In A Violent Nature Review: A New Perspective On Slashers For Gorehounds With Patience [Overlook 2024]
Film historians are in a perpetual debate about what constitutes the first slasher film, but "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," "Black Christmas," "Halloween," and "Friday the 13th" all have one thing in common — they were scary as hell. 50 years later in the case of the former two, Leatherface with his chainsaw and Billy's obscene phone calls still manage to terrify new viewers straight out of their skin. Slasher films dominated the horror genre. But as time went on the perspective began to shift to keep things interesting. There were always audiences who showed up to see how the final girl would survive the madness this time, but more and more horror fans were turning in to support their favorite killers. Kills got more inventive, human characters became little more than bodies ripe for slaughter, and successful slasher icons were able to sustain long-running franchises, many of which continue today.
In writer/director Chris Nash's "In A Violent Nature," the perspective has shifted a step further. Rather than follow the human survivors trying to avoid becoming sliced, diced, and massacred by a seemingly invincible force of pure evil, the camera tracks the slasher, a hulking Jason Vorhees-esque being in an antique firefighter's mask. If you've ever wondered what Jason was doing while camp counselors told his tragic back story around a fire for fun or what it looked like when Michael Myers broke into the general store and stole a Halloween mask, "In A Violent Nature" is the film for you.
Unfortunately, that does mean the film is a whole lot of watching a giant dude trek around the forest in first-person like you're playing a Walking Simulator video game, but when he does finally cross paths with the irresponsible twentysomethings who awakened his spirit, the inventive and gory kills are worth the wait.
Gus Van Sant's Friday the 13th Part II
Running-around-in-the-woods slasher movies are as formulaic as they come, but Nash presents the woods of "In A Violent Nature" in a completely new way. The wilderness is beautiful, and the lush, serene forests establish the locale as an unassuming place for peaceful adventuring. There's no harbinger warning of the doom awaiting in the woods, the trees aren't shot in a way to spark paranoia from the viewers, and there's a dedication to filming in broad daylight. But in the underbelly of the forest are signs of decay. Nestled behind the idyllic cabins where our unsuspecting victims are celebrating a weekend away is a rundown house belonging to a trapper who keeps getting in trouble for leaving his bear traps out, a burned-down tower where a firehouse once was, and some rotting carcasses from animals caught in the traps and never retrieved. It's a reminder that even the most beautiful environments can be breeding grounds for destruction.
There's no need to hide our slasher, Johnny (Ry Barrett), in the darkness because we're following him every step of the way. The film does a phenomenal job at putting you in the mindset of the killer, excitedly anticipating the inevitable, and trying to figure out just how he's going to kill this group of friends as he approaches his prey, rather than being caught off guard when it happens.
Nash also wisely chooses to present the film in long, uninterrupted shots without a score, save for diegetic music popping up every so often. It further emphasizes that this is a movie not about the people trying to survive, but about the character doing the killings. During a Q&A I attended after my screening at the Overlook Film Festival, Nash cited Gus Van Sant as an inspiration and it shows. The deliberately slow pacing is admittedly a real test of patience, and I worry that those watching the film at home are going to be unable to fight the urge to check their phones while they wait for Johnny to traipse through the high grass in order to appreciate the no-holds-barred carnage he's got in his back pocket.
Slashing and dashing
As arthouse as "In A Violent Nature" often feels, when it falls into being a more "traditional" slasher, the relief from watching a huge dude just walk around is well-earned. Watching people run in terror from the perspective of the slasher is hilarious. We are such pathetic little worms when we're scared, and it's laugh-out-loud funny to watch someone scrambling to reason with an immovable beast while also totally sucking at not falling in the woods. Johnny frequently enters a space where a character is in the middle of some big speech or conflict that would probably be endlessly quotable had the camera been following that character for a whole movie, but coming into a cop's declaration of how he's gonna put him into the ground "just like his father did" halfway through the monologue highlights how nonsensical all slasher films are at their core.
And when Johnny decides to unleash his violent nature, things get gruesome. He throws axes with ridiculous accuracy, bodies are obliterated in creative ways that would make Art the Clown proud, and all of the practical effects and sound design are a feast for gorehounds of all ages. It may take a while for Johnny to actually get to his killing fields (he doesn't run, like a good slasher), but he certainly makes it count when he gets there. Given the ultra-realistic setup of the wilderness in the non-killing scenes, it's incredibly jarring at times. It's quite reminiscent of the ways "Cannibal Holocaust" lulls you into forgetting you're watching a movie, making the nightmarish moments of bodies being brutalized feel uncomfortably real. It's all very deliciously disgusting but you can't help but cheer.
If there's any true criticism to be found with "In A Violent Nature," it's that the "Friday the 13th" and "Texas Chain Saw Massacre" video games exist, diluting the inventiveness of the first-person perspective a little bit. But for those who've never played those games, "In A Violent Nature" will feel wholly unique. Fortunately, even if you have played these games, the film is still a hell of a lot of fun.
/Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10