‘In a Violent Nature’ – If Terrence Malick Directed a Slasher Movie
“In a Violent Nature” has all the requisites of the average slasher film. It contains a bunch of young adults vacationing out in the wilderness in a lone wood cabin, a developmentally challenged child who died under cruel and tragic circumstances and has since become a most vengeful spirit, that one guy who tells the tale of the vengeful spirit who will eventually slaughter them all before they realize it is too late to leave, sharp objects, a mask for the killer, a variety of brutal deaths and, of course, a final girl. Anything you would expect from the average slasher film, this one has got it.
But what makes “In a Violent Nature,” which was written and directed by Chris Nash, stand out among so many others of its bloody ilk is its unique vantage point: the majority of the film takes place from the killer’s perspective. This quickly reminded of Alfred Hitchcock who dared us to see things from a murderous point of view in “Psycho” and “Frenzy,” but those films spent only so much time observing things from a killer’s mind. This IFC Films release, however, invites you to spend the majority of its 94-minute running time sharing in a murderer’s cold and brutal gaze as his victims die the most painful of deaths.
Things starts off with the image of a locket hanging on the remains of a fire tower. An unseen character takes the locket with him, and a few seconds later we see Johnny rise up from underneath the ground. Johnny, we learn, was a developmentally disabled boy who was tricked into climbing up the same fire tower years ago with the promise of getting a plethora of toys. But instead of toys, he finds someone willing to scare him out of his wits, and he tragically falls to his death. Now Johnny is back, and he aims to retrieve the locket taken from him. What particular value does this locket have for him? Keep watching to find out.
When it comes to Johnny, he looks a lot like Jason Voorhees. He has no hair, his clothes are very tattered, and he moves at a very slow pace wherever he goes. I shudder, no pun intended, to think of how bad his body odor likely was as he trudged through the woods to lay waste to his prey. It got to where I kept waiting for someone to tell this particular slasher, “Oh my god, you really need a makeover!”
But what really surprised me about “In a Violent Nature” is how quiet a slasher film it is. Most feature jump scares and loud music scores from composers who abuse violins to an overwhelming degree. This one, however, does not go out of its way to give you a sensory overload (or at least, not right away), nor does it contain a film score of any kind. The only music you hear comes from a character’s Walkman which keeps playing after he is decapitated, and we hear it play on as the batteries in it die an ever so slow death.
Some have called this horror film an “ambient slasher,” and it feels like one crossed with a nature documentary. I am curious to see what audience members and horror buffs in particular think of this methodical slasher as it is deliberately paced. I imagine they might be expecting something much different, but this little shocker is quite thoughtful in its design. If Terrence Malick ever madr a horror film, it would look something like this.
For those of you worried that this film will be seriously lacking in gory and bloody kills, have no fear. The first few deals with things unseen, and they threaten to be the most haunting moments director Nash has to offer us as he toys with our collective imaginations. But then we get one where a yoga practitioner has her body contorted in directions which would have any instructor yelling out loud, “Oh you so can’t do that to yourself! There is no downward dog pose to be found here!”
Then there is another character who ends up getting bludgeoned by an ax and repeatedly so, and it gives new meaning to the term beating a dead horse. This horse keeps getting beat to death long after its heart has stopped pumping blood, and its carcass has long since decayed. Some horror maniacs just don’t know when too much is too much, or maybe the sexual frustration they experience is completely unbearable.
The ending, which I would never dream of giving away, is especially haunting as we reach a conclusion I did not expect. It also features an actress known for her work in the “Friday the 13th” franchise, and she is very effective as she is thrust into a intense situation she was not expecting. Whether or not it is the ending you wanted or not, it is a thoughtful and unpredictable conclusion which had me at attention throughout.
“In a Violent Nature” may not reinvent the slasher film as we know it, but it does dare to take the genre in a thoughtful direction. It does have a lot of the same beats as the average horror movie, but it subverts them to where we are reminded of what filmmakers can accomplish. There are many reasons why IFC Films gave this movie, which cost well under a million dollars, its widest theatrical release to date, and why it got some extra press coverage when an audience member allegedly vomited during one of the goriest murder scenes it had to offer.
Of course, now I have to wonder if this slasher flick will get a sequel. If the money keeps rolling in, we will get another bunch of young adults dumb enough to once again take Johnny’s locket. Perhaps they will try to sell it on eBay or at a local flea market. Flea markets still exist, right? With horror sequels, the body count is much higher and gorier. Imagine the sights and sounds of such a sequel, even if it is not directed by Terrence Malick…
* * * ½ out of * * * *
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