HOME SWEET HOME // A FILM REVIEW OF "YOU'RE NEXT"
Horror films seem to be flying at us at an alarming rate. When one is popular, you're almost guaranteed to see a sequel in about...say, five minutes. Often the shocks seem the same, yet we still keep lining up. However, every so often a horror film will scare some originality out of the genre (see The Decent, Cabin in the Woods, The Conjuring). Welcome the latest film to actual surprise, shock, and produce genuine laughs as it racks up the body count around you. And not a single big name actor in sight. YOU'RE NEXT follows Crispian (AJ Bowen) and Erin (Sharni Vinson), a couple on their way to Crispian's parents home for a family get together. All of Crispian's siblings will be there and disorder is absolutely expected. Yet not the kind that ends up coming their way when a group of animal masked killers break into their home and start picking them off one by one. Worst. Family. Reunion. Ever.
Yes we've all seen this before but writer Simon Barrett and Director Adam Wingard (both of V/H/S/2 fame) keep the thrills coming with twist after twist and just as many laughs as there are gruesome body killings. True, the film starts off very slow. In fact, the first 20 minutes had me actually worrying that the hype around the film was just that - "hype." Yet right around the time the family all arrives and sits around the dinner table for a very funny "getting to know you" scene the movie skyrockets off and doesn't let go from there. In fact, minutes later the carnage starts and doesn't let up, even through the final frame. There's a lot of great moment from the cast (Joe Swanberg is delightfully slimy) but the major find her is Sharni Vinson. As the Aussie girlfriend coming to meet her boyfriends family, she tackles the film and knocks it out of the park, fully embodying the genre and morphing into a Zoe Bell/Gina Carano esque badass. The audience I sat in fully cheered her on as her attackers never quite learned that you just don't mess with the quiet, sweet, pissed off Aussie. You're Next takes a bit of time getting off the ground but once it does, it's a smart, bloody, and clever shock. Never again will you look at animal masks the same.
MATEO'S GRADE: B
Directed by Adam Wingard Written by Simon Barrett Starring Sharni Vinson, AJ Bowen, Nicholas Tucci, Wendy Glenn, Joe Swanberg, Margaret Laney, Amy Seimetz, Ti West, Rob Moran, Barbara Crampton, L.C. Holt, Simon Barrett, Lane Hughes Rated R for Sexual Content, Adult Language, Graphic Violence, & Brief Nudity NOW IN THEATRES NATIONWIDE
BOTTOM LINE: Stick through the first 20 minutes. I promise, it gets better. Much, much better.