IN A VIOLENT NATURE - Killer POV Movies Have Never Been This Good (Canada, 2024)
Get ready for one of the better 70s/80s horror homages.
Wow! This movie is something else! A fresh take on homage cinema, there is a lot to like about this film.
There’s also a bit not to like about it, but in this case the good outweighs the bad significantly.
Horror movies from the killer’s perspective are nothing new - you can date one of the earliest examples back to 1960 with the flick Peeping Tom - but never have I seen a movie where almost the entire runtime is presented in this over-the-shoulder, or as gamers would call it: third-person perspective, view following the killer’s every move.
It’s the movie’s blessing and a curse, because unfortunately at the end this style gets ditched for the traditional filmmaking shot-reverse shot composition, leading the audience to wonder when the inevitable sequel is going to be released.
PLOT
A group of campers disturb the burial location of an indestructible killer called Johnny when they remove a keepsake in the shape of a locket from a collapsed fire tower.
Now Johnny is on a mission to retrieve the locket, leaving behind him a massive trail of carnage.
ABOUT THE FILM
It sounds so cliched. It sounds unoriginal. It sounds bland. It is none of those things. Because In A Violent Nature does quite a lot of things I loved.
I love it when movies have long takes. Uninterrupted shots are an example of creativity and talent. The movie cheats a little bit by using the over the shoulder perspective to its advantage. The actors don’t need to remember their lines, they just need to hit their marks, with the dialogue added in post production. It’s clever and saves a lot of time.
And in fact I loved the over-the-shoulder perspective the film employs for a bulk of the run time. I know a lot of people, especially I think younger audiences, won’t appreciate it. There isn’t enough action going on at all times to keep their interest. But for people who grew up with slow burn horror flicks like Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the first Halloween film, then the slow build up to a chaotic sub-ending is well appreciated.
Yeah, I said the word “sub-ending” because the last 10 or so minutes of the film go in a completely different direction from the rest of the film. It’s part clever, part annoying. Clever in the fact it reminded me a bit of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the movie didn’t feel like it was over. It felt like there was another twist coming, which never occurred.
Definitely leaving itself open for a sequel.
Additionally, while some of the kills were really fun - such as when the girl gets her head pulled through her own stomach - some of the mutilations at the end just go a bit too far. One of the characters was already dead, yet we are witness to a long scene of the body being dismembered using a log splitter.
And the practical effects are great, but they come at the expense of a bit of realism when the obvious use of mannequins, or soft dolls, is used. A small gripe though for an otherwise exciting film.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
It’s not often I like gory films, but this one is a definite exception. A horror movie for the slasher fans who really love the 70s/80s style or gamers who love the slow-moving, tension building, over-the-shoulder perspective.
But as always, what did you think of it?
Genre Horror
Director Chris Nash
Starring Lauren-Marie Taylor, Andrea Pavlovic, Ry Barrett
Original Title In A Violent Nature
Country of Origin Canada
Release Date 31 May 2024
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