Kevin Feige would be proud of this.
Yesterday, I mentioned how we’re starting to see original hits, big and small, getting sequels. It’s been an especially recurrent thing in the horror genre, with “Smile” and “The Black Phone” being more recent examples. The latest one is actually quite surprising.
IFC Films has greenlit a sequel to its well-reviewed 2024 indie horror hit “In A Violent Nature.” The announcement came during a panel at San Diego Comic-Con.
Scott Shooman, head of AMC Film, said in a statement. “With the sequel, we aim to prove that Johnny can be bigger, meaner, and his kills can only get more impressive.”
“In A Violent Nature” was an inventive reworking of the slasher genre, filmed from the killer’s perspective. It was very gory, but no less interesting in the way director Chris Nash tried to reform the way such a genre-specific story could be told.
What I found most interesting about “In A Violent Nature” was how Nash managed to use slasher cliches, the most familiar of tropes (scenes set in lakes, cabins, woods, campfires) and find fresh new ways of shooting them. It was a fascinating artistic experiment.
However, now the film is set to become its own horror cliche by getting a sequel and becoming a franchise. Go figure. I don’t think the film necessarily needs to have its story continued, but IFC seems to believe otherwise.
“In A Violent Nature” was a surprise hit for IFC, having grossed $4.5M on a budget that was been reported to be a little less than $500,000. It first premiered in January at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival where it was part of the Midnight sidebar.
