In a Violent Nature
IFC Films | Release Date: May 31, 2024 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
68
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzMay 29, 2024
This is an ambitious, methodical, immersive, and admirably devious experiment in conjuring atmosphere and testing gag reflexes. It will quicken your pulse, tighten your throat and – for those on its extremely particular wavelength – bust your gut. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comClint WorthingtonMay 31, 2024
"In a Violent Nature" is soaked in as much atmosphere as it is blood and viscera, an inventively cozy approach from an exciting new filmmaker. Read full review
88
Slant MagazineKeith UhlichMay 28, 2024
Think of Chris Nash’s film as Béla Tarr doing an unholy doc-fiction hybrid about Crystal Lake. Read full review
83
Original-CinThom ErnstMay 30, 2024
In a Violent Nature follows the traditional path of a slasher and rises above the genre to be something other than the norm. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubAnna McKibbinMay 29, 2024
With In A Violent Nature, Nash crafts something entirely new; composed, near and real. But the film’s sense of tone and timing prove that he also intimately understands why audiences were always invested in these marathons of blood, gore, and guts. Read full review
83
The PlaylistMarshall ShafferApr 25, 2024
For In a Violent Nature, careful calibration of chills just feels like second nature. Read full review
80
The GuardianCatherine BrayJul 11, 2024
From a horror fan’s point of view, this is an absolutely fascinating experiment with form. Read full review
80
Time OutPhil de SemlyenJun 11, 2024
It’s rare for something this necrotic to feel this fresh. Read full review
80
Rolling StoneDavid FearJun 3, 2024
The fact that In a Violent Nature sets up a storytelling style that utilizes highbrow aesthetics while still keeping one foot firmly planted in the genre gutter is what makes this feel like a once-in-generation slasher flick. Read full review
80
IGNMichael CalabroApr 25, 2024
In a Violent Nature is a clever slasher experiment that underdelivers in the story department but more than makes up for it with some clever kills that will be sure to linger long after the credits roll. Read full review
80
ColliderChase HutchinsonApr 25, 2024
It is grimly funny at times, though no less terrifying because of it. Everything compliments itself as we observe the beautiful forest being made into a hunting ground where there is nowhere you are safe for long. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerMay 30, 2024
Director Scott Glosserman began his film as a found footage mockumentary before flipping into a conventional slasher for the final act as a deliberate, subversive plot point. Nash keeps his deliberate pacing to emphasize the grisliness. Read full review
77
Paste MagazineJacob OllerJan 25, 2024
If you love slashers, and love the language of slashers, it’s inevitable that the charms of In a Violent Nature will reach you. Eventually. Read full review
75
The AtlanticDavid SimsJun 7, 2024
There are no quick cuts here, no goofy ways of hiding gore from the audience: Nash wants the viewer to engage with the pure terror of what’s going on just as much as he wants them to sit in the tedium of it. Read full review
75
SlashfilmBJ ColangeloApr 8, 2024
If there's any true criticism to be found with In A Violent Nature, it's that the "Friday the 13th" and "Texas Chain Saw Massacre" video games exist, diluting the inventiveness of the first-person perspective a little bit. But for those who've never played those games, In A Violent Nature will feel wholly unique. Fortunately, even if you have played these games, the film is still a hell of a lot of fun. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMay 28, 2024
The payoffs are worth it — if you’ve got the stomach for them. Read full review
70
VarietyDennis HarveyApr 25, 2024
Its stripped-down approach to a familiar gist has a distinctiveness that is impressive, and is sure to please fans who are always up for a new slasher film — but wish most of them weren’t so interchangeable. Read full review
70
PolygonAusten GoslinJan 30, 2024
For horror fans, it’s a rare treat and a fantastic exercise in taking a genre in the opposite direction that everyone else has tried. Read full review
63
Washington PostJen YamatoMay 31, 2024
It’s frustrating and distracting when flat direction, inconsistent effects and wooden acting break the spell, making it more and more of a slog to stay interested as Johnny slices and dices his way through the film’s 94-minute run time. Read full review
60
EmpireJohn NugentJul 15, 2024
This is a bold, unusual and gorgeously realised take on the very familiar slasher template — even if it doesn’t quite live up to its innovative promise. Read full review
60
Little White LiesHannah StrongJul 12, 2024
The film’s final scene is also a chilling subversion of normal expectations for the climax of a campground slasher, but the lacklustre 90 minutes that precede it mean that by the time we trudge to the forest’s boundaries, there’s little reason to care who comes out of the blood bath on top. Read full review
60
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisMay 30, 2024
Claiming inspiration (in the film’s press notes) from Terrence Malick and others, Nash has attempted an ambitious blend of art house and slaughterhouse whose rug-pulling ending will polarize, even as its moody logic prevails. Read full review
60
Screen RantGraeme GuttmannApr 25, 2024
Writer and director Chris Nash's In A Violent Nature may be the first slasher in a long time to truly deconstruct the genre in a way that feels surprising, even if the results of its experiment are mixed. Read full review
58
The Film StageJohn FinkApr 25, 2024
This isn’t quite a nuanced study in violence, despite its title. Shot in northern rural Ontario, Canada in a generic backwoods called White Pines, the film ultimately feels hollow despite the deliberate cinematography by Pierce Derks. Read full review
50
IndieWireDavid EhrlichApr 25, 2024
It’s a breathless ending, but the juice hardly feels worth the squeeze by the dying minutes of a noble failure that trims all of the trappings off of the slasher genre until there’s nothing left but a monster, an old mask, and — in Nash — a seriously promising talent who could use a little bit more to work with next time. Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeyJul 11, 2024
This is the trouble with nihilism as a foundation for horror: it can’t quicken the pulse, drum up scares, or elicit any fruitful response from the viewer at all. Being impressed with a whole lot of nothing doesn’t mean we are. Read full review
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