You’ve probably heard by now that the convention-shucking horror experiment In a Violent Nature is Friday the 13th from the POV of its hulking killer. The 93-minute indie slasher is as campy—and largely uninvolving—as that premise promises. The third-person killer cam shtick wears off quickly, especially since writer-director Chris Nash’s camerawork has two modes: lurking and swirling. There’s an excess of footage showing the killer stomping through the woods, punctuated by some gory practical kills, including a yoga execution that’s downright revelatory—but it serves zero tension and offers only the faintest hint of a story, with bits of lore doled out in the margins of the frame.

Nash’s film aims for arthouse aspirations with a documentarian lens to make some statement about the unencumbered brutality of its subject, but it mostly feels all for naught. The gore is at times gleefully overindulgent, far beyond the limits imposed by the MPAA on Jason and his band of ne’er-do-well slasher compatriots, but it never adds up to much. Instead, we’re treated to what feels like a very DIY student film, filled with bad acting—a hallmark of slasher movies, though Nash pushes the envelope here. Admittedly, this would probably play better with a jumpy audience than on a couch at home, but those entering these woods—whether in a theater or at home—should prepare for a lot of waiting with little payoff, despite the boundary-pushing kills. In the third act, In a Violent Nature breaks from its POV premise in a way that somewhat betrays its purpose, diluting its singular vision to capture something both conventional and confusing. (C-)

[READ MORE: All of our coverage of the Seattle International Film Festival ’24.]

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