You're Next (2011- released wide in 2013)
Starring: AJ Bowen, Joe Swanberg, Sharni Vinson
Writer: Simon Barrett
Director: Adam Wingard
Well, the records are in, and You’re Next didn't do as well as us fans would've liked it to. However, It made well enough past its
low budget, so I can happily consider that a win for horror, and for Adam
Wingard and Simon Barrett, as well. Those dudes deserve success more than some people
who already have it. Home Invasion isn't new by any stretch, but this film had
enough going for it to keep me excited. It was just simply a fucking fun
flick.
Now, onto something else before I get into the review. A
friend blogger of mine brought up the fact that they weren't looking forward to
seeing the dreaded “O” word after the weekend. They were speaking of “Overrated”.
Had the movie done better, said word would probably be running fucking rampant
right now. I've heard mostly good buzz, but “Hype” and “Overrated” have shown
their ugly heads more than a few times since Friday. Look, everyone at one
point or another is guilty of buying into hype. Sometimes it’s hard not to, but
I've tried my best to leave that shit behind me. Some people seem to let these
words cloud their own final judgment of a movie, and I don’t think that’s fair.
Hype does not make a movie any better or worse than what your own feelings for
it are… at least, it shouldn't. Believing a film is overrated is kind of like
dismissing the opinions of people who felt that it was good enough to brag
their asses off about it. We don’t all share the same brain, thankfully. And
even if a mass number of people told you a movie was goddamn amazing, you’re
entitled to think otherwise, but that doesn't mean that you should assume that
everyone that loved it is full of shit.
I've also read that we the fans want a good horror movie so desperately
that we’re willing to embrace a film like You’re Next, which is passable at
best. Seriously? I wonder when someone says something like this if they ever
think that maybe, you know, some of us genuinely like the fuck out of the film?
We’re not all poseurs searching hard for horror scene points, talking a movie
up just because it’s the cool thing to do. I legitimately enjoyed the ever
living shit out of You’re Next. I felt like a goddamn teenager again while I
was in the theater watching it. There were a few times where I was even gasping
because I found certain things to be so awesome. I’m not trying to tell anyone
else they should feel the same exact way; I’m just giving my honest opinion of
it, and when I read shit like the starter for this paragraph, I kind of take
offense to it. I’m all for people liking whatever they want to like, and hating
whatever they want to hate… but can we please ditch all the bullshit of stating
opinions as if they’re facts about the fans, rather than the movies
themselves? It’s fucking tired.
Anyway, moving on.
I was made known of Adam Wingard two years ago through a
friend on my Facebook page. He requested that I seek out and review Home Sick
and Pop Skull, and this was right around the time A Horrible Way to Die dropped
on DVD. I took them all in, I wanna say in the same week. Fell in love with them,
reviewed them and thanked my friend. Been a fan ever since. So, I've been
pumped for You’re Next ever since news of it broke, and pictures started
popping up online, which now seems like moons ago. The sheer fact that a
Wingard/Barrett movie got a large release in theaters is still really exciting
to me, even if it wasn't a weekend hit.
The plot is by no means new, but I don’t feel like Wingard and Barrett’s objective was to reinvent the wheel. To me it just seemed
like they wanted to make a super fun and badass action horror film, and that’s
what I got out of it. The story is about the Davisons. They meet up for a reunion
at an isolated vacation house. Once the whole family arrives, they all sit down for
dinner. As with any other dysfunctional unit, an argument develops. Directly afterward, the shit really hits the fan, as there are masked aggressors outside firing
arrows through the windows. What the antagonists don’t realize is that one of
the guests makes Rambo look like the pussy that Tango said he was, and that their hands are more full than they
could ever have imagined.
While there is so much more to it, that’s really all that
can be said. The less known, the better. Simon Barrett’s storytelling
absolutely kills. There’s a good amount of funny moments, but he never spends
too much time on them. Anytime hilarity ensues, something batshit insane and
out of nowhere happens. The characters aren't super fleshed out, but you
know enough to fall in love with some of them. For such a simple concept, Barrett really fucking runs with it like a goddamn gazelle.
Acting is on point. AJ Bowen is as good as always, and Joe
Swanberg shredded it here just like he did in A Horrible Way to Die. Sharni
Vinson is fucking amazing, to say the least, and it was super nice to see
Barbara Crampton. She nails her role, and is still a beaut.
There’s a similar style of shaky cam as there was in A
Horrible Way to Die. I tend to think of the use of shaky cam in a Wingard movie
to be a bit different than with other film makers who use it. It’s honestly
hard to explain. Instead of taking me out of the moment like some films do, A Horrible Way to Die and You’re Next catapulted me more into the stories. I
truly felt like I was in the dining room where the shit gets nuts. There’s a
ton of great shots, particularly outside the gorgeous Davison house. Definitely a well captured film, through and through.
Fantasy Creations FX and The Creature Company do up the
carnage of You're Next. For the most part, it’s a pretty old school approach. I’m not
gonna sit here and give away anything, but fuck, there’s some intense shit
going on, and even one device I’ll say I've never seen put to use the way it
was. Fucking awesome.
The soundtrack is another really high point for You’re Next.
I’m huge on music in film, and this one has a badass score. I got vibes of
Manfredini, Carpenter, and Goblin, which pretty much to me equals a fucking
orgy in my ears. I didn't want it to stop. I wanted it to be playing when I got
in my car to leave the theater. Sadly, it wasn't. Also, the jam “Looking For
the Magic” is forever etched into my brain because of this movie, and I’m
certainly not complaining. Fucking catchy as all get-out!
I’m gonna finish up here and say that unless something comes
along within the next 4 months and just sweeps me straight the fuck off my
feet, You’re Next will go down as my favorite horror flick of the year. And it’s
not because I’m settling for mediocrity. It’s because I thought it
was completely badass, and I cannot wait to watch it again and again and again
and so on.
- Brobocop Entering Sleep Mode
- Brobocop Entering Sleep Mode
