In A Violent Nature
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From 2nd Unit to Second Shoot: DP Pierce Derks on In a Violent Nature
Abel Ferrara has said, “In movie making, money is no excuse. It doesn’t cost anything to set up a cool looking shot.” In a Violent Nature is the embodiment of that credo. A deconstruction of the slasher genre, the movie tells a familiar story from an unfamiliar point of view as the camera stays with its undead killer Johnny (adorned in a vintage fireman’s mask and armed with a pair of logging hooks) as he traipses through the forest from victim to victim. The film poses the question, as director Chris Nash puts it, “What if Gus Van Sant directed a […]
by Matt Mulcahey on Jun 6, 2024 -
“Instead of Fighting Those Limitations, I Had to Learn to Embrace Them”: DP Pierce Derks on In A Violent Nature
Sundance 2024 Midnight selection In A Violent Nature puts a twist on the slasher film by sticking with its killer rather than its victim. Shot in woods of Northern Ontario, much of the film consists of one figure navigating that locale rather than advancing the story in the tried-and-true methods associated with the genre. Below, cinematographer Pierce Derks discusses the difficulties of shooting in such a remote location and how, with limited equipment, the crew found a setup that achieved the look that they wanted. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 22, 2024 -
“He’s an Articulation of the Environment, an Unforgiving Force of Nature” | Chris Nash, In A Violent Nature
Films are made of and from places: the locations they are filmed in, the settings they are meant to evoke, the geographies where they are imagined and worked on. What place tells its own story about your film, whether a particularly challenging location that required production ingenuity or a map reference that inspired you personally, politically or creatively? In A Violent Nature is a slasher-in-the-woods horror film, but told from the perspective of Johnny instead of the cannon fodder in his way. The setting of In A Violent Nature was based on the area of Northern Ontario where I was raised, […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 22, 2024 -
“Like If Pablo Larrain’s Jackie Was About Jason Voorhees”: Editor Alex Jacobs on In A Violent Nature
In a Violent Nature, the directorial debut of Chris Nash and a Sundance 2024 Midnight selection, puts a twist on the slasher film by staying close to the killer. Instead of the shenanigans in the secluded cabin with vaguely menacing sounds from outside, it shows us the killer trekking toward the distant voices. The film also marks the graduation of editor Alex Jacobs, who worked on titles, graphics and credits on the V/H/S film to lead editor on another director’s project. Below, he shares his serendipitous introduction to the director and how his love of lo-fi beats helped him in editing. […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 22, 2024
