In a Violent Nature

Grade: B+

I always kind of empathized and identified with Jason Voorhees. I’m not saying he should have killed all those people, but knowing the backstory, I understand the emotion. I’ve long felt that the people who are typically presented as the main characters in horror movies are actually the least interesting. I wondered what it would be like if the narrative was flipped, and we got one from the killer’s point of view – and the careless teenagers/camp counselors/etc would be reduced to supporting players. We finally get that with In a Violent Nature, and the results are damn cool.

Johnny was a victim of a cruel prank 70 years ago. His increasingly rotting corpse has been peacefully at rest under the dirt and leaves, at the site of his death, for a handful of decades. There is a necklace that hangs above where he lies. It’s a precious family heirloom. As long as it remains there, everything’s all good, and he won’t bother anybody. In a Violent Nature begins with a couple of hikers taking the necklace, causing Johnny to rise from the ground and start bothering people.

The movie is creepy and ominous, like The Blair Witch Project. There are no jump scares, as we know about the surprises in advance, being that Johnny is the character we follow. And I mean literally follow. For significant stretches of time, the camera is trailing behind Johnny, as he slowly and deliberately makes his way through the woods. Somebody on Reddit compared this to what you might see on the screen of your treadmill at the gym. There are plenty of sights and sounds for nature lovers to enjoy.

Though this doesn’t play like a traditional horror film, you get the standard dialogue. Young people around a campfire hear the story of Johnny’s murder. There’s a sheriff who gives a “do you realize what you’ve done” information dump, explaining why taking the necklace was bad, and the plan they try to concoct (which would usually be the third act climax). Of course someone says “I’ll be right back” and “I won’t let anything happen to you.” It’s really quite ingenious how we see all this from a different perspective – overhearing it with Johnny, lurking among the trees, just out of view. There is no score. The only music we hear is diegetic.

The inevitable victims of Johnny are not the brightest. It doesn’t end well for someone doing yoga near the edge of a cliff. Given the speed at which Johnny moves, she could have easily outrun him. What’s the expression? Fight or…stand there and scream? The gore, accomplished with practical effects, is entertaining. Somebody’s body is rearranged in a creative way, and near the end, Johnny swings an axe way more times than necessary. I love the atmosphere that’s created here, and the way the genre is turned upside down, to where you not only empathize, but almost root for the killer.

There is one survivor. The horror community often uses the term Last Girl. Her rescue is a scene that had me thinking of a few possible directions it could go, and hanging on every word and moment to see if any of them would come to pass. This movie was an experiment that I’d been yearning for and curious about for decades, and I found it wildly successful. With The Strangers: Chapter 1, Late Night with the Devil, and especially In a Violent Nature, October is shaping up to have some fine home viewing options.

Grade: B+