'In a Violent Nature' Puts Audiences In the Shoes of a Killer for a Fresh and Bloody Perspective on the Slasher Genre

​What would Jason Voorhees do?
 
That’s the driving question behind writer/director Chris Nash’s peculiar feature debut, In a Violent Nature. Rather than present the usual perspective of teenagers stalked by an undead killer, Nash instead puts us in the slasher’s seat through ninety-plus minutes of gruesome slaughter and peaceful walks through the woods. More of an ambient experience than a traditionally satisfying narrative, it’s a film that can feel as slow and lifeless as its zombified killer but is nevertheless fascinating in its bloody execution.
 
Years ago, a boy named Johnny (played with a fearsome menace by Ry Barrett) was accidentally killed near a fire tower in the woods during a cruel prank. Now, the area is said to be cursed by his vengeful spirit. When a group of teenagers come across Johnny’s grave and steal a gold pendant given to him by his mother, he returns from the dead, hellbent on tearing through every last one of them until he gets it back.
 
Have you ever wanted to experience a day in the life of Jason Voorhees? Ever contemplated how he spends his time in-between all that killing? Well, In a Violent Nature offers an answer, and it’s a lot more mundane than you’d hope; he walks. A lot. Outside of a few moments that break from the mold crafted by Nash—proof that this concept isn’t easy to pull off—the filmmaker plants us right in the mud-caked boots of the massive Johnny. Those boots are made for walking, and that’s how a good chunk of the film is spent as we follow Voorhees-lite. The crunching of ground beneath his feet works so much overtime, I could hear it stomping in my head hours after finishing what is a unique slasher unlike any other. Watching Nash’s debut is like playing a round of Illfonic’s Friday the 13th game, tagging along behind Johnny from a 3rd person viewpoint as he trudges through the forest and stalks his victims. If In a Violent Nature had a dating profile, it would read, “likes long walks in the woods. Contemplative moments. And the occasional dismemberment of teens”. Despite Johnny’s rampage, there’s a calm that flows from the lush nature cinematography and the deathly silent atmosphere, devoid of score or the usual horror stingers. This is the ultimate zen version of a Friday the 13th film.

In a Violent Nature wears its obvious influence on its moldy sleeve, right down to the teen characters embodying all the tropes that come with the franchise created by Sean S. Cunningham. Working both for and against the film is the distance from which these sex-hungry characters are approached. More often than not, Nash frames them in wide-shots from far away, their faces a blur yet their voices loud and clear through what we can only assume is Johnny’s elephant-like hearing. We’re given just small pieces of their stories as the killer stalks and listens. Characters will describe finding bodies we never see them find, fights we never witness them have. On one hand, this creates a detachment from the more exciting yet generic story going on outside of Johnny’s pursuit. But that’s part of the point intended by this fresh perspective. Nash wants us to feel how Johnny feels. His mission is our mission. The teens? They’re bodies. We’re not meant to care as Johnny eliminates these people through shockingly elaborate methods. Gorehounds especially will find themselves in heaven as Johnny slices and dices and spills gallons of blood. I often found myself cackling at his unnecessarily excessive yet entertaining creativity. One kill in particular is guaranteed to go down as one of the best of the year, made specifically for us sickos.
 
While the practical makeup effects and kills are glorious, the severed connection to the cast dulls the audience’s sense of engagement. Monotone performances don’t help much, but the quiet and the lack of character make for an experience that’s as intriguing as it is tedious. Walk, walk, kill. Walk, walk, kill. There’s only so much of that you can tag along for before the excitement of the premise begins to wear off and grows repetitive. At the same time, I can’t help but appreciate what Nash accomplishes in getting the viewer to feel as empty as Johnny. As the title implies, killing is merely in his nature. No reason. No understanding of why. He simply does. An inverse of the Friday the 13th movies, In a Violent Nature becomes an exploration of the mindlessness of undead killers such as Johnny or Jason through a more naturalistic, down to Earth slasher. Johnny’s slaughter is just another day at the office, doing for him what comes as naturally as walking.
 
Where Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon explored a slasher villain’s perspective through comedy and over-the-top antics, In a Violent Nature’s simple approach to the concept can make it a bit of a lull at times, as quiet and lumbering as the killer at the center of it. But it isn’t brainless. Nash’s film plunges the viewer into the maggot-infested mind of an undead killer, methodically poking and prodding at what’s inside. Like Jason's nugget of a brain exposed in Jason X, there just isn’t much in there to uncover, as this curious experiment reveals. Still, Nash displays a boldness with his debut that I will always applaud by taking a risk that most filmmakers wouldn’t dare attempt. Sure, it doesn’t all work, but the filmmaker’s debut is nevertheless a must-see for slasher fans that establishes him as an intriguing talent we'll want to walk along with in the future, through bloody bodies and all.

In a Violent Nature arrives in theaters May 31st from IFC Films and Shudder. 

By Matt Konopka