument?
But this time around, Johnny is no longer the primary perspective focus. After a brief introduction in which the undead brute walks like a video game character down serene backwoods paths, In A Violent Nature 2 reverts to traditional horror filmmaking. We watch Alex whistle for Johnny, perv on his camp crush Olga (Laurie Babin) from afar, then witness all Julie’s friends die unspeakable deaths. The intrigue of watching a slasher from the slasher’s perspective is gone, and we’re shackled to a child actor who, very unfortunately, does not flash leading-protagonist chops. Wilson’s direction of Nguyen keeps the teen in a monotonous daze, causing In A Violent Nature 2 to drag, lag, and sag more than it should.
But the kills, THE KILLS. Nash’s practical effects wizardly put In A Violent Nature on the map, and this year’s sequel brings the same level of flesh-torn, organ-harvesting, abusively repugnant kills that would make Art the Clown blush. It’s a smorgasbord of ultraviolence as Johnny pushes almost every kill to the extreme, from a brutal bisection as a girl is being pulled out a window, to a complex ten-parter that tops last film’s crowning yoga-girl pretzel display. It’s a jaw-dropping spectacle that immediately becomes a contender for not only best slasher kill of the year, but best slasher kill of the decade. Rubbery dummies have their scarily realistic insides turned out in a slew of creative ways, while Barrett’s intensity sells the barbaric bluntness of Johnny’s sensational acts of mutilation. In A Violent Nature 2 is a stupendously grotesque highlight reel of carnage that goes even harder when blades slice, hooks dig into victims, and bodies hit the floor (in countless pieces).
What’s frustrating is how much good will Johnny’s body count earns, while juxtaposed against the doldrums of Alex’s coming-of-age sleepiness. Camp Puddingstone’s soundtrack is crickets, frogs, and leaves crunching underfoot, which is novel in the prior film, but said novelty has worn off. Musical accompaniment only comes in the form of the camp’s DJ, playing records over loudspeakers. Wilson focuses on piercing sound design to accentuate savage acts so that we can hear every snapped tendon and wince at the squishy sounds of senseless violence — which doesn’t hit as hard. There are stretches of In A Violent Nature 2 that should play like dreadful fever-dreams, but meander with a wayward sense of direction and suffocating silence.
Storytelling blueprints deserve partial blame, too, along with unengaging atmospheres. Not to say all attractive blonde counselors look the same, but two specific characters are easily mistaken for the other in the chaos of nighttime fleeing. There’s also a whole sequence where Olga dreamily leads Alex through the camp, which plays like a hallucination, but lands with a befuddling impact. Wilson doesn’t have the same command that Nash showed as a director, keeping a constant flow as Johnny enacted his reign of terror. In A Violent Nature 2 feels like a step down from where its predecessor once excelled, becoming a more generic slog with unclear editing points that’s in desperate need of reinvigoration.
To say In A Violent Nature 2 is more of the same would be correct, but quality is not replicated. In A Violent Nature suffers from the same problems, but won me over with its ingenuity and freshness. Wilson’s sequel plays like a step backward; the film’s funniest and gnarliest moments are lessened by lifeless filler in between. Promises of top-notch blood and guts are paid off, but a stronger narrative backbone snaps under the pressure. What should be harrowing and horrific is instead arduous and aloof. In A Violent Nature 2 hacks and slashes like no other, yet leaves us grasping for substance besides the counselor corpse chunks strewn about.
DISCLAIMER: As per the filmmakers, the version screened is a “work in progress print of the locked picture,” meaning we saw the final film, but there would still be a few technical tweaks and polishes as they put a final bow on the package.
