In a Violent Nature
Writer-director Chris Nash refuses to rehash genre trash in a slow cinema/slasher mishmash.
Image courtesy of Altitude Film Distribution
By sitting down to watch In A Violent Nature, you will, in more ways than one, see things you’ve never seen before. First off, the film is an attempt to bridge the gap between slow cinema and slasher horror, and therefore it operates unlike anything else in the horror genre – entire conversations take place without cutting, and the camera moves (or doesn’t) methodically and slowly. Secondly, you’ve never seen gore like this. (Unless you’re a fan of the Terrifier series.)
The first few minutes set up the premise with brutal efficiency, and the premise is exceedingly simple: Johnny (Ry Barrett) wants his locket back. A fairly typical horror movie premise, but the atypicality lies in the execution. In A Violent Nature opts to follow the killer — and we do literally follow him for much of the runtime, tracking behind him as he trudges through the forest. We see familiar horror story beats play out from afar, through Johnny’s perspective as we lurk with him in the shadows. We also see what he’s up to in between kills, which mainly consists of the previously mentioned trudging.
The choice to follow the killer is an interesting one, but writer-director Chris Nash doesn’t seem to trust that it can sustain an entire feature, and therefore decides on several occasions to cut to the perspective of the victims. Perhaps this wouldn’t be as bad if any of the characters were well defined – in the main cast of six, there is a distinct lack of likeability and individual characterisation. They all seem like classic slasher fodder, so why betray an interesting concept in order to spend any time with them at all? The acting is also generally quite poor, but I wonder if it’s intended to be, since that is its own trope in the horror genre. However, the abandonment of the central concept is somewhat redeemed by the ending, which is told from the perspective of the ‘final girl’ and cleverly defies expectation.
As alluded to before, the kills are pretty spectacular. For most of the film, Johnny wields two hooks connected by a chain, and he gets creative with them — one scene, featuring the demise of a yoga enthusiast, is so intricately gruesome that it’s almost like watching someone solve some kind of sick puzzle. The effects work is undeniably fantastic.
The formal exploration at the heart of In A Violent Nature proves surprisingly compelling. However, Nash’s experiment is betrayed by its own lack of confidence, spending too much time going against its own concept. With a more austere attitude, this could have been a shining example of innovation in its genre, but for now we’ll have to settle for a few steps in a new direction.
JONAS BUTLER
Cast: Ry Barrett, Andrea Pavlovic, Cameron Love, Reece Presley, Liam Leone, Charlotte Creaghan, Lea Rose Sebastianis, Sam Roulston, Alexander Oliver, Lauren Taylor, Timothy Paul McCarthy.
Dir Chris Nash, Pro Peter Kuplowsky and Shannon Hanmer, Screenplay Chris Nash, Ph Pierce Derks, Ed Alex Jacobs, Music Christine Leslie, Sound Tim Atkins and Michelle Hwu.
Shudder Films/Zygote Pictures/Low Sky Productions-Altitude Film Distribution.
93 mins. Canada. 2024. US Rel: 31 May 2024. UK Rel: 12 July 2024. Cert. 18.
