Shocktober 2024: In a Violent Nature (Chris Nash, 2024)

What if you made a Friday the 13th-esque slasher movie, complete with deep woods, dumb teens and a big, silent killer à la Jason Vorhees, but shot it primarily from the killer’s perspective, in 4:3, with no music or attention-grabbing editing, and mostly in long takes reminiscent of Gus Van Sant’s Elephant (2003)? Or indeed Alan Clarke’s Elephant (1989)?

That is the concept of Chris Nash’s somewhat divisive Canadian indie-horror In a Violent Nature — praised by many for injecting some arthouse vibes into a worn-out genre, but also derided as pretentious and boring by some meat-and-potatoes horror fans. The story is napkin-sized: teenagers on a camping trip stumble upon the remains of a fire tower, where they find a golden locket. One of them nicks the locket, which magically and immediately reanimates the killer Johnny, who is buried in the tower ruin. Johnny starts stalking and killing the teens.

I really liked this. I think several of the ideas work well, in particular the choice to stay with the killer throughout most of the movie, and not get too involved with the teens. The acting is a bit wonky throughout, but whatever. It looks great, at times it’s shot almost like a nature documentary, with Johnny as the apex predator.

But there is a tonal inconsistency in making an almost serene slasher movie, and it reveals itself in the kills. The kills are creative and scary, but they’re often as over-the-top as they come — gory, sadistic, physically impossible — which almost takes me out of the movie’s otherwise naturalistic ambiance. Nature is violent, yes, but also indifferent, argues Herzog. Nash clearly disagrees, as he sets up Johnny to elaborately dispense of a victim with a log splitter. Dr. Runtime approved (94 mins).