Slasher 'In a Violent Nature' Developing Sequel With IFC and Shudder

The study IFC Films and the streamer Shudder, have officially launched a sequel to the arthouse slasher In a Violent Naturetitled In a Violent Nature 2with the return of Johnny, the ruthless killer from the first installment.

IFC and Shudder confirmed the news during the panel “The Bold Voice of Contemporary Horror” at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, featuring “Johnny.” The sequel is in the early stages of development (via Variety).

The plot of In a Violent Naturefrom the screenwriter and director Chris Nashrevolves around “the enigmatic resurrection, rampage and retribution of an undead monster in a remote wilderness that unleashes an iconic new killer.”

The film emerged as one of the acclaimed at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, with the first standout feature being, told from the killer's point of viewThe film opened in US theaters in late May and entered the Top 10 highest-grossing films in IFC Films history. Starting Friday, September 13, it will be available on Shudder.

Nash will write the script for the sequelalthough it is not specified whether he could also return as director.

Peter Kuplowsky and Shannon Hammer will produce the next installment, with Emily Gotto, Nicholas Lazo and Samuel Zimmerman supervising for Shudder.

JOHNNY'S MURDERS WILL BE BIGGER, CRUEL AND MORE SHOCKING IN THE SEQUEL

Scott Shooman, head of the film group at AMC Networks, which owns Shudder, said in a press release that the stakes are set to rise for the sequel:

“'In a Violent Nature' proved that there is still a hunger for fresh perspectives in the horror landscape. We knew immediately that this particular take on the slasher would captivate fans and we are happy to see the community embrace a new slasher icon like Johnny.” With the sequel, we aim to show that Johnny can be bigger, crueler, and that his kills can only be more impressive..”

Kuplowsky added:

“'In a Violent Nature' was originally conceived as a meta-sequel within a fictional horror series, so we were always imagining mayhem beyond the scope of the original film.The fact that we now have the opportunity to follow Johnny on his tireless journey makes us feel incredibly grateful to our incredible partners at IFC Films/Shudder, who believed in Chris’ vision from day one. We're thrilled to be back for a new chapter and are excited to use Johnny as a conduit for future experiments in the genre..”

Let us recall the synopsis of the first installment:

“When a reliquary is removed from a collapsed fire tower in the woods entombing Johnny’s rotting corpse, a vengeful spirit spurred by a horrific crime 60 years ago resurrects his body and becomes hell-bent on retrieving it. The undead golem targets the group of vacationing teenagers responsible for the robbery and proceeds to methodically slaughter them one by one on his quest to retrieve it, along with anyone else who stands in his way.”

Check out the teaser poster for In a Violent Nature 2: