In A Violent Nature's Brutal Kills Were The Work Of One Under-Sung Horror Genius

Tom Savini. Rick Baker. Dick Smith. Rob Bottin. Ve Neill. Stan Winston.

The world of special effects makeup often feels like a dying art, with studios and streamers increasingly pursuing CGI and digital FX over practical artistry. Now, there is absolutely room for both styles and different films call for different methods, but gone are the days where the average moviegoer can recognize the name of a special effects makeup artist. Diehard fans are, of course, the exception to the rule, and there's at least one name that horror fanatics all know by heart and are stoked as hell to see on an end credits crawl: Steven Kostanski.

For the uninitiated, Steven Kostanski is one of the most fascinating voices in genre cinema working today. His films "The Void" and "Psycho Goreman" are both well-loved favorites, he finally gave the "Leprechaun" franchise a solid film with "Leprechaun Returns," and Kostanski's work as part of the Astron-6 film collective ("Father's Day," "Manborg," "Bio-Cop," etc.) helped usher in a renewed desire for more inventive, practical effects in horror films. When he's not working on his own projects, Kostanski has become one of the most desirable SFX and prosthetics artists in the game, lending his talents to DC's "Suicide Squad," episodes of "Star Trek: Discovery" and "Hannibal," and even big-budget horror films like "Crimson Peak" and "It Chapter One."

Despite his successes working for some of the major players in the entertainment industry, his DIY roots are still as strong as ever. Kostanski was the special effects lead and head of prosthetics on the horror indie hit, "In a Violent Nature," and, as it turns out, one of the earliest conversations director Chris Nash had about bringing the film to life took place on the set of "Psycho Goreman."

In a recent interview with The AV Club, Kostanski mentioned that he and Nash had been friends for years in the Toronto film and FX scene, and Nash had even done some creature effects on "Psycho Goreman," including "applying the PG makeup and the suits and gags and things." Nash brought up the idea for "In A Violent Nature" while working on set, and the next thing you know, producers Shannon Hanmer and Peter Kuplowsky were on board to get the film made, pitching it to everyone's favorite horror streaming platform, Shudder.

As I learned from my own interview with Nash, "In A Violent Nature" had to reshoot its first four weeks of production, which meant Kostanski was on set at multiple points of production. He sculpted the different looks of the film's slasher, Johnny, and provided all of the lifecasts of the actors for the absolutely brutal kills. Lest we forget, this is a movie that has been reportedly causing audience members to throw up in the theater, so you know those effects look good. For as much discussion as there has been about the arthouse approach to slasher cinema for much of the runtime, "In A Violent Nature" never forgets that this slasher needs some jaw-dropping kill sequences. For the film's wildest kill (which I will kindly refer to as the "Yoga Girl Death" as to avoid spoilers), Kostanski and the rest of the SFX team made multiple body replicas of the victim to ensure the kill would look its absolute best. Kostanski was sadly not on set on the actual day of shooting due to the reshoots shifting the schedule, but he still provided much of the gag's materials to help pull it off.

It's clear when watching "In A Violent Nature" that both Kostanski and Nash come from DIY and SFX backgrounds because the film is shot in a way that ensures the kill gags are the focus of a scene. Not to mention, a huge chunk of the film takes place in broad daylight, which means the crew has a harder time hiding things like blood pumps, tubing, strings, and replacement body parts. But with Kostanski as the SFX lead, these effects look as gnarly and realistic as humanly possible, which is precisely what a subversive slasher like this deserves.

Kostanski has said in the past that a sequel to "Psycho Goreman" isn't out of the realm of possibility, which is great news for anyone desperate for more of horror's favorite deadly alien warrior fan of hunky boys. But until then, Kostanski is about to start production on the latest installment of the "Deathstalker" franchise, and his feature film "Frankie Freako" is hopefully going to be unleashed on the world soon.

The latter reunites many of the Astron-6 crew, with Conor Sweeney in the lead role as a man who accidentally welcomes in "a trio of tiny trouble-makers into his home, led by the maniacal rock-n-roll party monster Frankie Freako." The film is said to be a send-up of horror comedy creature features like "Gremlins," and also features Adam Brooks in a starring role. And don't worry, there will be plenty of practical creepies to enjoy in that film too.

"In A Violent Nature" is currently playing in theaters.