Shudder Day: In A Violent Nature (2024)

 A Film that flips the Script.
In this case, it is pretty literally.

This is...

The Film is a riff on Films like Friday the 13th, The Burning and Bloody Murder.  Okay, maybe not that last one.

In any event, we see a killer rise from you grave...but this time we are specifically following him.

The Plot of a Masked Killer Hacks Up 'Teens' in the Forest' Film plays out, but we only see it (mostly) from his perspective.

That means long walks in the Forest, only bits of exposition and usually only meeting the Leads when they are about to be murdered.

One of said Leads took a necklace from the killer's grave, which freed his spirit.

They exposition dump at a Camp Fire (in a way that kind of cheats the setup) about how he was killed by accident and came back for revenge.

10 years later, he's up again and starts taking them out.

This unique view of the Film lends itself to some interesting visuals.

The high point for me is the Lake Scene, which is a slow build to an understated Death Scene.

The next one, is well, whatever the opposite of understated is.  Very Stated?  

Shouted, I guess?

Either way, I won't forget it?

Who will live?  Who will die?
To find out, stream the Film now.

A Film that really gets summed up by one phrase- choices were made.

Early on, the Film is a bit slow.  The choice to solely follow the slow-moving killer is one that will give you mixed results.

Once you get into things, the Plot is interesting enough and you know just enough about the killer to at least understand him.  
Unlike Jason Voorhees killing Camp Counselors a few Decades after the ones that failed him, this guy has a goal and clear motivations.

It's a Film that really works when it is good and really drags when it is bad.  

Simply put, they spend too much time on some Scenes- the prolonged mutilation of one guy OR the 3rd Slow Walk in the Forest- and not enough on others.

As noted, this perspective choice means that we don't get to know the Leads/Victims.  Even if the goal is to subvert expectations, we still need to know the people.

I will also freely admit to skimming through the Ending (mostly because I had to go to work) too.  I get it and it's not bad...but it is a prolonged.

I'm not sure that a Film like this could work twice.  When you fully subvert a Genre once, can you do it again?

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to pitch a new propery to James Gunn- Bee Man!

A Film whose gimmick will make you enjoy some moments...and make you check your phone during others.  It is a neat subversion that I'm still glad that I saw though.