This review was originally part of our coverage of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
You’ve never seen a horror film like writer-director Chris Nash’sIn a Violent Nature. While it perhaps shares an eventually similar sense of madcap energy to other recentShudderofferings likeWhen Evil Lurks, its unique formal approach and gruesome kills put it in a class all its own. Where2023 was a strong one for festival horror emerging as the year’s best, with everything frombirth/rebirthtoTalk to Meleaving their mark on the genre long after theirSundancepremieres, 2024 now has an early contender of its own withIn a Violent Nature.
In a Violent Nature
The horror movie tracks a ravenous zombie creature as it makes its way through a secluded forest.
What Is ‘In a Violent Nature’ About?
The film opens with an extended shot of a pendant hanging from a pipe of some kind long consumed by rust in the middle of a dilapidated structure in the woods. It is the peaceful quiet before the bloody storm that is coming. We hear voices talking about inane nonsense before a hand reaches in and grabs the pendant. Big mistake. The voices wander away, though a rumbling begins to grow louder and louder under the ground before a hand bursts through. This is Johnny, embodied magnificently by actorRy Barrett, a killing machine who has been awakened and is now about to tear through any who are unlucky enough to cross his path.LikeJason Vorheesof theFriday the 13thseries, though somehow much meaner and smarter, he wanders methodically through the remote area, accumulating weapons that he’ll soon put to bloody use. His main targets end up being, of course, a group of unwitting horny and drunken teens whose vacation is soon to become an unrelenting nightmare.
In case it wasn’t already clear,In a Violent Natureis aslasher filmin an almost classical sense. Everything plays out just as expected, with what feels like a bounty of references fromHalloweentoMy Bloody ValentineandThe Texas Chainsaw Massacre, with a few stumbles near the end. What makes it all hold together even as its characters come apart in bloody pieces is Nash’s commitment to a terrifyingly effective formal approach where we are almost always with the killer himself. Similar in some regards toSteven Soderbergh’sPresence, even as that remains 100 percent committed to its POV where this switches it up a couple times, it is not about the material as much it is the method of conveying it. Save for some occasionally clunky dialogue that is used to fill in the gaps, which you forgive as almost part of a grand joke, considering how quickly those speaking it get killed, we are almost always with Johnny just unleashing havoc. The kills in this film are some of the most bonkers, bloody, and brutal you’ll ever see. It’s the type of film where you’ll go “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a decapitated head do that before” in both awe and terror. Some of it could seem disposable if you just read a synopsis, but it is the visceral approach that makes it a cut above. Just when you think it’s run out of ways to obliterate the characters, it outdoes itself again with fearsome flair.
There is a good chance this could become exhausting to those less interested in hyper-violent horror where the gore is the main draw. However, for those who are looking for something that really pushes itself to bloody new heights, this is a full horror meal worth chowing down on. The narrative might not have much meat on the bone, but the rest of the film is never lacking for moments that get right up into the guts of its potential. There is one character who emerges as a protagonist of sorts in Kris, played byAndrea Pavlovicwho has a strong commanding presence when the film needs her to, though she is an outlier. Most everyone else will show up just long enough to be killed. There are moments where it can show more restraint, like one killing in the water where we are tensely waiting in agony for the moment where Johnny will strike. When he does, the most chilling part is how quick and almost completely silent it all is, save for a few screams that are swallowed up by the uncaring sounds of nature echoing through the forest. Nash knows when to be bombastic and when to balance it with a lighter touch, ensuring each cuts deeper. It is grimly funny at times, though no less terrifying because of it.Everything compliments itself as we observe the beautiful forest being made into a hunting ground where there is nowhere you are safe for long.
‘In a Violent Nature’ Is a Bold and Bloody Ride
Though the ending is a little less confident than all that preceded it, lacking patience and spelling things out a bit too much when Pavlovic already speaks volumes with her focused performance, the overall ride is an enthralling one. The final shots leave a lingering sense of dread that is built upon the foundation that was built from the stacked bodies Johnny accumulated. In many regards, he is the star of the show, with one scene where we finally see his face while characters speculate far out of frame about his origins hammering this home. He never smiles for his closeup, but one can’t help grinning all the way through this gruesome horror picture with its delightfully audacious approach. Jason Voorhees better watch his back.
The latest from Shudder gives new life to the slasher film as writer-director Chris Nash leaves his own distinct mark on the horror genre.
In a Violent Naturecomes to theaters in the U.S. starting May 31. Click below for showtimes near you.
