Parents' Guide to

In a Violent Nature

By Jeffrey M. Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Intensely gory, but also unique, thoughtful slasher movie.

Movie NR 2024 94 minutes
In a Violent Nature Movie Poster: A killer in a mask yanks a hook connected to a chain as something spatters in the air

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

  • In a Violent Nature Movie: A group of friends assembles for a selfie next to a campfire in the woods at night
  • In a Violent Nature Movie: A masked killer stands, back to viewers, at the edge of a ravine, a hook and chain in his hands
  • In a Violent Nature Movie: Aurora does yoga stretches in a clearing as the killer creeps up behind her

Community Reviews

See all
age 15+

Based on 3 parent reviews

Pk M.
Pk M. Adult
June 9, 2024
age 15+

THIS is not a movie worth watching

If you are a fan of the titles Halloween, Jason, Freddy Krueger, This MIGHT be a decent movie for you, but even if you do enjoy horror involving the main character walking around killing everything in sight I still wouldn't recommend this movie my daughter and I enjoy going to the movies and this was a HARD pass. I wouldn't even recommend this as a redox rent. And the ending was horrible as well. Talk of sex was brought up alot in this movie (no actually sex scenes) but enough o feel uncomfortable looking at it with a 12 year old.
Katherine R.
Katherine R. Parent of 10, 14, 18+, 18+, 18+ and 5-year-old
June 4, 2024
age 18+

See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In IN A VIOLENT NATURE, a group of friends is camping in the woods. Some of them stumble on an old fire tower and discover a locket. Thinking it may be valuable, one of them takes it. It's not long before a vicious undead killer known as Johnny crawls from his earthly resting place below the tower to begin a new series of slashings.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (2 ):

This mesmerizing, deliberately paced horror/slasher movie may not scare traditional horror fans, but its unique rhythms and compositions ask fresh, intriguing questions about the bloody genre. The feature writing and directing debut of Chris Nash, who contributed a short to the 2014 ABCs of Death 2 anthology movie, In a Violent Nature is closer to something like Gus Van Sant's Elephant than it is to Friday the 13th Part 2 (though Lauren-Marie Taylor, who appeared in that 1981 slasher classic, shows up here as a good samaritan). Shot in the narrow Academy aspect ratio of 1.37:1, much of the movie takes place from the point of view of the supernatural killer as he stalks endlessly through the woods. There's no music score, so the sounds of thunking footsteps and the swishing of bushes and branches moving aside (and sometimes engines and other unsettling sounds) act as music.

Until the story gets down to the "final girl," we rarely see non-monster characters in close-up or even at all; they're frequently off-camera or out-of-focus and in the distance. Some of the kills—such as two flirtatious campers next to a lake—seem familiar in concept, but in execution, they're drastically different. And a nail-biting final sequence will likely enthrall, irritate, or confuse most viewers. It seems as if Nash wants viewers to ponder what they're watching here and why—and what could possibly be the appeal of slasher movies. Or, perhaps, to go one step further, maybe it's "nature" itself that's a threat. Regardless, In a Violent Nature is a brilliant movie that's worth seeing more than once for further unpacking.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about In a Violent Nature's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?

  • Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of horror movies? Why do people sometimes like to be scared?

  • What are the movie's themes? What is it trying to say about the slasher genre? How is it using the slasher genre to comment on violence more generally?

  • What do you think the movie's title means? Does "nature" refer to a person's nature or to "Mother Nature"? Or both?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate