In a Violent Nature (2024)

Review

94min

Genre:     Horror, Thriller

Director:   Chris Nash

Cast:       Ry Barrett, Andrea Pavlovic, Cameron Love…and more

Writers:   Chris Nash

-Synopsis-

After an heirloom is removed from a tomb in the deep dark woods, a long dead young man is resurrected as a vengeful undead bogeyman intent on a brutal rampage of revenge, embarking on a stalking odyssey of terror with his sights set on the locals and a group of young visitors in this new slasher flick inspired by generations of classic horror . . . where the killer takes centre stage.

From its origins in cult indie film to its rise towards becoming a Hollywood horror staple in the late 1970s through the 80s and beyond, the bogeyman slasher sub-genre has seen many filmmakers add to the tradition of a an enigmatic evil figure on an unstoppable path towards bloody vengeance or brutal satisfaction, from the days of ‘Halloween’, ‘Friday the 13th’ and ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ and the enduring franchises they spawned to modern fare. Now taking particular inspiration from Sean S. Cunningham’s series of brutal misadventures at Camp Crystal Lake courtesy of a certain Jason Voorhees, Canadian filmmaker Chris Nash makes his feature directorial debut and adds a fresh new perspective to the tradition.

Ry Barrett stars as long deceased Ontario native ‘Johnny’, a once tragic young local figure now unwittingly resurrected from his dark forest grave as a vengeful and imposing bogeyman when ‘Troy’ (Liam Leone) and his buddies take a precious locket from his tomb. As he scours the woods with intent and unleashes his wrath upon the locals, while setting his sights on the group of young campers who disturbed his eternal slumber, unravelling the mystery of his past and leaving youngsters ‘Colt’ (Cameron Love) and ‘Kris’ (Andrea Pavlovic) in a fight for survival.

Nash isn’t exactly re-inventing the bogeyman slasher film wheel with ‘In a Violent Nature’, but he is moving it to the back seat and anchoring the movie in a point of view only seen in glimpses within the ‘Friday the 13th’ franchise which so inspired him. The result is a rare perspective throughout which subverts horror film expectations and places the audience in the uncomfortable position of not only an observer but near accomplice, as the director focuses his lens on the killer’s back or places the camera over his shoulder and forces us to walk many a mile in his shoes—so many in fact that the film sometimes feels like a slow and heavy but purposeful and ominous walking tour of the deep Canadian woods.

For a minimalist film that’s largely devoid of any real score or soundtrack, Nash does admirably manage to create an ominous mood and tense atmosphere, relying on the physicality of his lead character and the foreboding yet picturesque surroundings of the rural Ontario locations, plus an unnerving stillness that’s unexpected from a film of this kind. Indeed ‘In a Violent Nature’ has a kind of serenity about it which is rare in a modern slasher flick, destined of course to be disrupted by bouts of gruesome carnage, but given the nature of a film which puts you right by the side of the antagonist where you can generally see what’s coming from a distance, there isn’t much in the way of genuine scares or the dynamic terror you might associate with 21^st century horror.

There’s not much to be said for the performances of the supporting cast of victims either, who don’t exactly delivered polished or naturalistic turns, even for a low budget Shudder picture, but that turns out to be nearly incidental as there’s only one real star of this piece. Ultimately ‘In a Violent Nature’ will sink or swim on the broad shoulders of Ry Barrett, and it manages to stay afloat thanks to his menacing understated physicality, stalking the woods with purpose as he takes advantage of some crisp sound design to revolutionise the art of slow deliberate walking in film, doing for movie strolling what Tom Cruise did for movie sprinting.

What does make the movie stand out is its dedication to increasingly brutal and imaginative kills, as the killer lets his creative juices flow whilst only being limited by his surroundings. As such Nash frames his bogeyman Johnny as a serial murder artist whose favourite colour is the crimson red of his victims, taking his time to admire his work like few movie slashers before him—and the result is a familiar and reverential yet somehow fresh and inventive addition to the pantheon of slasher film boogeymen . . . even if it turns out to be a one-off.

Yet for all of the film’s brutal and bold inventiveness, writer/director Chris Nash is not exactly re-inventing the wheel with ‘In a Violent Nature’, but simply cleaning it up and giving it a new tyre, and anything the film is trying to say about the unforgiving brutality of nature and perhaps human nature is ultimately overwhelmed by the cold cult nature of the story. And indeed the very nature of the film’s novel perspective—which places the audience by the side and even in the mind space of a killer trying to solve a mystery and recover his MacGuffin—takes away much of the genuine tension which makes for a truly scary or excruciating horror experience, as we become a tad too familiar and perversely comfortable with Johnny.

But the film’s shortcomings are ultimately overcome by the sheer creativity and brutality of its kills, and the fresh perspective at the heart of the narrative, plus the ominous and hypnotic yet ironically serene atmosphere created by Nash’s crisp minimalist filmmaking choices, all making for an engrossing and worthwhile indie horror experience.

The Bottom Line…

A killer’s view Canadian ode to classic slasher films and brutal rural horror/thriller in its own right, ‘In a Violent Nature’ might not exactly re-invent the sub-genre or boast the slickest production value, nor is it the most terrifying indie horror in recent years. But with a fresh perspective, plenty of atmosphere, and enthrallingly gory kills, Chris Nash’s feature debut signals the start of a promising career and adds a welcome addition to the pantheon of relentless movie bogeymen killers.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Friday the 13th: Part III (1982)

A rural getaway turns into a fight for survival for another group of youngsters when they visit Crystal Lake for the weekend, and are greeted by its resurgent and newly masked resident mass murderer and bogeyman Jason Voorhees, who has violent plans and a massacre in mind for them.

Directed by Steve Miner and starring Dana Kimmell, Tracie Savage and Richard Brooker among others.

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