You’re Next (2011)
Directed by: Adam Wingard
Produced, it is rumoured, especially for the Midnight Madness theme at TIFF 2011, You’re Next presses every single button on the slasher-horror control pad – repeatedly. And that’s not a criticism. Going upstairs alone? Check. Ignoring warnings? Check. He’s behind you? Check. These, and many more, are served up with great style.
The plot revolves around the members of an extended family gathering at a large, remote vacation home for a wedding anniversary, only to find themselves under horrific attack. To be honest, the story is not very different from an average episode of Scooby-Doo (including un-maskings), but with blood. Lots of blood.
Wingard paces the material perfectly, opening with a bang, then allowing a gradual build-up to the real mayhem. If I have a criticism, it’s that the bad-guys could have been a little scarier – but it’s a minor problem. It’s nice to see Sharni Vinson in a kick-ass role: it’s fair to say this represents about as big a break from her Home And Away image as you could imagine.
Yummy.
mmmmmmm, there’s nothing like dramatic irony. nothing. it’s my favorite. and likely why i’m addicted to horror.
cue hot 20-something, scantily clad . . . cue phone call, no-one answers . . . cue knock on door . . . cue rain . . . cue moon evanescing behind ominous, dark clouds . . . cue said hottie answering the door . . . cue audience yelling, frantically warning hottie against opening the door . . . cue psychotic killer shanking hottie . . . cue audience, “awww, i KNEW it!”
ah, good times. good. times.
ps: scarier bad guys? yes, please.
6:24 pm, August 23, 2013| I waited 2 years to see this crap? There are so many tnghis wrong with this movie. SPOILERS AHEAD!!!1. The family was cliche and ridiculous.2. No one reacts realistically to the circumstance. There would be no calming down, there would only be frantic chaos. You damn sure wouldn’t investigate the sound under the bed.3. The only scares were jump scares that quickly wore out their welcome. There was no tension or suspense. The majority of the time you could predict what was coming before it happened.4. Everything happened to be way too convenient. The wire just so happened to be conveniently placed at the right height to cut the girl’s throat. The hero just so happens to have been raised in a survivalist camp in the outback.5. The motive was weak in comparison to killers killing for no apparent reason.6. If the goal is to knock off all the family but leave a witness,then bust open the door, shoot everyone and be done with it.7. One of the killers tips his head to the side and looks at his kill ala Michael Myers. Rather than tribute, it feels like cheap mimicry.8. Fuck me next to your dead mom just because I look moderately goth.9. The final scene was so predictable and lame.I could not be more disappointed. I don’t know why this received rave reviews. If this is the future of horror, I’ll stick with the classics. What a f’n let down.