Let me share a personal anecdote with you.
There is an animation film called “Hedgehog in the Fog” out there. It is a classic from 1975 everyone in territories of the former Soviet Union knows because it is one of those things that transcends generations. I have at times wondered a lot about that phenomenon because there are a lot of different cartoons that had been produced in that part of the world ever since. I think there is something about the mildly phantasmagoric atmosphere that is ever persistent in it as well as things that are left to child’s interpretation. But perhaps most notably it’s about the sense of wonder and exploration, which the animation film manages to encapsulate in a manner a child could relate to fully. There is something about how it captures the imagination profoundly, telling its story in a way, which makes the lead character – the hedgehog, there to become thoroughly relatable.
Thus far this may not sound like anything out of the ordinary as far as animation films go, but the film does exude a mood of uneasiness and uncertainty, which sticks with you. This is the reason it had become such a phenomenon in its own right.
As adolescents we used to joke about it being the best horror movie released in Soviet Union. Here it is in a format of Youtube video:
One fine day we had an opportunity to play around with VHS camera. Things like that can get your imagination run wild; all of a sudden there would be so many opportunities for fun and creative expression. It didn’t take long before someone came up with an idea of shooting a horror movie. At the time we didn’t know anything about budgeting, production design, sets. However our short horror film titled “Hedgehog in the Fog” (never released anywhere), obviously inspired by Soviet animation classic, was a learning experience like none other. We had to direct each other, argue, discuss, develop ideas, criticize and poke fun, watch and re-shoot, mostly while on a roof of a block of flats, which was our main filming location and set. Everyone was director of photography, actor and producer there. No script! Because it was a team work and collective creative effort; everyone would remember the ideas from scene to scene, and improve on those as the project progressed. Most importantly though, our camera operator had to share the role of the killer maniac in the movie with the actor because one of the essential parts of our little movie was the POV of the killer. It was fun; made by friends for friends.
The basic idea of following the killer with camera is central to the new Canadian slasher flick “In a Violent Nature”. Everything related to the activities by Johnny, the developmentally delayed son of a local merchant, who’s spirit can only rest if certain conditions for burial are met, is exactly that simple and basic as described by me in the introductory part about the movie we filmed back in the day. However behind that candor, straight forward in appearance, seemingly basic approach to the fundamental for the slasher subgenre aspect, “In a Violent Nature” harbors more sophisticated level of filmmaking. The subgenre there had been blended with elements of found footage technique and I would say that exactly this blend is what makes the movie enchanting.
I have always found it fascinating how seemingly basic, basal things are only such on the surface level. I’ve touched on this before in one of my posts – my review of "V/H/S/ 94"; an anthology, which also has the found footage technique as a fundamental part in its segments. The most fascinating part about it all, in my humble opinion, is the fact that it takes a lot of intuition and perhaps talent too to make the basal and basic there engaging and captivating. There can always be so many combinations of items, settings and accents in a found footage scenario that it can become extremely demanding of the filmmaker to end up with the final cut that draws the viewer in rather than stops being intriguing because nothing there would give an impression there’s a cat in a bag somewhere.
Watching “In a Violent Nature” though, it becomes clear soon enough that “the cat in the bag” for the viewer is the filmmaker’s take on the slasher subgenre from the POV of the killer. It’s not so much about various items (even though the choice and role of each of those all play part in this flick) and settings as much it is about how exactly the writer and director Chris Nash is going about showing the killer’s POV there. In this regard, let me assure you, dear reader; the movie has in store for you perspectives and moments you wouldn’t expect, which is where it adds something of its own to the pool of movies of the subgenre besides the already mentioned following the killer for the most part of the movie. I was particularly impressed by some attempts to win the viewer over to join the side of this world’s, should I say, misanthropes. People are not always considerate and nice beings, especially towards other people and living beings, wouldn’t you agree?
Also, have you heard of “henhouse syndrome”? If you haven’t, “In a Violent Nature” has its own context and way of explaining that to you.
If you love horror genre, “In a Violent Nature” will speak your language with familiar tropes and recognizable elements from the subgenre classics right from the beginning. Everything is done with knowing exactly what the expectations of the audience would be, so the death scenes are well thought out with enough creativity to love that “cat in the bag”.
The combination of atmospheric cinematography and skillful storytelling doesn't fail to hold the viewer's attention, which, considering the mix of subgenre and technique, is a clear win.
Peer Ynt
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