In a Violent Nature: Honours Its Titular Promise… and Ruins Yoga for Everyone

By Thom Ernst

Rating: B+

You'll eventually hear about the yoga scene in In a Violent Nature. So, why wait? See it for yourself. You should be seated for the yoga scene. Maybe have a drink handy. Whisky's good. Tea's fine. Warm milk if that works for you. Something soothing. You will need it.

Of course, one scene does not make a film, but it does make it memorable. In a Violent Nature is an event horror film. It's not a big film, not star-studded, nor is it likely to shift world perspectives. But it is the kind of film worth anticipating, putting time aside to get a good seat, or gathering like-minded friends (plus a few unlike-minded friends so you can see them squirm) for a watch party.

Not to be taken out of context, but it's like when The Exorcist (1973) had people lining around the block to see a possessed 12-year-old girl spewing up pea soup, twisting her head 360 degrees and making horrific accusations against Father Karras' dead mother.

A similar curiosity should drive hordes of horror fans to In a Violent Nature, which lives up to its title and yet is meditative and serene—at least by slasher standards. There are plenty of serenely executed horror films (I would put Hereditary in that category), but a slasher is a whole other animal.

The sounds of birds chirping, and tiny woodland creatures scurrying over dry leaves and fallen branches play in vivid contrast to the unprovoked violence at the hands of “Johnny” (Ry Barrett) the resurrected murdered son of a logging foreman, returned to life because of a stolen locket lifted from his grave.

Johnny is a mouldy corpse, rotted and decaying, who shares an origin story familiar to many: a lumbering murdering beast. It begins with a prank gone wrong. We've heard variations of this before, from Friday the 13th (1980) to Prom Night (1980) to Final Girls (2015). A lot goes on in In a Violent Nature, from the broken countryside reminiscent of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974).

So, what makes this deformed, unstoppable killer different from Jason, Michael, or that big ugly dude in the Hatchet franchise? For one thing, impressions of decapitations, mutilations, and the creative destruction of human form aren't for everyone, even when artfully done. In a Violent Nature — which premiered to an unshakeable crowd at Sundance and then proceeded to shake them — is artfully done. But when it comes to “not being for everyone,” it reaches a whole other level.

Stumbling into In a Violent Nature can be like finding a discarded mattress in a ditch. You can sense the disease, bug-ridden mildew rising from the rotting fabric and the rusted springs. The difference is that you are likelier to sit through In a Violent Nature than sleep on a discarded mattress. Or you might decide the mattress is less disturbing. Regardless, genre fans will relish every unsettling, dangerous moment.

Aside from anticipating In a Violent Nature, coming through on its gnarly reputation for creative, over-the-top kills—murder scenes so intricately staged that they practically come off with the flair of a showstopping Broadway tune—only more toe-twitching than toe-tapping.

This modestly budgeted independent film stars fresh-faced actors (Andrea Pavlovic, Cameron Love, Reece Presley). Its marketing budget is greatly aided by word-of-mouth. What's more, In a Violent Nature follows the traditional path of a slasher and rises above the genre to be something other than the norm.

And then there's the yoga scene.

In a Violent Nature. Directed by Chris Nash. Starring Ry Barrett, Andrea Pavlovic, and Cameron Love. In theatres May 31.