Have you watched a slasher film and wondered how a lumbering, slow-walking villain just happens to always catch up to the victim? If they aren’t tripping over something or hiding behind a tree, they are running full speed in another direction. It just so happens someone like Jason Vorhees catches up to them anyway. Writer/director Chris Nash took that premise and built it out in the film experience with ‘In A Violent Nature.’ It’s a slasher in the classic sense with all its drawn inspirations, but it could also be a nature documentary. Instead of centering on the young protagonists, the camera meticulously follows Johnny (Ry Barrett), who returns from the dead to write a simple wrong.
Dawning an old firefighter mask and grabbing any resolute weapon he can get his hands on, the audience follows him through the Algoma District woods in Ontario, Canada, with every step. ‘In a Violent Nature’s approach is that of a subsequent film in a series Nash knows the audience would be aware of the homages it has built itself from. Heavy steps on top of leaves serve as our soundtrack and brief eavesdropping on our unsuspecting victims. Once you are lulled in the false sense of security, Johnny quickly takes them out.
I spoke to Nash about being inspired by classic slasher lore and setting specific parameters for ‘In A Violent Nature’ to be a different experience.