The Miracle Of 'In A Violent Nature'

Director: Chris Nash

Viewed at Music Box Chicago

Part of Chicago Critics Film Festival

Not one moment of Chris Nash's feature debut is wasted. Though most of the film is composed of long tracking shots following a supernatural slasher villain through the woods, every second draws you deeper into his psyche. We enter this world with a encyclopedic knowledge of 80's slasher film etiquette. We know the removal of relic will unleash something devastating. We know the killing will not end until a final girl defeats the evil or the relic is safe once again. This is a film that should not exist. Every child of 80's horror has had the thought, what if we just follow Jason? What if we cut out all the bullsh*t banter of the lambs and followed the butcher while he slaughtered?

The problem is that no film studio in their right mind would pay you for this. You need to care about characters before they die on screen. Sure, we care so much about Lana the waitress and her coked-out date in Friday The 13th A New Beginning. No, this is time devoted to raising the anxiety in the audience who is waiting for the killer to come out and do their thing. Chris Nash shifts this paradigm completely. We follow his Jason stand-in, Johnny, from kill to kill. We watch the killer contemplate his next move. We see him walk into the water and our anticipation for the kill becomes as motivating as our anxiety in other horror films. And the kills. The less said the better. Just know, they are worth it. You will see sights never seen.

Nash's ability to balance pitch black humor with impressive gore does not go unnoticed. Using a decapitated head to break a window or the discarding of a body elicits uncomfortable nervous laughter as much as the cracking of a spine induces teeth-clenching awe. Audio from the Music Box screening has made the rounds and it showcases the levels of the emotional roller coaster most viewers experience. There's a wow factor, a shock factor, and laughter. This isn't a film to be seen in a silent theater. In A Violent Nature should be seen on a big screen or with a group of friends for full immersion. I apologize if these words only add to the hype which makes any piece of art difficult to live up to. Audiences will have decide for themselves, but try to keep in mind the horror you've seen in the past and enjoy this love letter to 1980's slasher cinema.

There mayl be some push back because this isn't another Scream entry or another Friday The 13th / Halloween sequel. It doesn't function that way. It deconstructs what you know about those films and gives you an art-house horror masterpiece. If you've seen any entry in Gus Van Sant's death trilogy: Gerry (2002), Elephant (2003), or Last Days (2005) you know what a walking film is. So combine that with your favorite Friday The 13th film and there you go. It's an easy logline, but so f*cking effective. Nothing but love. Thank's Chris.