“Follow Films” | Chris Nash, In A Violent Nature
Ry Barrett as “Johnny” in Chris Nash’s IN A VIOLENT NATURE. Courtesy of Pierce Derks. An IFC Films & Shudder Release.
Co-presented by Music Box of Horrors.
Chris Nash’s In A Violent Nature is a horror film like no other, an ambient slasher that methodically depicts the enigmatic resurrection, rampage, and retribution of an undead monster in a remote wilderness.
When a locket is removed from a collapsed fire tower in the woods that entombs the rotting corpse of Johnny, a vengeful spirit spurred on by a horrific 60-year-old crime, his body is resurrected and becomes hellbent on retrieving it. The undead golem hones in on the group of vacationing teens responsible for the theft and proceeds to methodically slaughter them one by one in his mission to get it back - along with anyone in his way.
Equally indebted to Terrence Malick’s transcendent meditations on nature and the annihilative ravages of the Friday the 13th franchise, this strikingly original and meditative midnighter is screening Saturday, May 4, at 9:45 p.m. at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago (get tickets now), as part of the Chicago Critics Film Festival.
Ahead of In A Violent Nature screening as part of the festival, writer-director Chris Nash graciously took the time to answer this year’s CCFF filmmaker questionnaire. Below, his individual responses.
How did you first become interested in filmmaking? What was your path toward directing your first film?
I first became interested in filmmaking in my early teens, when I realized it was as simple as finding a camera, any camera, and pointing it at something to tell a story. Growing up in a somewhat remote area of Northern Ontario, there weren't many people to point a camera at, so I took to a very rough-and-tumble form of claymation, using my family's hi8 camcorder to tell stories. This evolved into using film and video to complete class projects throughout high school, and eventually led into enrolling into film school, where one of my end-of-the-year short film projects was invited to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Ry Barrett as “Johnny” in Chris Nash’s IN A VIOLENT NATURE. Courtesy of Pierce Derks. An IFC Films & Shudder Release.
What inspired you to make the film you're bringing to the festival?
My taste in film is incredibly broad, but I will always have an affinity for genre-based storytelling. I have always been a fan of slow, more methodic cinema, especially Gus Van Sant's trilogy of "follow films" (Gerry, Elephant, Last Days), and In A Violent Nature was my attempt to bring those aesthetics into the slasher genre.
Tell us about a film that you consider a guiding influence (whether it has informed your overarching vision as a filmmaker, directly informed the title you're bringing to the festival, or both).
My biggest influences have always been musical, which I understand is ironic, considering In A Violent Nature doesn't have a conventional score. Whenever I'm “stuck,” trying to find a visual answer to a certain scene or moment, I usually throw on a record and stare at the wall.
Ry Barrett as “Johnny” in Chris Nash’s IN A VIOLENT NATURE. Courtesy of Pierce Derks. An IFC Films & Shudder Release.
Tell us about a location that's held significance to the film you're bringing to the festival: a setting where filming took place, a geographic area that provided a source of inspiration, or another type of space that comes to mind for you in thinking about the film. What made this place so special?
I'm very influenced by the area of Northern Ontario where I grew up, which is called Algoma. It’s right in the center of the three largest great lakes and has incredible scenery, regardless of the weather. When I wrote In A Violent Nature, I had always envisioned it taking place in this area of the world, and I feel that it comes through in every shot.
Ry Barrett as “Johnny” in Chris Nash’s IN A VIOLENT NATURE. Courtesy of Pierce Derks. An IFC Films & Shudder Release.
The theatrical experience brings us together to celebrate artistic experience and expand our horizons as human beings. Tell us about a memorable theatrical experience from your life.
I grew up 30-45 minutes away from the closest theatre, and my parents had a deal that, if I ever wanted to watch a movie, they would drive me, so long as I paid for gas and bought them a ticket (which was a great deal for them).
After watching Ewen Bremner promoting Trainspotting on Late Night with Conan O’Brien when I was a kid in high school, I noticed it was playing at the theater at 9:45 p.m., every night, for one week only. I only watched a clip and had no idea what it was about (this was still web 1.0 era), but I felt I needed to watch it, so I convinced my dad to go with me.
I loved it but, more importantly, my dad loved it too. The next week, he started coming home from work with whatever PolyGram releases he could find at the local video store: films like The Young Poisoner's Handbook and Shallow Grave, which have had a lasting influence.
Ry Barrett as “Johnny” in Chris Nash’s IN A VIOLENT NATURE. Courtesy of Pierce Derks. An IFC Films & Shudder Release.