My review. (Spoiler free)

Apparently the director took to heart the criticisms of Terrifer's lack of plot. So here we get a large expansion resulting in perhaps the longest slasher film ever? The pendulum has probably swung too far here. I had no issues with the pacing on a first watch however many scenes do run long and with a talented film editor this film could have been trimmed down. Some will like the fact the plot is given room to breathe but others will find it plodding and overlong. It'll be interesting to see how it holds up over rewatches and if the length and prolonged scenes become an issue.

The lore is greatly expanded upon though not completely explained. This film takes the now franchise into a different realm. The first film was a basic slasher as a madman kills people off one-by-one, this film adds so many more unconventional elements and background info. The lack of proper explanation will bother some viewers.

The gore is great though a little over the top at times. One kill scene in particular is one of the most brutal I've ever seen. That's gonna be one of the hallmarks of this franchise, leaning heavily into 'torture porn' levels of gore and violence. If you stomached the first film fine, you'll be fine here too.

The OST is a major, major improvement. I liked the music in this a lot and honestly can't remember the music in the first film at all even though I rewatched it a week or so ago.

Production values as a whole, the sets, the cinematography it's all an improvement over the first film. This film benefits from the more varied locations.

The acting is varied. Some performances are a bit iffy, some characters are a touch unlikeable, this is the norm for these low budget indie films though thankfully this film wasn't too bad in either regard. Quite good in fact given the budget. However the lead actress Lauren LaVera is brilliant. She's absolutely gorgeous and most importantly a very likeable character, so many films make the mistake of having a protagonist who you can't stand. Her character Sienna is honestly probably one of my favorite 'final girls' of all time now, a great character.

For me this was better than the original is every area save for pacing, naturally given the additional 50-odd minutes. It's great that this film is so different, adds a bit of variety to this little franchise. The first is a lean and contained gorey slasher, this one is quite epic and surreal.

I personally really liked this a lot. One of my favorite films of the year thus far, highly recommended.