OK so the slasher that made POV kills feel fresh again is officially getting a sequel, and it just locked in a release date. MSN reports the follow-up to In A Violent Nature is heading our way, and Johnny, the lovable undead killing machine who drags a logging chain around like it's a fashion accessory, will be back for "a very special holiday." That's literally the tagline from the announcement. I'm already obsessed with it.

If you missed the first one in 2024, quick recap: it's a slasher told almost entirely from the killer's perspective. We follow Johnny as he shuffles through the woods, breathes heavily, and absolutely dismantles anyone unlucky enough to be wearing a locket that belongs to him. From my own memory of watching it, there's a kill involving a yoga move that I still think about weekly. Your mileage may vary but that one lived in my head rent-free for months.

The POV gimmick could've been a one-movie trick, and part of me worried it would be. Watching a killer slowly walk behind unsuspecting campers for ninety minutes works once because you've never seen it before. Doing it again means the creative team has to find new ways to make that slow walk feel new. Chris Nash wrote and ran the first movie, but the reporting doesn't fully confirm who's back for the sequel crew yet, so I'm not counting any chickens. A holiday setting is at least a start. Slashers and holidays go together like peanut butter and panic. Christmas, New Year's, whatever they land on (pure speculation on my part, nothing's announced), tinsel and Johnny's droning ambience is a tonal combo I didn't know I needed.

What made the first movie work wasn't the gore, even though yes, the gore was insane. It was the patience of it. You spend so long with Johnny that he stops being scary and starts being weirdly sympathetic, a grieving guy lashing out at the world with a hook. Then the movie reminds you he's a monster and the floor drops out. If the sequel can hold that balance while switching up the kills, we're good. If it just repeats the greatest hits with a wreath in the background... we'll talk.

No word yet on cast, exact plot, or whether any returning characters survive long enough to matter. The first film ended in a way that left a couple of threads dangling, so there's room to build without retconning anything, which is rare for horror sequels that take a decade plus to arrive.

Anyway. Holiday season, one movie theater, me with a large popcorn I will not finish because of whatever they do with the kill scenes. Grandma raised me on the theory that any excuse to cover your eyes in public is a good one, and I intend to honor that legacy.