You're Next (2013) - Film Review

Director: Adam Wingard

Starring:Sharni Vinson, Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen, Nicholas Tucci, Wendy Glenn, Amy Seimetz, Barbra Compton

 

Rating: Rated R for strong bloody violence, language, and some sexuality/nudity

When the Davison family comes under attack during their wedding anniversary getaway, the gang of mysterious killers soon learns that one of victims harbors a secret talent for fighting back.

 

 

 Initial Reaction:

Late August, Early September has become the usual release date of lackluster horror films such as last years "The Possession" and the year before that's "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" and the incredibly bad "Apollo 18." After the big summer movies so far this year, Hollywood usually uses this time to let the schedule breathe before the upcoming release of Oscar caliber films.  Before the release of "You're Next" my knowledge of the film was pretty lacking as it was released almost two years ago on the film festival circuit to a lot of praise from critics and horror fans alike. The two year gap was what worried me the most about this film as if a studio let your film sit around for 2 years then it probably means they didn't have faith that it was that good. When the first trailer was released for "You're Next" I was instantly intrigued. The film seemed to be like "The Strangers" on speed which was definitely not a bad thing. Films like these have the potential to go two ways with either following in the footsteps of "The Strangers" or could go into the path of this summer's "The Purge" that featured a similar premise to lackluster execution. With "You're Next" officially be seen I can say with no hesitation that this movie was great, thrilling, full of gore, and just about everything a slasher fan can ask out of the genre.  If the film lacked in any real department it would probably be in the acting and the general plot, but if you are in it just for the pure horror aspect you will definitely be entertained.

Plot: (4/5)

The set-up of the film is generally simple. A family comes together at their father's retirement home for the celebration of their parents 35th anniversary and chaos ensues. The set-up while interesting getting to see these characters interact and introduced it could almost feel like filler until we hit the main stage of the film. Once the film enters into the main story it takes off at full speed. Also to keep the film fresh the film does take off into different directions that I didn't see coming and in film like this its just an added bonus. The film also features the primary protagonist played by Sharni Vinson who we basically see the whole film from her perspective and her story was actually more entertaining then I first imagined. Horror films so often try to throw a female protagonist to be this hardcore fighter and in this film it worked because we got to learn so much about the character that she became more versatile by the end. The primary story with these people haunting the family was also very thrilling as they prove to be some of the more frightful villains in horror movies as more of their story is revealed the more you become entangled in their story as well. The story infolds in such a great way that in the 90min run time you never feel bored in the action and that's a great thing for a horror movie.

Directing: (3.5/5)

The film is directed by Adam Wingard who is mostly known for more smaller independent horror films such as "Horrible Ways to Die" and the V/H/S movies, and that type of vibe can really be seen in "You're Next". Horror films have almost became so mainstream that it really is a refreshing change of pace to see a more grounded filmmaking approach to the film. It definitely makes the film more horrifying. Being filmed cheap things such as the gore effects can be seen as cheap. It's not bad its just a small gripe that can take you out of the movies some times. There is also a killing with a blender that might be one of the worst killing scenes ever. The scene was just highly implausible and didn't fit with the rest of the structure of the film and that's where my biggest complaint with the film comes in the writing. The film is written by Simon Barrett who is a frequent collaborator of the director's who can be seen pulling into two directions with the director as he is moving the film in a more fresher direction while he takes the film into more generic tropes of the genre. The dialogue the family spouts off with each other is laughable at some points but once the film hits the major plot the story overtakes those many aspects and that's a really good measure of the director Adam Wingard who I hope is moved into the mainstream and can start delivering better horror movies.

Acting: (3/5)

The film features a mainly unknown cast as the actors are friends of the director that he took up for a week into the mountains to film the movie. While it is a creative and cost efficient way to film it sometimes damages the film having less talented actors and that definitely hurts the film here. Just about all the actors in this film were not good they sometimes were so laughable it hurt in their actor. The actors that had the least to say were actually the best ones which I'm not sure what it means. Some people have been commented as calling it atrocious which I wouldn't call it that bad as I don't expect much in the form of acting in horror films so but it is noticeable that these aren't the best of actors in the film. The one standout in the film is Sharni Vinson who plays the main heroine of the film and I believe she gives the best performance on a few counts. She is the most fleshed out character and seems the most natural in the cast and didn't come off as acting and was actually seen as the character and not the actress Sharni Vinson playing a role. The three actors who also played the characters were very good. They did their job perfect as menacing and frightening antagonists which always works best in the favor of a horror movie.

Recommendation/Replay Ability: (3.5/5)

If you are a fan of horror movies in general you will definitely have a good time with "You're Next". The film does feature gore which may be off-putting to some horror fans but the gore isn't in your face like Saw and Hostel and I believe in this film was handled in a better movie. The story of the movie actually makes the movie enjoyable and the grounded directing make it even more frightening. If you let go of some of the easy to judge plot twists and the poor acting of the supporting casts you can definitely enjoy "You're Next"

 

 

 

 

 

 Final Grade:  3.5 (B+)