Now available from IFC and Shudder
A killer is awakened when a locket is removed from his burial place, leading him back on the killing path he was on 70 years prior.
Written and directed by Chris Nash, In a Violent Nature is a new take on the classic slasher genre, one where the film is shot mostly from the killer’s point of view with some establishing shots of course and a story that is mostly seen and heard from his side of things, the other characters get a little bit of time to get established and a lot of it is done from a distance. The writing here is interesting and there is something special in this film, something that brings new life to the slasher genre, something greatly needed these days, close to 5 decades into its existence. The characters are a bit thin, but this is a slasher tradition. The change in point of view is one of the strong points here. Yes, some have not enjoyed the walking in the woods and the slower nature of things as the viewers get to listen to the nature where it all happens. However, this is part of the charm for those who love this film. The deliberate attention paid to the killer and how he proceeds, the way the film is built slowly and giving the viewer plenty of time to enjoy the process.
The cast here is pretty much as expected, a bunch of young adults doing their thing, arguing, hooking up, partying, stealing the killer’s locket. You know, the usual. The cast here works well for the genre, decent performances from the leads with Andrea Pavlovic standing out. The main performance most slasher fans will be paying attention to though is that of Ry Barrett as Johnny, the central character, the slasher killer with a big of an evil mountain/miner Minion look. His performance may seem trivial to some, but there is an art here, a particular way to bring a character like this to life. He does this quite well giving Johnny presence, imposing and quiet, yet scary. There is a subtly needed for this part and he nails it.
The film has a particular look, bringing the old school full frame look and making it look like an old school slasher film. The cinematography here is central to the story as a lot of it is from the killer’s point of view. The work by Pierce Derks (and team) here is fantastic and really sets the mood for the film. Along with the sound design of course, giving the images the perfect background noise which ends up the star at times. Also excellent are the special effects. While everyone talks about the “yoga” kill online, and it is quite good but does show budgetary limitations, the one kill that was more interesting to this review was the wood mill/table saw kill. Completely original? Maybe not. However, there was more tension in this scene, so the effects worked better in the end.
Now for the extras on this new release of the film by IFC and Shudder. First, it must be noted that this release is packed, like really packed, with extras on the main disc and on a secondary disc, so it takes a while to get through it all. A good place to start after watching the film is with the Storyboard Kill Gallery, it’s a fun extra and one that shows how these kills were planned. Then of course, the two commentaries, one with production and cast and one with the technical team. All of these are on the first disc. Onto the second disc, there is something truly special and something very few filmmakers put out there, a feature called Dead in the Water: The Attempted Making of the Original In a Violent Nature. This is a really good one for fans, but also for filmmakers still wanting to learn. On top of that, the disc has scenes from that attempted version, on set footage of the most popular kill, the “yoga” kill, a Sundance video diary, and of course, behind the scenes. As mentioned, this is packed and what is here is solid.
In a Violent Nature is one of those films that slasher fans either love or hate it seems, and this new release gives its fans plenty to be happy about. The release looks good and sounds good on blu and the extras are worth picking up alone. This is a solid new slasher and a great release for it.