8/10
Evil Dead retains its crown as 2013’s bloodiest film, but You’re
Next is something Evil Dead is not; it is a quality
horror film. You’re Next arrives with
plenty of blood splatter for the gore fans and a kitchen full of sharp objects
with which to maim a human body. It also
has a script full of originality and wit packaged within the old standbys of an
isolated house of horrors with cast members dropping one by one.
Celebrating their 35th
anniversary, Paul (Rob Moran) and Aubrey (Barbara Crampton) head out to the
sticks to their second, and extremely isolated, home. Their four kids show up one by one with their
significant others and soon we have a house full of folks, mostly related,
already grating on each other’s nerves.
The opening dinner is so full of tension and unspoken hostilities that
when the first crossbow arrow flies through the dining room window we are more
than ready for most of this family to bite the dust.
Who are the attackers? They do not speak, they do not hesitate, and
they wear animal masks. What makes You’re
Next so effective as an indie addition to the home invasion genre is
not the brutality of the sequential murders, but one character’s reaction to
them. Erin (Sharni Vinson) is the
Australian girlfriend of one of the sons, college professor Crispian (AJ
Bowen). Instead of screaming and cowering
after the attacks begin, she emerges as the most resourceful asset in the
house.
The reasons behind her skillful dodges
and counterattacks are quite silly when explained, but it does not lessen the
audience’s enjoyment as she consistently foils the masked attackers and saves
her own skin. Just as the menacing bad
guys are adept with crossbows, machetes, and axes, Erin holds her own with
nails, a chicken masher, and even a blender.
Writer Simon Barrett’s (V/H/S, 2012) imagination was working
on overdrive as dreamed up unique situation after situation to keep the
relentless body count from boring and/or numbing the audience.
Director Adam Wingard opens You’re
Next with a bang, takes the time to introduce our extended cast, and
then mercifully launches in with the bloodbath before the audience gets a
chance to check their watch. Populating
the cast with other indie filmmakers is a tongue in cheek move by Wingard. An early casualty to open the film is horror
director Larry Fessenden, Crispian’s jackass older brother, Drake, is played by
director Joe Swanberg, and director Ti West plays Tariq, the significant other
to the family’s only daughter, Amy (Amy Seimetz). Recognize the name Amy Seimetz? She took the indie world by storm this year
making a name for herself in Upstream Color.
You’re Next scores in part because it’s not another remake or
sequel which have bombarded movie screens lately, it’s not ghosts or spirits
causing the mayhem, and the writer really took the time to think it
through. Even though heads and limbs fly
across the room now and again, there is some laughter involved and an
unforgettable scene with a girl attempting to initiate a sensual moment with
her boyfriend while there is a noticeable brutally murdered relative sharing
the same bed. Go ahead, enjoy yourself; You’re
Next will give you a lot to talk about at the water cooler tomorrow.
Directed by: Adam Wingard
Written by: Simon Barrett
Starring: Sharni Vinson, Nicholas Tucci, Wendy Glenn, AJ Bowen, Joe Swanberg, Margaret Laney, Amy Seimetz, Ti West, Rob Moran, Barbara Crampton
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ReplyDeleteYou're Next is awesome and Sharni Vinson is my favorite Horror Heroine. I just love her in this
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