Film Review: The Brutal Ambient Slasher “In A Violent Nature”

I adore slasher movies.

Give me a movie with a serial killer, creative kills, and some horny teens played by 20-30 somethings, and odds are I’ll have good time. I respect how slasher movies make the most out of low budgets through creative kills and strong atmosphere. The idea that limitation breeds creativity is exemplified in slasher films, as strong cinematography and sound design can make even the cheapest slasher film nail-biting.

My latest horror outing In A Violent Nature, directed by Chris Nash, dares to try something unique with the genre. Taking tremendous influence from Friday the 13^th (my favorite horror franchise), the film takes the “serial killer picks off teenagers at a camp” set up and plays around with the direction, focusing on the killer and environment instead of the teens. The result is a tense experience that astounds in some areas, but sadly falls short in others.

Starting positive, In A Violent Nature showcases some of the most brutal kills I’ve ever seen. The practical effects are incredible and the innovative ways the killer gouges and twists bodies are brutally grotesque. Every kill is a bloody mess and I loved all of them. Additionally, Ry Barrett is fantastic as the killer, Johnny, injecting subtle personality into his physical, mute performance. Every motion feels deliberate, matched beautifully by Chris Nash stellar direction. The film is billed as an “ambient slasher”, and Nash stays true to that mantra with a slow build that beautifully captures the forest and trees. Every bird chirp and rustling branch is given attention, only adding to the tension as you hear the crack of twigs while Johnny stalks a victim. Nash’s direction is a major source of the film’s tension, and it works wonderfully.

For as successful as Chris Nash and Ry Barrett are at building tension, so much of that very tension gets killed when the “teenagers” talk. Every character in this movie is unlikable, cartoonishly unlikable. It feels like an intentional creative choice given how blunt and forced their dialogue is, but it’s an awful one that robs the film of its dread. Instead of fearing for their lives, I’m impatiently waiting for them to get killed, so I feel more frustrated than fearful. I don’t need slasher characters to be memorable, but likable is a reasonable minimum. It’s depressing that this only issue I have with the film causes so much damage.

In A Violent Nature is a skillfully made film. Everything around the film successfully builds tension and a chilling atmosphere. The style works, and combined with the fantastic gore, any horror fan that just wants to see impressive kills with style will be satisfied. But the annoying characters take away a lot of the film’s tension and hold it back from being a truly terrifying experience. I would absolutely see a sequel, there’s so much potential with this style, it’s just a shame that the film is so close to being more than being just an experiment.

In A Violent Nature will be released theatrically by IFC Films on May 31^st