Written and directed by Chris Nash, when a locket is removed from a collapsed fire tower in the woods that entombs the rotting corpse of Johnny, a vengeful spirit spurred on by a horrific 60-year old crime, his body is resurrected and becomes hellbent on retrieving it. Starring: Ry Barrett, Andrea Pavlovic, Cameron Love, Reece Presley, Liam Leone, Charlotte Creaghan, Lea Rose Sebastianis, Sam Roulston, Alexander Oliver, Timothy Paul McCarthy and Lauren-Marie Taylor.
In this day and age, Chris Nash takes one big gamble with In a Violent Nature because he’s asking for something audiences don’t always have, patience. Nash takes a completely new approach to the slasher genre, taking a step back and using obscured shots that build fear and anticipation through imagination. It’s not quite as outlandish of a style as Skinamarink’s take on horror but it’s definitely refreshing. It replaces a lot of the classic thrill with stillness and silence, creating an atmosphere that’s chilling rather than straightforward blood and guts.
However, once it truly ramps up the violence for an utterly grizzly and surprisingly extended scene, while it’s satisfying on a Jason style creativeness level, it also makes you realise, we’ve seen all of this before. Suddenly, while its approach is novel, you realise that the entire story, the way the plot plays out, it’s all run of the mill horror fare. At certain points it even feels like Sam and Dean Winchester are going to pop up to take down the vengeful spirit.
Then as it passes the halfway mark it simply just runs out of steam, it has little road left to travel and you can really feel that. Especially as its big finale scene is not only a cliché of horror cinema but it’s also five times longer. It’s so unnecessarily drawn out that it ends the film on such an underwhelming and disappointing note. It’s a shame as the potential is there, Ry Barrett gives his murderous character a fantastically relentless yet composed presence. Andrea Pavlovic’s Kris had plenty to offer too but she never truly gets the chance to make a bigger impact.
In a Violent Nature had a fantastic concept, Chris Nash attempts to turn the usual slasher affair on its head but beneath that is the same old story we’ve seen countless times before. It’s a real shame as the direction and cinematography are excellent, it has a brilliant sharpness which pairs perfectly with its quiet. Yet, it too often draws out scenes to a frustrating extent and very little actually happens, making it all too transparent that it’s simply following a typical horror path.
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