Welcome 2 Weshaven – A Bigger, Bloodier Sequel Inspired by ’80s and ’90s Slashers

Sponsored Feature: Menacing Studios

Welcome 2 Weshaven is an upcoming slasher film written and directed by Joel Harris.

Watch the original film Welcome to Weshaven (2025) here:

Watch the campaign for Welcome 2 Weshaven (2026) here:

One year after surviving a series of brutal masked killings, Courtney Campbell arrives at college determined to rebuild her life and leave the past behind. But when a violent attack shatters the calm of campus, fear spreads quickly and old wounds reopen. As new victims fall and cryptic messages begin to surface, Courtney and her friends find themselves pulled into a deadly game where no one feels safe. Not in crowded dorms, quiet streets, or even among each other. With authorities scrambling for answers and the media circling relentlessly, the group must navigate suspicion, grief, and the growing sense that the danger is always one step ahead. As the violence escalates and survivors from the past re-emerge, Courtney is forced to confront what she remembers, what she’s forgotten, and what it will take to protect the people still standing beside her. In a town where panic spreads faster than truth, survival may depend not just on fighting back, but on figuring out who can be trusted before it’s too late.

Meet the cast:

A Q&A with Writer/Director Joel Harris

Welcome, Joel! Thank you for joining us to discuss your upcoming slasher Welcome 2 Weshaven. This film leans heavily into memory, trauma, and unreliable perception. How do you intend to explore Courtney’s psychological state one year later, and what narrative opportunities does that open up?

Well firstly, thank you so much for having me, it means a lot. Courtney in this film is a survivor, not a victim of the past which is really important and a very interesting aspect I wanted to explore. One year later, she’s trying to convince herself that she’s moved on, but in reality, she’s carrying everything with her. That manifests through anxiety, paranoia, and moments where her perception of reality starts to blur. What interested me was exploring how trauma doesn’t just disappear, it evolves, and how she lives with it. There are moments where Courtney questions what she’s seeing, what she remembers, and even who she can trust. That opens up a lot of narrative tension because the audience is experiencing the story through someone who isn’t always certain of her own reality. It makes every interaction and every threat feel more unstable and unpredictable.

In this sequel, Courtney is dropped into a new environment after narrowly escaping the events of the first film, Welcome to Weshaven (2025). What excited you about shifting the story to a college setting, and how does that change the tone or stakes?

The college setting excited me because it represents a fresh start. College is supposed to be this place where you reinvent yourself, meet new people, and build a future. For Courtney, it becomes the opposite. It’s unfamiliar, it’s isolating, and it’s full of people who don’t understand what she’s been through. That shift allowed us to expand the world while also increasing the tension. The stakes feel higher because now the danger isn’t confined to a small town. It’s in crowded spaces, dorms, classrooms, places where people are supposed to feel safe. That contrast makes the horror hit harder.

You’ve mentioned wanting the sequel to feel “bigger” without losing the intimacy of the original. What does “bigger” mean in practical terms for you?

With this one we have a go big or go home mindset. This means expect bigger set pieces, bigger and bloodier body count, bigger cast, and a grander story at the helm. We’re expanding the world, the number of characters, and the situations they’re placed in. There are more moving parts, more perspectives, and more chaos as things escalate. At the same time, I didn’t want to lose what made the first film work, which was intimacy. So even though the film is bigger in scale, the core of it still comes down to the story and relationships, especially Courtney and the people closest to her.

With this one, we have a go big or go home mindset. This means expect bigger set pieces, bigger and bloodier body count, bigger cast, and a grander story at the helm.

Slasher sequels often up the spectacle, but they can lose emotional weight in the process. How do you plan to balance escalation with maintaining that emotional core?

That balance is really important to me. The kills and the suspense are part of the experience, but they don’t mean anything if you don’t care about the characters. Every major moment in the film is tied to character. When something happens, it’s not just about shock value, it’s about how it affects the people involved and the group dynamic. If the audience feels the loss, the fear, and the tension between characters, then the spectacle enhances the story instead of replacing it.

You’re unveiling a mix of returning survivors and a wave of new characters stepping into the chaos of Weshaven. What were you looking for when assembling this expanded cast?

When building the cast, I was looking for actors who felt real and grounded. In a film like this, the performances have to sell both the normal moments and the extreme ones. The returning characters bring emotional continuity, while the new characters represent different perspectives, some skeptical, some curious, some completely unaware of what they’re stepping into. The goal was to create a group that feels like a real friend circle, so when things start to fall apart, it actually feels like something is being lost.

Behind the camera, what are the biggest changes or improvements you want to implement this time — whether in effects, stunt work, locations, or overall production scale?

This time around, I’m really focused on elevating every aspect of production. That includes more refined cinematography, stronger lighting setups, and more intentional shot design to build tension visually. We’re also putting more effort into choreographing sequences, especially chase scenes and attack moments so they feel more immersive and controlled. Locations are a big upgrade as well. Moving into a college and downtown environment allows us to create a much more dynamic and cinematic world compared to the first film. A lot of criticism we received from the last film was the lack of blood so expect more blood in this one.

We’re putting more effort into choreographing sequences, especially chase scenes and attack moments, so they feel more immersive and controlled.

You’ve got a Crowdfundr campaign running for the film right now. What kinds of perks and rewards can horror fans look forward to if they choose to support Welcome 2 Weshaven?

We wanted the crowdfunding campaign to feel like fans are actually becoming part of the film. Some of the perks include special thanks, behind-the-scenes access, physical and digital copies of film, screen used props, and producer perks. We’re also offering opportunities for supporters to be credited in the film and, in some cases, even appear as extras. The goal is to make supporters feel like collaborators, like they’re helping bring this story to life alongside us.

What do you hope audiences walk away feeling after this chapter?

I want audiences to walk away feeling tense, unsettled, and emotionally impacted. On the surface, it’s a slasher, but underneath, it’s about trust, trauma, and how people change after surviving something horrific. If people leave the film questioning what they saw, thinking about the characters, and wanting to go back and rewatch it to catch things they missed, then I feel like we’ve done our job.

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