IN A VIOLENT NATURE (2024) by Chris Nash

"With In A Violent Nature, Nash crafts something entirely new; composed, near and real. But the film’s sense of tone and timing prove that he also intimately understands why audiences were always invested in these marathons of blood, gore, and guts." - Anna McKibbin (The A.V. Club)

""In a Violent Nature" is soaked in as much atmosphere as it is blood and viscera, an inventively cozy approach from an exciting new filmmaker." - Clint Worthington (RogerEbert.com)

"There are no quick cuts here, no goofy ways of hiding gore from the audience: Nash wants the viewer to engage with the pure terror of what’s going on just as much as he wants them to sit in the tedium of it." - David Sims (The Atlantic)

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There's something unnerving yet profoundly resonant about IN A VIOLENT NATURE (2024), written and directed by Canada's own Chris Nash.

The film juxtaposes the calm, serene beauty of the great Ontarian wilderness — lush greenery spanning kilometres, mossy mushroom-covered tree trunks, rays of golden sunshine and beautiful blue skies petering through openings above, mixed together with relaxing birdsong — all the while the camera follows behind a hulking undead force named Johnny, out for vengeance of past wrongs.

I feel conflicted watching this movie. I wouldn't say I'm rooting for Johnny (the upending of Slasher tropes on display are certainly worth discussing), however I do find his slow trek through the forests to be inviting: it harkens back to my many nature hikes and the healing that they've provided for me.

My reading of the film is a bit out there, but upon rewatching IN A VIOLENT NATURE, it seems as though Johnny is almost the forest incarnate: he a guardian of sorts, an obvious spectre of death trying to maintain some semblance of balance within the forest (in a loose way, connected with the theme of balance from last week's EVIL DOES NOT EXIST. Spoiler alert: evil does in fact exist).

Or is my reading skewed, and Johnny is actually the opposite? He's like a malignant cancer, an uninvited guest, causing destruction wherever he roams, and for what? There's little rhyme or reason behind Johnny's motives, as one of that characters describes towards the end of the film: "Animals don't get too hung up on reason. They just keep killing."

In terms of relating the film to (Human) Nature month, IN A VIOLENT NATURE gives us plenty to work with: What is it about nature that heals and restores? How are death and decay also necessary parts of this process? What are some of your own insights towards this idea of balance in (Human) Nature? Looking forward to discussing this one with you all!

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Join us Sunday, January 11 at 10am at the Red Brick Cafe for our second discussion of (Human) Nature month.

You can stream IN A VIOLENT NATURE for free on Kanopy (through the Guelph Public Library).

Happy watching...? 🌳