In a Violent Nature: The new movie that completely turns horror genre on its head
‘Fascinating’ film takes the genre in completely different direction
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Your support makes all the difference.A new horror film is making waves for completely flipping the slasher genre on its head.
The first trailer for the film – titled In a Violent Nature – was released last month, proving why exactly the film received a rapturous response at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2024. Now, those who have watched the film at the Chicago Critics Film Fest are expressing agreement that horror fans are in for a treat.
In a Violent Nature screened as part of US festival’s Sundance“Midnight” strand, which is where films including The Blair Witch Project, Hereditary and the controversial Dashcam, first premiered – and early word-of-mouth has branded the film as “fascinating” and “impressive”.
The detail that is exciting horror fans is the fact the film is a slasher told through the killer’s eyes. The synopsis of the In a Violent Nature reads: “Delve into the wilderness where an undead horror awakens. In a Violent Nature flips the script on traditional slashers, inviting you to witness the rampage from the monster’s eyes.”
At the time of writing, the film has a score of 93 per cent on review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes after 28 reviews.
Bloody Disgusting called the film “a fascinating arthouse horror experiment that plays more like a minimalist slice-of-life feature with a grim, gory twist”, with Polygon adding: “It’s a rare treat and a fantastic exercise in taking a genre in the opposite direction that everyone else has tried.”
However, it’s worth noting that those who enjoy faster-paced filmmaking might be left somewhat frustrated: those who saw the film at Sundance have said the film is inspired by slow cinema, and features longer takes and has no musical score.
Those who have watcheds the film are also casting aspersions on the claim, made on social media, that one audience member “vomited” while watching the film, claiming that this was a tired marketing ploy.
Canadian writer-director Chris Nash, who named Tree of Life director Terence Malick as an inspiration, described this as a “slower, more methodical, more deliberate” way to “follow characters through a scene.”
In a Violent Nature will be released in the US by IFC Films on 31 May before being added to horror streaming service Shudder later this year. No UK date has been announced.
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