In a Violent Nature is so gnarly, it reportedly had an audience member vomiting during a screening — it’s a wild story, but not one director Chris Nash can “take any pride” from.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, you’ll likely have heard about the In a Violent Nature hype.
It’s earned an impeccable Rotten Tomatoes score from the critics for its unique hook: the story is told from the killer’s POV. Further hype has been generated by the fact that it’s so brutal, that it’s officially unrated.
And then there’s the intense reaction to early screenings. According to Film Updates, one audience member quite literally vomited during a particularly gory scene.
Audience reacting to a kill from ‘IN A VIOLENT NATURE’ during the Chicago Critics Film Fest screening of the film. An audience member also vomited during the screening. The film, described as a slasher from the killer's perspective, hits theaters on May 31. pic.twitter.com/KGlyC3HFXa
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) May 6, 2024
Dexerto caught up with Nash ahead of the US theatrical release of In a Violent Nature, where we asked about his thoughts on this particular revelation.
“I have no idea whether or not this is true,” he told us. “I can’t take any pride in it, although I’m also not concerned.”
The filmmaker went on to explain that he’s been on the “ground floor” of these types of promotions — it’s not unheard of for certain horror movies to receive headlines claiming viewers fainted or spewed (no doubt this will be happening with Terrifier 3 when it arrives).
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To Nash, he’s not buying it. “During the premiere of Julia Ducournau’s Raw in Toronto, there were reports of patrons fainting. And I know the guy that fainted, and he had a fever heading into that movie.
“He was not well, but he was just such a fan. He was like, ‘I gotta watch this movie.’ And so it was just because he was sick that he fainted. But it doesn’t matter. If you’re sitting down and anything happens to you then that’s the story.”
Even if the vomiting story weren’t true, there’s a lot of brutality to be seen in In a Violent Nature, so much so that it couldn’t even be granted an R rating.
As for why this was the case, Nash said that while it’s hard to tell, it’s most likely down to the movie’s “unrelenting violence.”
“But that was by design. It was supposed to be long and unrelenting, and play out as one long take too,” he added.
The story itself centers on Johnny, a vengeful killer who’s unwittingly resurrected by his new targets: a group of teens staying in the woods.
In a Violent Nature drops in theaters on May 31, 2024, before landing on Shudder later this year. For more horror, check out our roundup of the best horror movies of all time and the horrors to be excited about in 2024. You can also read about why certain people find disturbing, nasty horror comforting.