In a Violent Nature

Every slasher movie has the same DNA: someone was wronged and is now killing everyone to get their revenge. Of course, their methods of killing are different, but you know what you are getting for the most part. You just hope they step up their kill game. I, for sure, am a fan of the genre, but I am all here for some new blood being pumped in (and out), and Chris Nash has hit a geyser with his new film In a Violent Nature.

In some woods, we hear three men talking and commenting on a gold necklace they have found. The three guys argue about taking it, and it looks like they are going to leave it be when one grabs it and takes it with him. Once the necklace is gone, the pole it was on starts to move, and from the ground climbs out a man (Ry Barrett), who starts walking aimlessly in the woods.  The sound of a car horn leads him to two men talking. When one leaves, we see what this man can do, as he leads the remaining man to a bloody end. Meanwhile, the group of men we heard earlier are now joined by a group of other people, and they sit around the fire telling stories. One story is about a boy named Johnny who was bullied and died after a prank went bad. Johnny then came back and killed those who bullied him, or so the story goes. While this story is being told, the man from earlier is watching and listening to what is going on, but he is not going to be watching for much longer. Soon he starts to take them out one by one, and we discover that the Johnny story might be real after all.

Written and directed by Chris Nash, In a Violent Nature plays like an arthouse version of Friday the 13th. Told through the killer’s perspective, we are given quite a gore fest that really commits to what it is. We see what we are in store for pretty quickly, with a hulking figure pulling itself from the ground and slowly walking through the woods. This is the pace the film moves in, and while you might sometimes wish things moved at a more brisk pace or you were anywhere but in the killer’s perspective, however the payoffs are so good they are worth the wait. You might not think there would be much plot, but there is, as the killer is explained through a group of travelers, and we learn the reason why he is stalking these particular woods.

In a Violent Nature feels like a “what if” that a group of friends came up with: what if we told a horror story through the killer’s POV? It’s a great idea, and it works completely here. Filled with a gloomy atmosphere, some fantastic kills, and a soundscape that only enhances everything (as there is no score at all), Nash avoids giving it a by-the-numbers retread. Everything here feels fresh. That also applies to both the kills and the setup of the kills, which includes one of the most brutal images I have ever seen in a movie before. The cast is good, especially Barrett, who delivers with Johnny without saying a word as he works through the usual stupid teenagers-in-slashers that are his victims. In a Violent Nature is not for everyone, but for those who love horror, you will connect with this because it is unlike anything you have seen before.