Netflix’s ‘Nightmares of Nature’ Hits Greater Heights With “Lost In The Jungle” [Review]

Nightmares of Nature continues to find the perfect balance between entertainment and education with an engaging look into a South American jungle’s predators and prey.

“Nature is full of wonder and beauty, but for the creatures who live in the wild, it’s also full of monsters…”

Nightmares of Nature’s first “Cabin in the Woods” season got a lot of mileage out of a mouse, bullfrog, and raccoon’s survival mission through the forest. Season 2 attempts to properly up the ante in “Lost in the Jungle.” It’s genuinely more exciting and diverse than the first season, whether it’s the central prey protagonists, the nature of their predators, or the unpredictable South American jungle environment. “Lost in the Jungle“ looks at an opossum, a baby iguana, and a mother spider who are heading to an abandoned lab – all separated from their families, alone, and frightened. This culminates in extra environmental dangers as a storm bombards the vulnerable creatures as they desperately try to get back to their natural habitats. 

Adding to these dangers are a formidable array of predators, which include a venomous snake, cagey crocodiles, patient hawks, and so much more. These are intriguing creatures that are highlighted as efficient killing machines when they’re just depicted in their natural environments. The predators in “Cabin in the Woods“ were still effective and intimidating, but “Lost in the Jungle“ is more successful with its deadlier caliber of creatures. These episodes craft compelling showdowns between these animals, whether it’s an opossum’s pursuit to survive against a snake or iguana siblings who band together against a vulture. They’re just generally higher stakes and a more satisfying proof of concept. 

It makes sense that the series would try to escalate its storytelling with each season, and season two feels like the proper evolution, rather than if these seasons had been flipped. It’s exactly what a second season should be doing now that the audience is better acclimated to Nightmares of Nature’s premise and structure. It’s heightened in a manner that teases the show’s future and where else this concept could go.

In addition to being what feels like a grander and more diverse terrain, this season also trumps the last at its own game in many respects. Some of the most entertaining material from the first episodes involved the exploration of insects and their ability to collectively band together against other predators. “Lost in the Jungle“ also showcases a wide range of insects, but they’re even more intimidating because they’re vicious praying mantises, resourceful tarantulas, or gigantic South American millipedes that are more than capable of killing small rodents. There’s just a lot more to unpack, and, if anything, it feels like this season could have added another episode or two to the mix. 

 

The jungle itself is a compelling location, but these episodes heighten things a little further by keying into an abandoned science lab that’s located deep in the heart of the jungle. It’s such a cool, weird location that’s reminiscent of something like Resident Evil. It’s a lot more exciting and stylized than the slightly more generic forest setting from Nightmares of Nature’s first batch of episodes. These episodes don’t shy away from aerial creatures like parrots and bats, but there’s still a lot more that could be done with them. The jungle is just such a dense environment that’s made up of all these smaller ecosystems that could sustain even more stories. “Lost in the Jungle’s” brevity works in its favor, and these episodes will leave the audience wanting more and eager to dig deeper. A “Lost in the Jungle II” season would certainly be warranted.

The animals are the highlight, yet Maya Hawke‘s observant narration continues to be a subtle secret ingredient to the show’s success. There’s just enough detachment to Hawke’s musings to help complement the visual storytelling without ever feeling too intrusive. Her work in the first batch of episodes was solid, but she feels even more comfortable in this role, and her narration properly amplifies the subject matter.

Nightmares of Nature finds the perfect balance between sensational and educational. There’s such an ornate and meticulous eye that’s applied to all of the footage and the grandiose set pieces that are featured as these creatures fight for their lives. At the same time, this production doesn’t let its Blumhouse sensibilities run unchecked and lacks any greater substance. This is more than just a creative spin on the slasher genre, and each episode will leave the viewer genuinely smarter, more informed, and empathetic to nature, even if they don’t realize it. Nightmares of Nature just casually drops incredible info nuggets, like how opposums have been around for as long as dinosaurs, while it maintains momentum. It’s such a natural pairing of entertainment and intel that will sneak up on skeptical viewers.

“Lost in the Jungle” solidifies that Nightmares of Nature isn’t just some flash-in-the-pan trend and that there’s a significance to its storytelling and structure. The series will hopefully be given even more room to grow and the opportunity to drop several batches of episodes every year or two. Netflix needs more odd, awe-inspiring programming like Nightmares of Nature, especially when there are over 30 episodes of Is It Cake? to binge through.

Nightmares of Nature: Lost in the Jungle is available to stream on Netflix on October 28, 2025.

 

 

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