Internet Janitor
It is very difficult anymore to do anything unique, or at the very least, that is not done to death in horror. I’ve never seen anything like In A Violent Nature before, but I hope there’s more to come. There has always been a set formula for the slasher genre, especially the slasher in the woods. We travel with the victims, get to know them a little, and the killer from the shadows steps out to dispatch them one by one. Yet, this situation is reversed here, and it’s a genius execution.
Sixty years ago, there was a horrific massacre whose vengeful spirit was laid to rest in the remains of a collapsed fire tower. Bound to the spot by a locket (though one would think to secure this a bit better), which is then taken by a group of young adults not long for this world. Johnny then rises from the ground and lumbers out to see if it is possible to pull someone’s head through their ass.
There is also something oddly hypnotic about watching the killer and hearing the steady crunch of rocks and branches beneath his feet as he lumbers through the forest.
Many slasher fans wonder, “What is the killer doing this whole time?” In a Violent Nature answers this, for the most part. We spend much of the film’s runtime trailing just behind the killer as he stomps through the forests of Northern Ontario, Canada. Perhaps it may not be as fast-paced as the MTV Generation likes, but it stands apart for doing so. I think I need to stop using the MTV Generation as an example of youth. Damn, I’m getting old. Who hasn’t wanted a little bit of a nature documentary in their blood-soaked slasher film?
The campers don’t really matter, and perhaps this goes a little too far in making you want them all dead. They are mostly terrible people who have gone on this trip despite not liking each other much. We don’t entirely know why, as, again, we’re not directly following their story.
For a slasher to be iconic, two things need to be done properly. The killer needs to be memorable, hopefully with a unique mask, and the kills need to be exceptional. The killer is, to put it mildly, very Jason (Friday the 13th) like, but he works, and the old-timey firefighter mask is not something we’ve seen before.
And oh, the kills, the sweet, delicious kills. Hold on… gotta call my therapist.
The delightfully twisted filmmakers here have outdone themselves. There is the centrepiece kill (you’ll know when you see it), but all of them have a seriously visceral feel to them. Johnny does not just have the impulse to stab and move on. Oh no. He’s making art with your insides.
In a Violent Nature defies convention. It embraces many tropes of the genre and makes a few new ones of its own. I really hope this does very well as horror fans deserve for this to become a franchise.