In A Violent Nature (Sundance) Review

PLOT: An undead monster is resurrected in the remote wilderness and goes on a rampage.

REVIEW: Stop me if any of this sounds familiar: an undead monster wearing a mask, partying teens getting slashed, and creepy urban legends coming to life. Indeed, director Chris Nash’s In A Violent Nature is unabashedly a slasher film, but it’s distinguished by its unique perspective. Basically, the entire film is shown from the killer’s point of view. The camera very rarely leaves his POV from the time he is resurrected, showing him walking confusedly through the woods, finding victims, killing them grotesquely, and moving on.

Through it all, Nash mixes techniques, shooting the film in a minimalist art-house style (complete with the now pretentious 1:33:1 aspect ratio) until switching to maximalist gore for some (but not all) of the kills. That means the film often has minimal dialogue as we spend a not insignificant amount of time following the killer as he walks through the woods towards whatever noises he hears in the distance. One could imagine the intention might have been to answer a question like “What would it look like if Terrence Malick directed a horror film?” but at times, it was almost like watching a video game. The way we observe the monster (from the back) is just like in a video game, and the style occasionally grows tedious.

Another drawback to the style is that In A Violent Nature is never scary. The reason is that by putting the audience in the shoes of the killer, we know exactly when and where he’s going to strike. Nash compensates for this by making some of the kills extra gnarly, with one extreme evisceration on a clifftop being especially potent.

Like in other slasher movies, the kills lack impact due to the fact that we never really get to know the victims, as we’re never in their perspective. They’re all deliberately written thinly, with our “final girl” (Andrea Pavlovic) in a toxic relationship with the bullying Troy (Liam Leone), while her friend Colt (Cameron Love) pines for her. There’s also a park ranger (Reece Presley) who has some experience with the monster and tries to save the day – again it’s an intentionally familiar trope. But, the real star of the movie is Ry Barrett’s silent slasher, who’s hulking and, occasionally, gets some grace notes that tease a certain degree of innocence from a monster who, like many others, doesn’t understand his own bloodlust.

Through it all, Nash keeps the film stylish with excellent cinematography by DP Pierce Derks, who uses the Northern Ontario Wilderness to great effect. It has an interesting use of music, with it all being diegetic, in keeping with the vibe. It’s also proudly Canadian, which is doubly effective as many of the great slashers from the early eighties, such as Prom Night and My Bloody Valentine came from here. 

In the end, Nash has made an arthouse slasher film, which is an interesting contrast to the old-school blood and guts of the Terrifier series. It’ll be interesting to see how hardcore genre fans react once it makes its debut on Shudder, although it’s probably more effective on the big screen, given how immersive an experience Nash is aiming for. It doesn’t always work, but it’s still an interesting watch. 

Sundance

AVERAGE

6