Banner image: Ry Barrett as “Johnny” in Chris Nash’s IN A VIOLENT NATURE. Courtesy of Pierce Derk
If you’re a horror fan, you’ll know that slasher films are typically riddled with cliches and well-worn tropes. There’s often a cabin-in-the-woods setting, a group of ill-fated teenage victims, a mysterious masked predator, and a ‘final girl’ – a remaining female character who either confronts or survives the killer. Horror director Chris Nash’s debut feature, In a Violent Nature, employs all of these elements – yet, thanks to a few key differences, still manages to flip the slasher genre on its head.
The story takes place in the Canadian wilderness, when the theft of a gold locket awakens a fearsome killer called Johnny. Like many slasher baddies, including Friday the 13th’s Jason Voorhees (which clearly inspired Nash), Johnny has a tragic backstory. But where this film deviates from typical slasher movies is that it’s mostly told from the killer’s perspective.
Ry Barrett as “Johnny” in Chris Nash’s IN A VIOLENT NATURE. Courtesy of Pierce Derk
For much of the film, the camera follows Johnny from behind as he trudges slowly through the trees looking for his next kill. This inverted, over-the-shoulder perspective can make it feel like you’re playing a third-person video game, and the audience sees and hears what Johnny does. Only rarely does the camera change perspective.
Another key difference is the soundtrack. Instead of a shrieking score that follows the killer, there’s only a forest soundscape; with no music, we hear only birdsong, the rustle of grass, and the relentless crunch of Johnny’s footsteps as he stomps towards his victims. The cinematography is beautiful, and the stretches where the camera follows Johnny under golden skies, through shadowy trees, and past flickering firelight are surprisingly calming. Even his signature heavy tread feels strangely soothing.
There are also no jump scares. We see the slow-paced killer coming from a mile off, usually in daylight – although we don’t see his face until the second half. For much of the film, he wears a vintage firefighter’s mask. When he isn’t wearing it, the camera follows him from behind, revealing only the back of his scarred and scorched head.
Where In a Violent Nature doesn’t deviate from classic slasher is the gore-filled action. Because, warning: this film is gory. Johnny’s kills are violent, inventive, and in two specific cases, very hard to watch. One involves hooks, and a yoga enthusiast getting stretched out in all new ways. Another particularly mean-spirited kill involves a hellishly loud log-splitter, and the prosthetics work and gore effects are as impressive as they are disturbing.
Ry Barrett as “Johnny” in Chris Nash’s IN A VIOLENT NATURE. Courtesy of Pierce Derk
Despite the brutal killings, In a Violent Nature isn’t scary. Because we follow the killer, we don’t fear him – and, at times, Nash manages to make this zombified brute quite sympathetic. The last 15 minutes of the film are the scariest, yet the killer doesn’t appear once. Lingering shots of the woods create feelings of dread and anxiety, and the trauma of a surviving victim is transferred to the audience themselves as we wait, hearts in mouths, for Johnny to stomp out from the trees.
But it’s precisely these long, lingering shots and slow pans that have led to this film being so divisive. The willingness of the camera to simply stay with Johnny as he walks through the woods is brave, but not a technique everyone will enjoy. Apart from the kills, this is a slow and quiet film that feels almost dreamlike at times. There’s one scene at the end that’s especially (and intentionally) drawn out, and it won’t work for everyone.
Horror is often criticised for its lack of new ideas, and whatever you think of In a Violent Nature, it’s hard to deny its experimental ambitions – but this experiment doesn’t always work. Part arthouse, part slaughterhouse, the slow pace and anticlimactic ending are polarising, yet the film still manages to feel fresh – and, at times, fascinating.
In a Violent Nature is in cinemas now. Or you can rent it on popular platforms like Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.
Have you watched In a Violent Nature? If so, what do you think? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.