Content Advisory: Excessive or gratuitous violence
A supernatural killer goes on a brutal rampage after a gold medallion is taken from the ruins of an only fire tower in In a Violent Nature. At the ruins of an old fire tower in the woods of White Pines, the naive Troy (Liam Leone) takes a golden locket hanging from the structure, despite warnings from Ehren (Sam Roulston) of its connection to a massacre from 60 years prior. Out of the grown arises Johnny (Ry Barrett), the vengeful reanimated corpse of a bullied mentally impaired boy killed at the site. Tracking Troy and Ehren to a cabin also occupied by Kris (Andrea Pavlovic), Colt (Cameron Love), Aurora (Charlotte Creaghan), Brodie (Lea Rose Sebastianis), and Evan (Alexander Oliver), Johnny puts on his old fire mask and drag hooks and proceeds to go on a bloody rampage to get the locket back.
In a Violent Nature Synopsis
In a Violent Nature is the feature directorial debut from writer/director Chris Nash, best known for his concluding “Z is for Zygote” segment from ABCs of Death 2. The film subverts the typical slasher film narrative by telling the plot from the perspective of the killer. Veteran Canadian horror actor Ry Barrett (The Drownsman, The Demolisher, Beyond the Chamber of Terror) stars as the walking rotting corpse of the killer known only as Johnny. The audience follows Johnny as he calmly walks through the serene wilderness of White Pines. However, once he tracks down his victims, Johnny proceeds to methodically slaughter them one by one until he can recover his stolen gold medallion.
My Thoughts on In a Violent Nature
While most outside of Canada would not be familiar with him apart of his segment from ABCs of Death 2, Chris Nash is making his feature film debut after a nearly two-decade-long career. This includes a half dozen short films, pre-film bumpers during the early days of the Toronto After Dark Film Festival, providing special make-up effects in films such as The Void, Lifechanger, and PG: Psycho Goreman, and even having a memorable voice-over performance in 2014’s Teddy Bomb. Produced by TIFF Midnight Madness programmer Peter Kuplowski (The Interior) and Shannon Hanmer (Psycho Goreman), In a Violent Nature acts as a culmination of Chris Nash’s previous work.
As In a Violent Nature is a slasher film told from the killer’s perspective, there isn’t too much time spent giving character development to the prospective victims. The first half of the film is presented at a methodical pace, following Johnny as he calmly tracks down his stolen locket. The perspective only switches at times when exposition is needed, such as in a campfire scene, where Johnny’s legend is told.
The major selling point of any slasher film is the kills and In a Violent Nature does not disappoint in that regard, with the film featuring some unbelievable practical gore effects. There’s what’s arguably the film’s signature kill scene, involving Johnny’s drag hooks, which rivals the most extreme kills seen in the recent Terrifier films. No two of the kills in In a Violent Nature are exactly alike, with Chris Nash taking advantage of different camera angles, including one kill shown from an aerial shot.
In a Violent Nature also plays with some viewer expectations of how slasher films are expected to turn out. This includes subverting the “Tommy Jarvis archetype” in the form of White Pines’ Ranger (Reece Presley) and making the stereotypical final girl almost achieve that status accidentally. With all the carnage in In a Violent Nature, it is an interesting narrative choice to conclude the plot with a woman (Lauren-Marie Taylor) giving a lengthy monologue about why animals are compelled to kill, essentially explaining everything that has come before.
While In a Violent Nature has a slow pace at times, this is balanced out by the film’s truly insane kills. As such, In a Violent Nature is a very satisfying debut feature from Chris Nash.