"IN A VIOLENT NATURE" (2024) Takes A Killer POV To Bloody Extremes
Of all the horror genres, the slasher may be the most coveted. For many, it is the first kind of horror movie they will see and likely imprint upon them a love for masked killers wielding sharp, often phallic-shaped weapons. Slashers are also one of the most dominant sub-genres which can lead to equal parts excitement as much as apathy. Like any sub-genre, the desire to innovate before becoming stale is strong but difficult. The old saying, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” may come to mind here, but that supposes that the slasher genre is fine just the way it is. It’s all subjective, but perhaps many will agree that new ideas and approaches are welcomed even if they don’t always pan out as fully intended. Without daring risks to the formula, we wouldn’t have modern classics like Scream or Terrifier so ingenuity can be a good thing for expanding or adapting the genre. This is what Shudder and IFC Films have set out to do with Chris Nash’s “In A Violent Nature”. Does the much-touted slasher flick send shockwaves across the slasher genre, or is the hype more hyperbole than horror?
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
When a locket is removed from a collapsed fire tower in the woods that entombs the rotting corpse of Johnny, a vengeful spirit spurred on by a horrific 60-year-old crime, his body is resurrected and he’s hellbent on retrieving it.
HOW IS IT?
One of the worst things a film can do is let the marketing get ahead of the content, and it’s becoming more common in today’s entertainment landscape. The hyperbole machine sets up lofty expectations in filmgoers' minds, only for them to leave feeling somewhat disappointed, even if they generally enjoyed what they just saw. “In A Violent Nature” is another cautionary tale of how marketing expectations can sometimes set unrealistic outcomes for the audience, even if the film gets a lot right. In fact, “In A Violent Nature” is probably one of the best slasher movies in recent years, but it has some notable flaws that prevent it from living up to the hype that has preceded it.
One of the most admirable traits of “In A Violent Nature” is how quickly it gets down to business. Because the point of view is that of the killer, Jason Johhny, the setup is all handled in the first few minutes before we see Johnny emerge from the ground ready to bash some heads in. The similarities to another wilderness-based slasher are almost comically similar from the look of Johnny to the legend surrounding his death and legacy. In many ways, it is as if writer/director Chris Nash was making a Friday the 13th fan film albeit with amazing production value. This isn’t a knock on the film, but it would be impossible to write a review and not mention how closely these two characters resemble one another. Unlike other slasher films, “In A Violent Nature” spends very little time developing anything or anyone in the film, including Johnny. The film embraces the notion of his perspective so fully and authentically that slasher fans will come to appreciate seeing how a killer becomes aware and tracks their prey, scenes that are usually kept to a minimum in slashers. In some ways “In A Violent Nature” has a lot in common with 2006’s Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon in that it affords the audience the ability to see how the proverbial “sausage is made” and how a killer approaches a situation. While this change in perspective is more than just a gimmick, where “In A Violent Nature” really shines is in the gory details. It is not a stretch to say that “In A Violent Nature” has some of the best kills in any slasher, and likely one of the 10 best kill scenes of all time. The attention to detail is astounding and the practical effects work is some of the most effective since When Evil Lurks. Even some of the more pedestrian kill scenes are elevated by how stellar the effects work is, even if it does veer into the realm of the absurd by the time the last kill rolls around. “In A Violent Nature” is a testament to some unhinged creativity from Nash met with the same intensity from his visual effects team, and is the saving grace of the film overall.
Where “In A Violent Nature” really struggles is with the concept of the film itself. On paper, the idea of taking the slasher’s POV sounds novel, but in practice, it isn’t as enjoyable as it sounds. Much of the time spent with Johnny is spent watching him walk around from place to place. Since the victims are secondary and Johnny doesn’t speak these moments are more ASMR for wilderness psychopaths than entertainment. Perhaps there is a reason why other slasher films haven’t attempted this concept, and one reason could be how this POV hurts the pacing. Slasher films cannot afford to have uneven pacing because, for the most part, the stories themselves are quite shallow. Even with background and exposition, the point of a slasher movie is to watch a killer hunt down and murder their prey, and if you’ve ever been hunting or fishing you’ll know that much of the “hunt” is just a whole lot of “wait and see”. So what you get with “In A Violent Nature” is a lot of walking around, a wildly intense kill sequence, and then more walking and repeat. This is the antithesis of momentum building and comes to a complete head in the last 10 minutes of the film where we depart the killer POV entirely. It’s an odd choice to end the film on such a lull, but it also represents the natural faults of the concept itself and what makes slashers entertaining. Sure, people want to see the killer, and character development isn’t a hard requirement, but there has to be something for the audience to hold onto when the action subsides. It’s admirable that the filmmakers stay so close to the concept, but baffling why they forgo it for the end of the film. The same can be said of the decision to shoot the film in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, which feels unnecessarily distracting especially when the landscape of the film is so breathtaking. All these aesthetic choices essentially amount to a conflicting film. The moments of action and tension are top-notch, as long as you can put up with a lot of nothing in between. The concept is well-executed, but the foundation is almost too familiar to feel wholly original. The sound design and practical effects are outstanding, but the aspect ratio and partial commitment to the killer POV leave you wondering if it was necessary in the first place.
LAST RITES
“In A Violent Nature” isn’t going to revolutionize the slasher genre, but that shouldn’t take away from how visceral and brutally realized it is. While it fails to captivate throughout, it can lay a legitimate claim as having one of the best slasher kills in film history, and that’s worth showing up for no matter what.
THE GORY DETAILS
Directed By
Written By
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Where can you watch it?
IFC Films Will Release IN A VIOLENT NATURE Exclusively In Theaters on May 31st
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