‘Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight Part 2’ is a supernatural slasher film from Poland, released in 2021 and directed by Bartosz M. Kowalski. He co-wrote the screenplay with Mirella Zaradkiewicz. Released on Netflix, it serves as a direct sequel to the 2020 original, continuing the gruesome and supernatural events set in Poland’s dark, remote forests. Unlike many sequels that aim to rehash the formula of their predecessors, this one boldly attempts a complete tonal, narrative, and genre shift to the surprise — and sometimes dismay — of viewers.
Plot Summary
The film begins with the aftermath of the slaughter from the first movie. Rookie police officer Adam Adamiec is depicted as a quiet, shy, socially withdrawn man employed at a rural police station. His partner is Wanessa, a self-assured and assertive officer. They become involved in a strange and violent investigation that involves mutated twins suspected of murdering multiple people in the woods. Zosia Wolska, one of the survivors from the first film, is a witness, claiming to have been assaulted by these deformed assailants.
Waldek’s initial investigation of the crime scene left him with unexplainable doubts regarding the accounts he had been briefed on, so he decided to further examine the matter and brought Zosia to the suspected killing site to look for clues. Once at the abandoned cabin, they encountered the unidentified glowing fragment of meteorite which had previously caused the twins mutations. During the interrogation Zosia is becomes infected and violently transforms into the twin-like monstrosity, proceeding to mercilessly murder the sergeant.
In the interim, Adam and Wanessa were made aware of Waldek’s disappearance, so they set out together with local hunters and friends Mariusz and Sławek to look for Zosia in the woods. Along the way, the group encounters many hurdles including being trapped, isolation, and mounting fear. They eventually come across a lone survivor named Janeczka, prostitute who barely escaped the gruesome slaughters. The team hatches a plan to use her as bait for Zosia, which winds up failing. Mariusz and Janeczka are both slayed by Zosia as Sławek falls victim to a bear trap and is abandoned by the rest of the group.
The narrative takes a strange twist when Zosia captures Adam and infects him with the same alien parasite. Rather than fighting against it, Adam starts to accept his new monstrous self. The film evolves from slasher horror to a surreal mutant love story in which Zosia teaches Adam to “kill” and relish the act. They come to cherish their affliction and the power it brings, ultimately choosing to collectively stalk and hunt humans.
Zosia and Adam’s first joint act entails the grisly execution of an animal-abusing shopkeeper. From here, Zosia and Adam go on to rescue the twin monsters from police custody, thereby creating a grotesque mutant family. The police station becomes their next target. Meanwhile, Wanessa, now the sole human defying them, arms herself with military-grade weapons in a futile attempt to stop the onslaught. To Zosia’s wrath, the attempt is futile, as Zosia violently dispatches Wanessa in the showdown of her fantasies.
Zosia is suddenly run over by a military vehicle as the mutant group gears up to annihilate the entire station. One of the twins detonates a grenade in a final act of defiance, pwning the entire police station. Adam is the sole survivor. Special forces capture him, taking him to an undisclosed location for experimentation, creating a lingering sense of unresolved horror.
Characters and Performances
Adam Adamiec (Mateusz Więcławek): A socially inept rookie cop and one of the film’s most drastic transforming characters, evolving into a violent a violent creature.
Zosia Wolska (Julia Wieniawa): A former final girl survivor, Zosia willingly undergoes a transformation into a monster, embracing her new identity fully.
Wanessa Kowalczyk (Zofia Wichłacz): Ginuwine: The brave officer who tries to hold everything together but meets a tragic end.
Sergeant Waldek (Andrzej Grabowski): A seasoned cop whose curiosity leads to his grisly demise.
Mariusz and Sławek: Local ex hunters drawn into the monster chase against their will.
Janeczka (Izabela Dąbrowska): A prostitute turned unlikely ally whose brief moments of comedic relief swiftly transition into corpse status.
Themes and Direction
With this sequel, Kowalski Bartosz M continues to subvert the tropes of horror, shifting from a traditional slasher to something far more uncanny. The first half of the film can be described as a tense, blood-soaked chase, while the latter half embraces absurdity, reclaiming love, monstrosity, and societal failure in what can only be termed as a parody.
Identity and acceptance remain at the core of this narrative. Adam the outcast could only find belonging and purpose after mutation into a “monstrous” being. Zosia, once a victim of monstrosity, incarnates the evil she once valiantly battled. The film plays with the tantalizing notion that monstrosity is at times liberating.
A particular noteworthy commentary would be on authority and institutional collapse. The police are either ineffective and corrupt, or simply incompetent. The aid of the military is rendered too late, once all the destruction is done. During this power vacuum, monsters reign.
Visual style and gore
This film features viciously violent viscerally grotesque dismemberment scenes including crushed skulls and intestines spilling death which is thoroughly abundant. The rest of the runtime features both a bleak and grim setting underscored with a desaturated dark color palette. Special effects focus on the practical side of makeup, especially during transformation scenes.
Reception
The audience and critics had mixed responses. Some audience members enjoyed the boldness of the narrative twist and viewed it as a departure from typical horror formulae. Others thought it was incoherent, absurd, or even a disservice to those who enjoyed the original. The strange romantic subplot with Adam and Zosia received particularly split opinions, with some people considering it adventurous, while others deemed it boring.
Regardless of mixed reviews, Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight Part 2 managed to stand out from its first part. It is unpredictable, at times absurd, but in its approach is one-of-a-kind.
Final thoughts
Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight Part 2 continues the story in a way no conventional horror sequel would. It starts from the more recognized slasher roots and ends up in grotesque absurdity that defies genres. It sits in a strange space between being an attempted satire of horror tropes or an uncalibrated narrative experiment, though it certainly does not seem to follow any established rules. It can be praised or bashed, but this sequel dares to delve into new territory and delivers a blend of bone-chilling and bizarre.
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