In A Violent Nature

In A Violent Nature

The enigmatic resurrection, rampage, and retribution of an undead monster in a remote wilderness unleashes an iconic new killer after a locket is removed from a collapsed fire tower that entombed its rotting corpse.

  • Released:
  • Runtime: 94 minutes
  • Genre: Horror, Thrillers
  • Stars: Andrea Pavlovic, Lea Rose Sebastianis, Ry Barrett, Lauren-Marie Taylor, Reece Presley, Charlotte Creaghan, Timothy Paul McCarthy, Alexander Oliver, Sam Roulston, Liam Leone, Cameron Love, Casey MacDonald, Tom Jacobs
  • Director: Chris Nash
 Comments
  • bondgirl-45196 - 4 July 2024
    It doesn't get better if you keep watching !
    I appreciate the cinematic value of following the killer from behind whilst he trudges through the remote countryside but watching this repeatedly and the many many extended still shots that linger just too long to have u on the edge of your seat,but plenty long enough to let you consider walking out the cinema as many people at the showing I saw did!

    The back story was shabby at best, the acting was bad, some good effects, but it felt like it was extremely low budget trying to be the next Friday 13th but feeling more like the sort of thing a bunch of college kids would dream up...it really was very flaky.

    Some gory kills, but with the many boring scenes and it becoming so ridiculous that everyone is in fits of laughter, it was more of a spoof than a horror.

    I saw on a secret screening, had I have known what I was going to waste 90mins of my life on I'd have stayed at home.

    Disappointed to see Shudder involved tbh, because they in my mind are usually associated with much better films.
  • oblivion_media - 3 July 2024
    Bored Stiff
    This Shudder exclusive was screened at my local cinema as part of the members only screen screenings, and it left me completely bored.

    Simply put, it is a pretentious, reductionist deconstruction if the slasher flicks like Friday the 13th from which it draws a lot of its material.

    A large part of the film felt like a live action walking simulation video game, except no controls!!! Huge amounts of runtime are devoted to stating at the back of the killer as he stomps around the White Pines Forest.

    The victims are all completely forgettable and interchangeable. The only question I vaguely entertained pondering over was which of the women would be "final girl", however I called that very early into their introduction.

    The only redeeming feature of this movie is the impressive makeup & special effects with one or two interesting kills, which I is why I didn't give this a 1 star rating.

    If you are looking for violent slasher movie that is actually entertaining, go else where.
  • Reviews_of_the_Dead - 17 June 2024
    Solid Throwback to Old School Slashers
    This was a movie that I knew was coming out. I don't watch trailers or follow release dates outside of checking what is playing at my local theaters. I'll be honest, the trailer's sound design caught my attention. The glimpses I saw had me intrigued. I will preface, I'm not always the biggest slasher fan. The title held promise as well.

    Synopsis: when a locket is removed from a collapsed fire tower in the woods that entombs the rotting corpse of Johnny (Ry Barrett), a vengeful spirit spurred on by a horrific 60-year-old crime. He is resurrected and becomes hellbent on retrieving it.

    We start this with the event of the locket being taken from the synopsis. We don't see the people, just hear them talk. We then see this pole in the ground move. That is when something appears from the ground. We don't get a good look at them, just following as they walk. We learn later from a story told by campfire that this hulking entity is Johnny.

    This follows him until he comes to a dead animal. It looks like a dog or a coyote that got stuck in a trap. It has since died. Johnny hears arguing so he goes in that direction. This leads to the house belonging to a man named Chuck (Timothy Paul McCarthy), at least that's who I believe this character is. The owner is arguing with a ranger, played by Reece Presley. It is about going into the woods and laying these traps. The owner claims he's not. Johnny walks into the house and with good camera work, he misses being seen by the owner. That is until Johnny reaches for a medallion that he thinks is his. Chuck shoots at him and this draws an attack by the hulking figure. The item isn't what he's looking for though.

    Johnny continues to search and this leads him to the campfire. This is where we learn about the lore of this character. What I like here is that this feels like a throwback to things like Friday the 13th Part 2 or The Burning. Johnny listens to them and thinks that he sees one of the people putting something in his pocket. In this group are Kris (Andrea Pavlovic), Colt (Cameron Love), Troy (Liam Leone), Ehren (Sam Roulston) and Brodie (Lea Rose Sebastianis). I think these are the names of characters that are around the fire.

    They decide to head in and one of them, Ehren, goes off into the woods. He's stalked by Johnny and then killed. He drags the corpse to a ranger station, where inside is paying homage to firefighters that worked in this area. The lore said that Johnny wore one of their masks with his original massacre and takes one now. He also takes hooks on a chain and an ax. He heads back to where this group is to exact more of his revenge.

    That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that this is definitely a throwback to slashers in their heyday. There is an argument to be made that it isn't, which I can see. What I'll say though, the killings are brutal when we see them, there is stalking of victims and it is a slow burn.

    Now that I've set that up, let's delve deeper into this. As someone who focuses on story, this is lacking in that department. I can also roll with the idea that we had Johnny, who was mentally handicapped. This area had loggers and one of them was injured because of a toy that Johnny left out. Should say that his father owned a store. This is during a time when they would raise prices and indebt the workers to them. That already makes the workers not like him. They did something they shouldn't with hurting the son due to that logger to not being able to work. The lore is that he didn't stay dead though and came back for revenge. This seems to happen periodically. I'm there for that. It feels like Jason Voorhees, Victor Crowley or even Cropsey. There is enough folklore, whether it is true or not is another thing, but that's the great thing about local legends. Hearing that was enough for me to enjoy.

    Since this is a considered a slasher film, I tend to rate this on whether we get good characters or good killings. I'll go to filmmaking here and say that when we see the kills, they deliver. They are done practical, which I love. The most brutal would be Aurora (Charlotte Creaghan). It went places I wasn't expecting. There are others that I think go too far with what Johnny is doing, but I also appreciate that this is the character. I also think that the cinematography, framing and sound design help here. There is more that I need to delve into for this last grouping but what they do for the kills is on point.

    I will then finish that thought. There is walking here. It is slow and we follow Johnny for majority. I do think that we needed to trim that down a bit since it feels like filler. It makes sense what they're doing. It is building dread to see who is next to meet their fate. There's also another sequence later where we don't know if a character will get away. I thought that this looked good. The framing is interesting, whether we are seeing from 3rd person or showing surroundings change to show progress of time. I'd also say the use of sound was good to help signify that characters are close. It also captures the isolation and where this is set. This is well-made, even though it slows this down.

    Then getting back to the other thing that I gauge, which is characters. I do think this falls short. We know that Kris is seeing one of the guys. Pavlovic is attractive so that helps. The problem is that the characters are bland to me. We don't learn enough. There is one of them that had a tragedy strike so they're working through it. Love, Leone, Sebastianis, Roulston and Oliver are fine. I do like Presley as the ranger, McCarthy as Chuck, Creaghan playing as Aurora and the monologue that Lauren-Marie Taylor gives. They were more distinguished due to specific scenes or sequences. I'll also end here by saying that Barrett's size was perfect for the villain.

    That should be all that I have so in conclusion, even though I'm not a slasher fan per say, I dug what this did. It is a throwback to these films. We get enough folklore about Johnny to know why he is on a rampage. He then picks off characters in brutal ways. When we see the killings, I love that they're violent and gory. This is well-made. The cinematography, effects and sound design are great there. An issue I have is with the pacing and just following Johnny walk as much as we do. That doesn't ruin this by any stretch. I enjoyed my time here and will revisit before completing my end of year list.

    My Rating: 7 out of 10.
  • lee_eisenberg - 10 June 2024
    Canadian cinema gets brutal
    It might surprise us Yanks to learn that our northern neighbor has made horror flicks, but they have. Horror movies made by the Canucks in previous decades include "The Clown Murders" (starring a young John Candy) and "The Brain".

    We now have a new slasher from Canada. "In a Violent Nature" has gotten described as an ambient slasher. The plot sounds typical of these movies - a boy who died an unnatural death gets resurrected when someone disturbs his grave - but a lot of the movie gets told from the killer's point of view. Not POV shots, mind you, but it follows him around as he seeks out those who desecrated his burial place.

    And then of course there's the kills. One kill in particular is one of the most shocking things ever put on screen (you'll know it when you see it). The practical effects make it all worthwhile.

    At the same time, I should note that the movie tests your attention span. It deliberately movies slowly - think a Jim Jarmusch movie - and there's no music until the end credits. I guess that adds to the realism.

    All in all, I enjoyed it. This is one horror flick that you won't soon forget.
  • pvrb-57555 - 8 June 2024
    Super underwhelming in every single way
    As someone who loves slashers as much as the next guy, this was not good. The only thing saving it was some of the kills were good. I found myself laughing at the film more anything. The pacing is god awfully slow. The first probably 20 minutes is the killer "Johnny" walking from point A to point B with no background sound except his steps. It tries to be uneasy and creepy but it's... not. The acting is bad, the ending is bad, the mask he eventually puts on looks like a minion from Despicable Me. The movie is just not good. My biggest jump scare was someone sneezing in the theater at one point. I can see very few reasons to enjoy the movie, it's simply not for everyone. Wait till it's streaming if you want to watch this.