How to Survive a Horror Movie Sequel by Scarlett Dunmore

✦ BLURB ✦

Can you be a final girl and survive your own horror movie - twice?

Almost a year after the horrors of Harrogate, Charley and her mum find themselves stranded in a small village called Glendale, AKA 'The Devil's Punchbowl'. Then she befriends the local misfits and learns of her new home's ties to witchcraft - and realises that Glendale has even more secrets than she bargained for.

However, the town's troubled past might just be the key to Charley understanding her ability to speak to the dead, especially with Halloween approaching. But after a series of disappearances, the ghosts acting differently this time, and the Harrogate Killer making a shocking return, Charley realises she might have taken on more than she can handle.

Before she can flee town, a new terror is unleashed, placing her friends and family in danger. Charley's horror knowledge will be put to the test once more, and if she and the Harrogate Killer don't figure out how to work together, they'll be trapped in Glendale forever. Or worse - buried in it.

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One way or another, the final girl always comes back.

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PRE-READING THOUGHTS:
I had a blast with the first book — teen slasher vibes, witty meta-commentary, and just the right level of blood spatter. I was curious how a sequel would raise the stakes... and it turns out the answer is: welcome to Cult Town, population extremely cursed.

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POST-READING
As I thought…
Charley still brings the sass and smarts, but this time she’s up against something older, deeper, and way more insidious than just a masked killer. I loved the horror sequel rules woven through and the clever pivots to folk horror.
It surprised me by…
How emotionally invested I got in the “enemy of my enemy” dynamic — and the fact that the Harrogate Killer somehow… grew on me?! The slow unravelling of the town’s secrets felt very Midsommar-lite in the best possible way.

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✦ RECOMMENDATIONS ✦

📘 Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall
🎬 The Wicker Man meets Scream 2

✦ MUSIC PAIRING ✦

Because sometimes, the heart of a story plays out like a song.

Featured Song: “bury a friend” – Billie Eilish

Vibe Album: Hozier – Hozier (the debut one, for max broody woods and cryptic menace)

Artist Recommendation: Chelsea Wolfe, for those haunting, glimmering edge-of-sanity vibes

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✧ VIBE CHECK ✧

🎨 Colour Palette: cornfield gold, blood red, weathered parchment

🎬 Soundtrack: distant drumming, a voice whispering your name in the wind

🍂 Season: autumn — but it’s too quiet, and the leaves fall in patterns

😬 Mood: claustrophobic curiosity

👃 Scent: dried herbs, damp cellars, and something rotting sweet under the floorboards

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★ TAROT CARD PULLED ★

9 of Swords – Nightfall Tarot
The card of nightmares and terrors - usually unfounded, but in this case...The aftermath of horror never truly leaves. She survived once, but now the shadows are back - and no one believes her until the screaming starts again. A card for sleepless nights, creeping dread, and truth twisted into paranoia.

How to Survive a Horror Movie Sequel publishes on the 4th of September, 2025. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.