Horror Movie Review: Don’t Fuck in the Woods 2 (2022)

Sometimes you just have to sit back, detach your brain & enjoy a horror movie for exactly what it is. In 2016, Shawn Burkett brought us the trashy, exploitative gore fest that was Don’t Fuck in the Woods and we had a bloody blast watching it.

A sequel certainly wasn’t inevitable but here we are, in the year of 2022 and Don’t Fuck in the Woods 2 is out now. Available on digital and VOD platforms with a Blu-ray scheduled for December, from Wild Eye Releasing.

Back in the directing chair, Shawn Burkett looks to recapture some the magic from the first film but in a surprise turn of events, goes about a bit differently. This sequel is not a re-run, although you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise at first. Especially as it serves as a direct continuation.

Beginning with the end of the first film, final girl Jane (Brittany Blanton) dispatches the monster in bloody fashion before heading off to find a way out of the woods.

Nearby, Pine Hill Camp is about to reopen and a cast of horned up councillors have just arrived to get things ready. Or at least handyman Gil (Cheyenne Gordon) and Nurse Vanessa (Nessa Moore) are getting things ready. This group of young adults are more interested in partying, getting naked and having sex. Yes, exactly like the original, Don’t Fuck in the Woods 2 is not afraid to show bare skin. So much so, that you could confuse the first half for being something else.

Certainly not a horror movie, aside from a separate scene involving two women getting attacked by a slimy parasite. Although even that scene is pre-empted by girl-on-girl sex.

That parasite is the first indicator that Don’t Fuck in the Woods 2 is going in a slightly different direction. Further pushed when another parasite attacks a pair of counsellors while they’re getting busy in a tent. Never one to shy away from shocking imagery, Burkett hilariously shows the thing entering an ass!

Once infected with a parasite, the victim turns into a raging zombie like creature with a serious taste for blood. Sharp teeth, glazed over eyes and a ferocity that makes survival difficult. For those not infected, fucking is the last thing on their minds now. The body count is rising. However, the arrival of Jane, having made her way to the camp, gives hope as she is not afraid to fight back.

Don’t Fuck in the Woods 2 has a lot of energy and lives up to both its name and its predecessor. The decision to take the story in a different direction ends up making it feel fresh even if it’s a combination of horrors seen before. The gleeful portrayal of caricatures, the effects, the black humour and intriguing finale adding to the overall quality of the movie.

That being said, it’s not flawless. As already stated, it takes quite a while for any horror to start (aside from the intro). Then there’s the lack of imaginative deaths. While there are plenty, they often all play out the same way and that’s disappointing. It would have been nice to have seen one or two more outrageous ideas here.

It does speak volumes though that, once again, Shawn Burkett has delivered. If you had a blast with Don’t Fuck in the Woods, you’ll have just as big a blast with Don’t Fuck in the Woods 2.