Why So Blu?

In A Violent Nature: Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray Review)

The prospect of a slasher film told primarily from the killer’s perspective was intriguing. Hearing about In A Violent Nature, the reactions some have had, particularly to some of the kill scenes, let alone the assumed divisiveness given the pacing, had me geared up to take this high concept in and enjoy it. Fortunately, there’s a lot to like about what writer/director Chris Nash is going for. On top of that, this is a pretty stellar release from IFC Films and Shudder, complete with a solid transfer and tons of extras.

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Film:

The plot goes as follows: “When a group of teens takes a locket from a collapsed fire tower in the woods, they unwittingly resurrect the rotting corpse of Johnny (Ry Barrett), a vengeful spirit spurred on by a horrific 60-year-old crime. The undead killer soon embarks on a bloody rampage to retrieve the stolen locket, methodically slaughtering anyone who gets in his way.”

As noted, I really enjoyed the conceptual idea behind this movie, but that’s also why I come away mildly disappointed it doesn’t quite pull it off entirely. Nash has delivered what he calls an “ambient slasher,” in which we follow this movie almost wholly from this mute undead killer’s point of view. As a result, there’s a minimalism to the feature I admired, along with the terrific cinematography. Yes, it’s another indie film calling on the academy ratio to let viewers know this is a non-traditional modern film. Still, there are so many shots of serene nature and empty forests (apart from the lumbering murderer) that it’s hard not to recall films from Gus Van Sant or Terrence Malick (just as intended by Nash).

Even when we see the kills taking place, as elaborate as some of them are (and a couple are pretty gnarly, including one simply known as the “yoga kill”), the film almost finds a way to make the viewer feel at peace with what’s taking place, as if it is a part of the grand scheme of things. Given how limited the whole journey is in terms of receiving the kind of information we’d generally get from these movies, character work in particular, it does mean just accepting what’s being presented and trying not to be concerned with the restrictions built into the experience.

I only wish In a Violent Nature was more willing to stick to its guns. Other characters, despite not having much to offer in terms of depth, eventually receive more attention, and while that’s not inherently an issue, it does make me wonder why the shift in gears was needed for a film already sitting in the indie space and calling to mind provocative filmmakers willing to hold to their choices the whole way through. Plus, the way this film finds a way to wrap up (including a clever cameo) didn’t leave me as satisfied as I would have hoped.

Still, there’s plenty to admire throughout this film, and given the tranquil nature of the picture (again, outside its major genre element), it’s not a bad one to pair with some like this year’s Evil Does Not Exist from Ryûsuke Hamaguchi. Again, the actual slashings that take place are brutal and will have gorehounds satisfied. Others may grow frustrated with the over-the-shoulder POV concept. Whatever the case, however, for something new to experience within this horror sub-genre, I admire what In a Violent Nature is going for.

 

Video:

Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1

Clarity/Detail: Shot to resemble a nature documentary in its visual approach, there’s plenty to love about a film set entirely outdoors. The detail level going on when it comes to all the forestry on display is terrific. Clarity is never an issue when it comes to things like violent deaths and other moments delivered with no ambiguity. Darker scenes are not an issue of the transfer, making that sort of thought negligible.

Depth: Depth is solid. The character spacing registers as well as it needs to, which is helpful for a film featuring characters moving around through the woods.

Black Levels: Black levels do enough to add to the atmosphere. Given the long stretches set at night, it comes across well, with no sign of significant crushing.

Color Reproduction: Colors are often quite strong here, with the setting allowing for a lot of greens, oranges, yellows, and browns, in particular, to stand out. By the time the horror really hits, I can’t count out the impact of the uses of red either.

Flesh Tones: There’s rarely anything resembling a close-up, but flesh tones register well when given the chance.

Noise/Artifacts: Clean.

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Audio:

Audio Format(s): English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Audio Description Track

Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Dynamics: With no musical score, this audio track is entirely about ambient noises, stabbings (and other types of violence), and dialogue. We are sitting in nature, and the effort to capture all those sounds instead of a proper soundtrack makes for an incredibly sound-dependent track, which certainly gets a kick when crazy things start to occur.

Low-Frequency Extension: With a couple of moments that rely on going big, the LFE channel delivers a little extra when needed.

Surround Sound Presentation: A lot is going on to help immerse the viewer into the film, given how minimal things are. The rear channels come into play well enough to make you feel surrounded by nature. Still, this is a largely center-focused track, which makes plenty of sense.

Dialogue Reproduction: Everyone registers as they should when they speak.

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Extras:

Given the film’s experimental nature, it’s impressive that the studios involved allow for such an impressive array of supplements to show how much effort went into making this film (the real spirit of independent cinema). That includes an abandoned attempt to do it, some candid on-set footage, and multiple commentaries. This release has it all as part of a deluxe two-disc package, and even includes a small fold-out lobby card-style poster.

Features Include:

Disc One:

• Production & Cast Commentary – The livelier of the two commentaries, featuring lots of stories and information about the production.
• Technical Commentary – A larger focus on the production side of what went into making this film.
• Storyboard Kill Galleries (HD)

Disc Two:

• Dead in the Water: The (Attempted) Making of the Original In A Violent Nature (HD, 1:11:13) – An in-depth look at the attempt to make this film the first time, before all kinds of complications got in the way, leading to a new attempt at a different location.
• The Yoga Kill: Candid On-Cam Footage (HD, 4:11) – The title of this feature feels pretty self-explanatory for the film’s most brutal murder.
• Scenes From the First Version of In A Violent Nature (HD, 47:31) – A whole chunk of footage from the first iteration of the film before it was reshot.
• Sundance Video Diary (HD, 29:47) – A look at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival trip to premiere the film, which includes antics of the cast and crew at parties and bringing their killer character around town, in costume.
• Behind The Scenes (HD, 13:06) – A collection of behind-the-scenes clips focused on the production of the film.

 

Summary:

Even with some mild misgivings about the overall film, In A Violent Nature is certainly worth watching, and what a Blu-ray package to go with it. The film looks and sounds great, but along with the commentaries, this entire second disc full of special features really gives you everything you wanted to know about the film and more, given that there was a whole previous attempt to make it. For the horror fans looking for something fresh with slashers, this is undoubtedly well worth checking out.

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