In a Violent Nature — Review

Have you ever wondered what immediately follows when a psycho killer claims his next victim and the screen cuts to black? IN A VIOLENT NATURE is an experimental slasher that answers that question, tracking the path of a hulking murderer as he stalks through the woods on a slow and methodical warpath. Filmmaker Chris Nash indulges in the hallmarks of slow cinema, utilising long takes, selective dialogue and minimalist sound design to create a feature that feels strikingly authentic—more akin to a nature documentary than your typical horror hit.

Nash writes and directs with keen precision, firmly rooting us in the antagonist’s perspective and stripping out plenty of conventions that would usually define a movie of this ilk. IN A VIOLENT NATURE becomes a unique exercise in dread-soaked tension, featuring long stretches of minimal activity that are punctuated by intense gory violence. It doesn’t aim to draw us into the characters' lives, instead forcing us to hear them through the trees and observe them from a distance. It’s a voyeuristic vision that exhibits remarkable restraint, and Nash deserves his flowers for warping well-worn tropes into something creative and fresh.