What if “Friday the 13th” was told through Jason Voorhees’ point of view?
First-time feature writer/director Chris Nash‘s slasher “In a Violent Nature” focuses on undead serial killer Johnny (Ry Barrett) who stalks new victims in the woods. The killing spree is spurred by the removal of a locket from a collapsed fire tower in the woods that entombs the rotting corpse of Johnny, a spirit seeking revenge after a horrific 60-year old crime. Johnny’s body is resurrected and he becomes hellbent on retrieving the jewelry from a group of vacationing teens. The only way to do it? Methodically slaughtering them one by one. Classic Johnny.
Andrea Pavlovic, Cameron Love, Reece Presley, Liam Leone, Charlotte Creaghan, Lea Rose Sebastianis, Sam Roulston, Alexander Oliver, and Lauren Taylor round out the cast. “In a Violent Nature” is produced by Peter Kuplowsky and Shannon Hanmer.
IndieWire’s David Ehrlich compared Nash’s vision for the horror film to auteurs Terrence Malick and Gus Van Sant — particularly the graphic killings. In his review, Ehrlich deemed Nash a “seriously promising talent” confined to certain genre tropes of a killer in the woods.
For horror fans, 2024 has a slew of releases ranging from the gory to the gruesome — and a lot of them are from first-time feature filmmakers like Nash. Caitlin Cronenberg, the daughter of David Cronenberg and sister of Brandon Cronenberg, helms her directorial debut “Humane,” another Shudder release. And M. Night Shymalan’s own daughter Ishana Night Shymalan is directing an adaptation of A.M. Shine’s thriller “The Watchers” for her feature debut.
Meanwhile, established original IPs like “The Strangers,” “The Purge,” “The Black Phone,” and “It Follows” have follow-ups in the works.
“The Strangers” gets a prequel with “The Strangers: Chapter 1” starring “Riverdale” alum Madelaine Petsch and from director Renny Harlin. “It Follows” director David Robert Mitchell returns for Neon sequel “They Follow” that will go into production this year, while Blumhouse announced “The Black Phone 2.” It’s unclear if Scott Derrickson will return to direct it; the original cast’s involvement is also unknown.
“In a Violent Nature” premieres May 31 in theaters from IFC Films. Check out the trailer below.
