In A Violent Nature — In A Violent Nature( Theatrical)

In A Violent Nature is a recent slasher, which attempts( and largely succeeds) to present the genre in a decidedly creative and distinctive manner. The Canadian-produced film is set in the forests and lakes around Ontario- bringing nature together with stalk, slash, and brutality. It’s presently showing in UK cinemas, and I watched a VOD screener of the picture.

The film was directed & written by Chris Nash. He seemingly comes from a special effects/make-up background- to date, he has twenty-one credits in these departments. Between the early 2000s and the present day he has nine director credits to his name- In A Violent Nature is his feature debut, with the rest of his output being shorts & a story in 2014’s horror anthology ABCs Of Death- his story was Z is for Zygote. I’d say as feature debuts go In A Violent Nature is impressive- with just a few pacing issues from time to time.

The film opens as it means to go on- by presenting us with a rather unique shot. It’s a set shot of what looks like a wooden frame-like structure in the woodland. we hear, but don’t see two men talking- they are discussing a gold locket that they can see, debating whether they should take it or not…they are just about to leave when the shot gently shifts- we now see the locket, and a hand snatching it away. We then shift to the leaves & earth beneath the structure- this starts to shift/ move- with a metal pole falling over, as we shift back to see a large lumbering figure coming from out of the ground.

For the first twenty or so minutes we follow this figure through the woodland- with a fixed video game-like shot just over the shoulders of the figure. There is no formal score- only the steady crunch of the figure's feet on the forest floor.  I won't detail exactly what the figure does- as this would rather spoil the unfolding/surprise of the film.

As we move on, we get a selection of rapidly getting more extreme kills, a shifting in the around-the-fire telling of the killer's story/ legend, and a selection of twenty-somethings taken out for their involvement with the locket stealing.

The killer is named Johnny (Ry Barret), and he has a steady lumbering step- with his bold, battered, and wondered head showing before he finds his mask( again no spoilers). I’d say the closest comparisons would be Jason in the later Friday the 13th  films- say parts 6 & 7. Later on in the film, we do get a brief look at the killer's ghoulish face, and front-on shots when he finds his mask…but largely it’s all filmed over the shoulder, with no score.

Over the film's length, we get some impressive/ fairly original deaths- the top of someone’s head is sawn through/ removed with the body dragged around by the teeth-lined stump. A head is hooked then bent/ pulled inside a body, and someone is paralysed before having one of the limps & head slowly loped off by a log-splitting machine. There are a few rewarding moments of both eerier dread, creepiness, and demented unease.

The only sight issue I had with the one hour and thirty-minute film- was that some of the over-the-shoulder shots lasted a tad too long, though largely we get a decent mix of different types of woodland terrain- and it truly is a beautiful location, with the sounds of the forest creatures left in, as well as of course the steady tread of the killer.

In finishing, I'd say if you’re a fan of the slasher genre, and fancy something more distinctive/ unique then In A Violent Nature is most certainly a must. Its blend of nature, stalking, gore, and one or chilling/ creepy moments is most effective. The film leaves it open for a possible sequel, and it’d be great to see more of both Johnny-the-killer and Mr Nash’s rather original take on the genre.