Horrifyingly Overhyped: A Review of Chris Nash’s In a Violent Nature
When Friday the 13th rolls around, I try to celebrate the day with some spooky activities, which always includes watching a horror movie. This Friday the 13th, Shudder finally added In a Violent Nature to Shudder, so I decided to check it out. I missed this movie when it was in theaters, but have heard nothing but praise for this slasher film. After my watch through I have a lot of thoughts, and unfortunately, most of them are not kind.
Before I jump into all of my critiques and concerns with the film, I do want to say that it was not a horrible movie. There were some aspects of the movie I enjoyed. If you haven’t seen In a Violent Nature yet and do not want spoilers, this is where you should stop reading, because the rest of the article will include multiple. So, what aspects of the film earned it the 2 (of 5) stars I gave it?
The Setting:
The scenery in this movie is breathtaking. Filmed in the Ontario wilderness, each shot shows the beauty of the natural world. While I would appreciate this in any film, I do think the gorgeous backdrop helps make the film more enticing overall. Such beautiful greenery contrasted with violence and gore really makes each kill just that much more shocking. It helps that many of these kills take place in broad daylight, which provides us with a sense of security as opposed to nighttime. Placing unbelievable beauty right next to unthinkable horror helps create the feelings of unease and a lack of safety in all environments. It subverts our expectations and shows us that violence will not be held back at any point in this movie.
The Costume:
Our villain, Johnny, sports an iconic costume that can be seen on the movie’s flyers. He wears regular clothing that is tattered with a vintage firefighter mask. The vintage mask is creepy enough on its own, but paired with Johnny’s lore adds importance and intrigue to the character’s costume. The design is so simple and I feel like that is what makes it scary. Anyone could put on that mask and become anonymous, making it easier to commit brutal acts of violence and revenge. I love a good monster, with unrealistic features and classic scares, but there is something so raw about being scared by something that genuinely feels human.
The Kills:
When this movie was first being talked about, I kept hearing one thing - the kills are extreme. As a horror fan, “extreme” means something different to me than it does the average movie watcher who might watch Halloween once a year and occasionally pop into the theater for a random horror release. But in all honesty, In a Violent Nature was extreme.
Johnny didn’t hold back when it came to slaughtering, with his first kill being very early into the movie. My personal favorite kill was Ehren, who gets killed with ease by Johnny’s jackknife. The kill was absolutely viscous and shocking. This wasn’t the most gorey or creative kill in the movie, which I definitely appreciate. The kills kept coming and with intensity. The infamous yoga kill did not disappoint. This kill was an example of where the slowness of the movie worked perfectly. You watch in agony and horror as she’s ripped and torn apart, before her head is pulled through her gaping stomach. It was vile and exactly what the movie was intended to be.
Watching the Woods:
During our finale, our final girl is shown staring into the woods, looking for Johnny while the woman who found her is creating a tourniquet for her. I appreciated that moment because it humanized her in a way that not all movies do. She survived this experience but not unaltered. She will always be looking over her shoulder because Johnny and what he did to everyone she loves will haunt her. I think that was one of the most impactful moments of the film.
All of these things together are what kept me going throughout my watch, because a lot of aspects of the movie missed the mark for me. So what didn’t I like about Johnny’s film debut?
Actions vs. Message:
For me, the worst part of this movie was that Johnny’s actions and the message of the movie didn’t add up. As the movie was moving along, it seemed to me that this movie was going to address the cycle of abuse, the effects of violence, and the dangers of ableism. Then, in the finale, our newly introduced driver talks about how animals kill because it’s natural to them, no other reason. Her speech is supposed to connect to our final girl’s experience, yet they seem like two completely different stories. If Johnny is killing to avenge himself, his father who died going after people who hurt Johnny, or even just to get back his beloved family locket, that is not for no reason. Those are very specific and obvious reasons! I think the idea of someone killing solely because they want to is interesting, but the movie gave him too much of a tragic backstory for me to believe violence was just an intrinsic part of his being.
The Dialogue:
This film was very quiet. Having no score was an interesting choice and one that I can get behind. Our killer also doesn’t speak. So in a movie where noise is limited, any and all sounds are crucial. Listening to the dialogue in this movie was painful. Our main protagonists speak so unnaturally. It felt like a group of adults sat down and attempted to write a modern teenager without ever having a real teenager in to read the script. The cheesy writing left me cringing and took away from the intensity of the movie.
Uninspired Characters:
The group of young people that we follow do not even feel like real people. Not only is the dialogue unrealistic and difficult to listen to, the characters also have no real personality. They feel like the most generic horror movie characters you could think of. I struggled to even keep track of who was named what because the characters were so one dimensional and uninspired. While some may argue that this is to put you into the killer’s mindset, I don’t think it was successful. I’m not saying the characters have to be likable, because I understand that these characters are not people the killer is fond of. I wouldn’t have minded if the characters were terrible people. I just wanted them to be something.
Pacing:
For a relatively short movie, this film definitely dragged. I appreciated the long walking shots, especially when it would switch seamlessly from night to day. But after a while, it lost its intensity. I knew he was trudging through the woods to get to a victim. It just felt so slow. It worked at first because it put you into his shoes and helped build tension and dread. After a bit, it was not building up tension anymore, it was just prolonging what I knew was coming next.
The Finale:
While reading about In a Violent Nature I saw mixed reviews on the finale. Some people loved the long monologue and ambiguous ending. Others found it anticlimactic. Personally, while I didn’t hate the ending, it felt dull. As I mentioned before, I think the speech contradicted the message the rest of the movie was sending, so the monologue was not impactful for me at all. Aside from the previously mentioned stare into the woods, the ending left me wanting more. I wish there was a more intense ending. In July, a Variety article talked about recently announced plans for a sequel. With a sequel in mind, I wish the ending left me wanting more or with more potential for Johnny to return.
All in all, I wish I went into this movie having never heard of it before. I think the extreme hype around the film led to even more disappointment than I would’ve had without knowing how beloved the movie became. While it may not be for me, I can appreciate the unique take from the villain's point of view, the kills that don’t hold back, and the stunning scenery. Watch it for yourself on Shudder and see - do you agree with me?
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