In a Violent Nature

In a Violent Nature is a 2024 Canadian slasher film written and directed by Chris Nash, and starring Ry Barrett, Andrea Pavlovic, Reece Presley, and Lauren-Marie Taylor. Described as an "ambient slasher", it follows a mute killer who is accidentally resurrected from his grave in the Ontario wilderness by a group of teenagers, whom he then begins stalking and murdering. The events depicted are largely observed from the killer's perspective.

In a Violent Nature premiered on January 22, 2024, at the Sundance Film Festival, as part of the festival's "Midnight" program, and was theatrically released in the United States and Canada by IFC Films on May 31. Opening on 1,426 screens, it marked IFC Films's widest theatrical release to date, and grossed $3 million in its first week. It is scheduled to be released on the streaming service Shudder later in the year. It has received largely favorable reviews from film critics.

Plot
A group of friends discover a locket hanging on the remains of a fire tower. One of them, Troy, pockets it. Moments later, the corpse of Johnny rises from the ground. Enraged, he begins his search for the locket and walks through the woods. He pauses at the sight of a rotting fox corpse and hears a nearby argument between two men, one of whom set the traps that killed the fox. Johnny walks to a house and enters unnoticed. When he sees a necklace that he mistakes for his locket, he has a brief memory of his father. The homeowner soon returns, but is horrified by Johnny and runs away. In the woods, he gets his leg stuck in his own bear trap and is killed by Johnny. Later, Johnny hears a car in the distance and pursues it.

Johnny approaches the group of friends sitting around a campfire. One of them, Ehren, recounts Johnny's death: Decades prior, Johnny, the developmentally delayed son of a local merchant, was tricked into climbing the fire tower for a "bag of toys", only to find someone waiting at the top to scare him. He fell from the tower to his death, which was deemed accidental. According to legend, two series of murders decades apart are attributed to Johnny's vengeful spirit. After the story, the group goes inside their cabin. Ehren steps outside and is killed by Johnny with a drawknife. Johnny then drags his body to a nearby park ranger office. Inside, Johnny collects a pair of dragging hooks and an axe, and dons an antique firefighter mask.

The next day, Johnny comes across Aurora and Brodie on a lake dock. Brodie wants to swim, but Aurora leaves to practice yoga. As Brodie swims in the lake alone, Johnny submerges in the water and drowns her. He then pursues Aurora, who is standing near a cliffside practicing yoga. Johnny kills her with his dragging hooks, before throwing her mutilated body off the cliff.

Later, Troy, Colt, and Evan argue over car keys and their missing friends, and one throws his keys into the woods, which Johnny picks up. He plays with an attached toy car keychain as Colt and Kris drive off on an ATV. Johnny then kills Troy and Evan. Colt and Kris return shortly afterward, having found Ehren's body at the park ranger station, but flee at the sight of Johnny. By nightfall, Johnny approaches the station, where the ranger is explaining to Colt and Kris that the locket—which Kris is wearing—is what keeps Johnny's soul at rest. The ranger momentarily subdues Johnny with a shotgun, but Johnny paralyzes him as Colt and Kris flee. Johnny kills the ranger by dismembering him with a log splitter.

Later, Colt attempts to distract Johnny to trap him, but Johnny kills him with an axe. A shellshocked Kris leaves Johnny's locket hanging on a gas canister and flees into the woods. She accidentally injures her leg, but by dawn manages to limp to a nearby road. A woman in a pickup truck stops and offers to drive her to a hospital. In an attempt to reassure Kris, the woman recounts how her brother, a game warden, survived a bear mauling in the same woods decades prior. The woman notices that Kris's bleeding has worsened and stops the truck, insisting that she put a tourniquet around the injured leg. Terrified, Kris begs her to keep driving and peers into the woods, waiting for something to appear. Elsewhere, the left-behind gas canister is missing Johnny's locket, indicating that he’s finally at peace.

Filming
Filming initially took place in the Kawartha Lakes area of Central Ontario, Canada, in 2021, but Nash later recalled that the locale "just felt like it wasn't hitting the right note for us". The film was ultimately shot in Algoma District, Ontario, near Sault Ste. Marie.

Style
Commentators have drawn comparisons between In a Violent Nature and slow cinema. Nash drew inspiration for the film's style from the Gus Van Sant-directed films Gerry (2002), Elephant (2003) and Last Days (2005), which Nash characterizes as "slower, more methodical, more deliberate and follow characters through a scene." Nash also cited the work of director Terrence Malick as an influence.

In a Violent Nature emphasizes static long take shots, and features no musical score. "We always wanted to treat this almost like a nature documentary," Nash said of the film's stylistic approach. "It's lulling you into a sense [that] the danger isn't quite there. When you see tourists getting really close to bears, they're just like, 'Oh, no, look, it's not doing anything. It's fine.' And then all of a sudden, the bear just turns around and charges at you. You're way too defenseless and you just have no idea that they're capable of this much power and brutality."

Release
In a Violent Nature had its world premiere on January 22, 2024, at the Sundance Film Festival, as part of the festival's "Midnight" program. An outdoor promotional screening was held on New York City's Governors Island on May 18, 2024, with actors Ry Barrett, Andrea Pavlovic, and Lauren-Marie Taylor in attendance. The film was theatrically released in the United States by IFC Films on May 31, 2024. It was released digitally on June 28, 2024, and will be included on the Shudder streaming service later in the year. It is scheduled for theatrical release in the United Kingdom on July 12, 2024.

Box office
IFC Films released In a Violent Nature in North America on May 31, 2024 on 1,426 screens, marking the widest opening release of a film for the studio. It earned $410,000 in Thursday night previews. It went on to gross $2.1 million at the North American box office during its opening weekend, marking the second-best opening for IFC Films after Late Night with the Devil. By June 21, 2024, the film had earned $4,192,513 at the box office.

Critical response
Variety's Dennis Harvey wrote that the film's "stripped-down approach to a familiar gist has a distinctiveness that is impressive, and is sure to please fans who are always up for a new slasher film—but wish most of them weren't so interchangeable." Cheryl Eddy of Gizmodo called it "a fascinating artistic experiment and genre fans should definitely give it a look. But it may also make you wish you were watching a traditional slasher—for something more fun and entertaining, may we suggest Friday the 13th Part 2?—instead." Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times praised the film's "dreamlike" atmosphere, concluding: "Nash has attempted an ambitious blend of art house and slaughterhouse whose rug-pulling ending will polarize, even as its moody logic prevails."

Michael Gingold of Rue Morgue wrote that the film's style "isn't quite a reinvention of the form, but it creates a different and very effective kind of tension." David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a grade of "C", writing that the film "derives its semi-hypnotic power from the disconnect it creates between the sheer movieness of what happens and the somnambulant nonchalance with which it all goes down. The effect is interesting in theory, but largely unsatisfying in execution (pun very much intended)."

In a list published on June 20, 2024, Variety ranked In a Violent Nature the best horror film of the year thus far, with writer William Earl noting: "Amid the outrageous kills and crisp camerawork lies a sharp satire laced with empathy, beauty and genuine fear."