Like Friday the 13th meets Skinamarink, In a Violent Nature takes an arthouse approach to the slasher genre. While the experiment proved to be divisive, I found myself mesmerized by it.
Regardless of your feelings on the film, its Blu-ray release deserves to be celebrated. Harkening back to the halcyon days of physical media, IFC Films and Shudder’s two-disc Collector’s Edition is loaded with special features.
Two audio commentaries are included: a production and cast audio track with writer-director Chris Nash, actors Ry Barrett (Johnny) and Andrea Pavlovic (Kris), and producers Peter Kuplowsky and Shannon Hanmer, as well as a technical track with Nash, Hanmer, cinematographer Pierce Derks, and sound designers Tim Atkins and Michelle Hwu.
Here are nine things I learned from the In a Violent Nature commentaries…
1. The film was influenced by Gus Van Sant.
Gus Van Sant’s only foray into the horror genre is his shot-for-shot remake of Psycho, but Nash was inspired by the lauded filmmaker’s experimental work for In a Violent Nature‘s aesthetic.
“It was really just coming to film school back in the 2000s, watching Gus Van Sant’s movies, Gerry and Elephant and Last Days, and really liking that aesthetic and thinking about how I could do a genre film using all of his methods and just following characters. I thought a slasher would be the best way to do that,” Nash says.
While working as on-set creature effects supervisor on Psycho Goreman, Nash mentioned the concept to director Steven Kostanski, who was excited about the idea and went on to serve as In a Violent Nature‘s prosthetic makeup effects lead. (Kuplowsky and Hammer were producers on Psycho Goreman as well.)
2. Derks drew inspiration from the first Ninja Turtles movie.
Derks also mentions looking at Gus Van Sant’s films along with the likes of Barry Lyndon and the work of Alan Clarke, but he also drew influence from an unlikely source: the first live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.
“Ninja Turtles 1990 was actually a big influence for the visual look of this film. It has such a lovely naturalistic glow to it but also has a bit of a grit,” he explains.
“We never wanted this to look robotic or too slick or that we were in a studio. We wanted the image to have this organic quality that was tethered to the environments that Johnny was in, where it could feel like we were with him in these locations… Because so much of the film we’re presenting the story from a cold, clinical perspective of these events, we didn’t want the image itself to also feel cold and clinical.”
3. The original film was scrapped and reshot, with only one shot making it to the final film.
The first attempt to make In a Violent Nature, which took place over the course of four weeks beginning in September 2021, was plagued by challenges. After shooting “70-80%” of the film and reviewing an assembly of the footage, Nash made the difficult decision to scrap it and start from scratch.
In May of 2022, Nash helmed a smaller crew using the original shoot’s post-production budget and personal savings to make the movie that ended up premiering at Sundance.
Only one shot from the original shoot — peering at Pavlovic through a window — remains in the final film. Nash included the entire original crew in the film’s end credits in recognition of their hard work.
Another special feature, Dead in the Water: The Attempted Making of the Original In a Violent Nature, chronicles the various challenges that led to the aborted effort.
4. Nash was not allowed on the property for the opening scene.
The opening scene was filmed on a location from the original shoot, but Nash was no longer allowed on the property for an undisclosed reason.
“This location was from the first shooting, and between the first and second attempts, I was not allowed on the property anymore,” he says. When asked why, he coyly replies “We’re not gonna go into it.”
The rest of the crew was still welcome, so Nash storyboarded the sequence with first assistant director Nate Wilson, who helmed it with a small crew consisting of Hanmer, Barrett, prosthetic effects artist Fletcher Barrett, and actress Lea Rose Sebastianis.
Nate was later tasked with directing pick ups of Pavlovic running through woods after Nash stepped on a rusty nail and had to go to the emergency room for a tetanus shot.
5. Multiple versions of the mask were built.
Johnny’s mask is based on a late-19th century firefighting helmet known as the Vajen Bader. “It’s basically like a diving bell but to keep smoke out,” Nash notes.
“It was actually kind of redesigned. The first time we tried shooting it, it was built by Katie McQueston. She’s a genius human being who just can do anything and is an incredibly proficient engineer for anything you need, but she’s also an incredibly talented artist. She built the mask to spec, which is what I wanted, but to spec looked a little too goofy.
“It was a little too wide. The eyeglass was flat against it. Even though it was perfect and exactly what I asked for, it wasn’t great. So when we did the reshoots, I rebuilt the mask to be more Minion-like, apparently.” he laughs.
A second mask with an open front was constructed for when the camera is behind Johnny so his vision was not obstructed.
One of the promotion stills for the film — featuring Johnny raising an axe above his head — is from the first shoot featuring the original mask.
6. The yoga kill was shot at three different times.
In addition to being In a Violent Nature‘s most talked about scene — even earning the Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Kill — the infamous yoga kill was also one of the most difficult.
“This was an incredibly difficult sequence to put together, not even just for the gag itself but also just for the location,” says Kuplowsky.
“Originally I wanted it to be on a cliff, but that invites so much danger,” Nash adds.
It was filmed at three different times: everything with actress Charlotte Creaghan was shot in May; the effects-oriented footage was done in August; and two insert shots were filmed in December in Hanmer’s mother’s backyard.
Three different torsos with interchangeable limbs were built to accomplish the effect.
7. Several Friday the 13th franchise actors were considered for the film.
Lauren-Marie Taylor, best known for portraying Vickie in Friday the 13th Part 2, plays the woman who picks up Kris at the end of the film — but several other actors from the franchise were considered for the part.
“It was always the idea when we had this scene that this would be a great scene to pay homage to the Friday series by having an actor from that series play this character. There was a lot of discussion as to who that would be,” says Nash.
“Originally, I wanted John Shepherd, who played Tommy Jarvis in Part V, but there’s a lot of discussion between Shannon and I specifically about what having a male actor playing this character would do to the dynamic and the tension. It would create such a threat that wouldn’t be what I intended at all. We spoke to quite a few actors from the series.”
“We just really loved Lauren,” adds Kuplowsky. “She got it immediately. She just had the best presence. We all kind of reflected on how much we liked that character from Part 2.”
Taylor told the crew about Friday the 13th fan theories that Vickie survived Part 2, since her body is unaccounted for in the next installment. Now there are In a Violent Nature fan theories that her character is Johnny’s mother.
8. The film was shot in 4:3 for both practical and nostalgic purposes.
In a Violent Nature was shot in a 4:3 aspect ratio, a decision that had both practical and nostalgic purposes. Derks explains:
“There are two main driving factors behind that decision. One was the symmetry provides in the frame of Johnny and his surroundings. When we were looking at the film and testing stuff in 16:9, we found that the surroundings and the forest became too overwhelming. Johnny was kind of getting lost in them.
“For Nash, one of the main factors was a callback to growing up and watching horror films on VHS and all those being in the pan-and-scan 4:3 aspect ratio. So for the practicality of the frame and as a way to invoke a little bit of the old-school slasher and horror VHS nostalgia.”
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9. More fun facts!
- The original cut of the film ran nearly 15 minutes longer with more extended walking scenes.
- Timothy Paul McCarthy, who plays Chuck, was in Nash’s ABCs of Death 2 segment, “Z is for Zygote,” and his co-star in the short, Delphine Roussel, appears in a photo in the dresser in Chuck’s house.
- Editor Alex Jacobs’ father, Tom Jacobs, voices Johnny’s dad in flashbacks.
- The Ranger Danger 2014 photo found in the park ranger office features Barrett, first assistant director Kristen MacCulloch (who played Pandora in Psycho Goreman), and set decorator Jon Rhoads.
- Barrett watched animal attack videos to prepare for his role as Johnny.
In a Violent Nature is available now on Blu-ray.
