You're Next - Review
You're Next Review
By Bill Gordon
"You’ve gone back in time to an 80’s slasher, apart from this time… the female lead kicks ass"
Many people will look at the trailer for ‘You’re Next’ and
see a clichéd and recycled home invasion horror, and many people will pass on
it. You will probably get people going
in expecting some ultra-scary paranoia fuelled home invasion jump-fest, and
unfortunately they will be disappointed.
Adam Wingard’s (A Horrible Way to Die, V/H/S 1&2) latest entry is clear proof that sometimes things aren’t what they seem. What is disguised as an unoriginal concept is
actually an intensely thrilling, funny and surprising 90minutes.
The Davison family all reunite at their family home in the
middle of nowhere, bringing their partners, to celebrate the 35th
anniversary of parents, Aubrey (Barbara Crampton - Re-Animator, From Beyond)
and Paul (Rob Moran). Unfortunately
their dinner plans are ruined when they come under attack by a gang of
mysterious killers in animals masks.
Unfortunately for these killers, one of the guests isn’t going to sit
around and do nothing, harbouring secret skills.
After a bloody opening which you can expect from most home
invasion horrors, we see the parent’s arrival at their huge family home,
surrounded by wilderness. It practically
screams “INVADE MY HOME”. While prepping
the house for the guests Aubrey here’s footsteps from upstairs. What you expect from most horror films is for
the character to hear the noise, reassure themselves that it’s probably nothing
and carry on with what they’re doing. But
‘You’re Next’ isn’t your average horror.
Instead, Aubrey immediately informs Paul, saying that “there is someone
in the house” and that they should “leave now”.
It all makes so much sense. While
Paul goes to look for the source of the noise they are interrupted by the
arrival of their son, Crispian (AJ Bowen – A Horrible Way to Die, The House of
The Devil) and his girlfriend, Erin (Sharni Vinson – Home and Away, Bait). The common sense you witness from Aubrey is
sheer proof that ‘You’re Next’ is a bit more of a realistic approach to what we
still assume is an unoriginal concept.
Once the rest of the family and their partners arrive, we are gifted
with some hilarious sibling rivalry, which flows nicely and feels genuine. Despite them being “mature” adults, the
arguments still overflow into the moment when they’re all under attack; with
each sibling arguing over who can run the fastest in a child-like manner, which
supplies many laughs for the audience, followed shortly by some shocks which
you see coming yet still leaves audience members with their hands placed over
their mouths in surprise.
What ‘You’re Next’ succeeds in is keeping the mystery
flowing. From the beginning of the film
you know there is more behind it, and you’re left thinking throughout, once you
think you’re on to something they throw it out the window. While you’re going all Sherlock Holmes on the
characters, figuring out the truth behind all the events, Adam Wingard throws
the story on its side, with a role reversal; the hunters becoming the hunted,
making it feel a lot like a slasher film in reverse, with elements of ‘Home Alone’. Eventually, the film comes to a small halt,
and you think your questions are answered.
For a split second it seems as if they got lazy with the script, until
you realise that the full answer to the question isn’t there, providing us with
more questions. We are greeted with more
chuckles as these intruders start to realise they may have met their match;
answering the question many probably ask themselves: what if one of those
killers in a horror movie actually picked the wrong victim to mess with? It’s
refreshing seeing a female lead that isn’t screaming helplessly. Instead, she uses logic and reacts to the
events in an intelligent manner, never making a stupid decision, resulting in a
lack of audience members shouting something along the lines of “DON’T GO IN
THERE!”
Although ‘You’re Next’ isn’t exactly scary, there are some
nice uses of cinematography, whether it’s blurring out the scenery behind the
character helping build the tension and paranoia as to whether they are alone
or not, a character meeting their gruesome end, seen only in glimpses through
the flashing of a camera or seeing the reflection of an animal mask neatly displayed
on a window as they watch, the victim unaware of their presence. During the final act, the majority of the
scenes are overlapped with a retro-techno 80’s soundtrack, making it feel a lot
like you’ve gone back in time to an 80’s slasher, apart from this time… the
female lead kicks ass.
Eventually everything is laid out in front of you. It is full of surprises you didn’t see
coming, with an inevitable and realistic finale, provided with just a few more
laughs to settle the audience down after a harrowing and intense final
stand. The best way to experience
‘You’re Next’ is to go in completely blind and open minded. I had not watched any of the trailers
(through choice), I had only seen the posters, and I was pleasantly surprised. There are the usual jump-scares which are
enough to keep you clinging on to the edge of your seat but ‘You’re Next’
doesn’t succeed through trying to scare its audience, it succeeds through
displaying an effective, enclosed location mystery thriller, with some
painfully realistic special effects. If ‘The Strangers’ and ‘Scream’ had a baby, it
would resemble ‘You’re Next’; it is surprising, full of twist and turns, darkly
funny, gripping and intelligent. This
isn’t your average home invasion horror, it is so much more and what a treat it
is.
4/5
You're Next will be released in cinemas across the UK from the 28th of August 2013.
Follow Bill on Twitter: @2FlashGordon7
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