Review of You're Next (2013) by Aus10B — 03 Sep 2013

Home invasion stories have played a pivotal role in the progression of horror films for quite some time now. However, home invasion films don't necessarily have to be pure horror movies. Some just want to entertain, more than scare. Adam Wingard's latest horror-thriller film”You're Next” wants to do just that.

If you're not familiar with “You're Next”, let me just start off by saying that this film is actually a two year-old and independently made film, that first premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2011 and had since rose to critical acclaim, with many critics mentioning the films refreshing tone in the horror genre. After the film festival, the rights were suddenly purchased by Lionsgate and the film was, mysteriously, shelved for two years. I'm going to mention that “You're Next” is more of a thriller than it is a horror movie. (It just has some horror aspects to it) So if you're going into this only expecting to be scared, then don't bother with this film. Go watch “The Conjuring” instead if you haven't seen that already. Now, on to the review:

PLOT: The plot for “You're Next” is fairly simple, but it's more interesting that you'd expect. Even if the film first seems like your average run-of-the-mill horror film. This is how the story goes:

“When a gang of masked, ax-wielding murderers descend upon the Davidson family reunion, the hapless victims seem trapped... until an unlikely guest of the family proves to be the most talented killer of all.”.

So why is “You're Next” interesting? Well, like the synopsis says, things switch gears once everything starts happening, as that certain unlikely guest shows her “talents” from get-go. And I will say, that twist was truly unexpected! That one twist alone is what makes this film so unique and refreshing compared to your everyday run-of-the-mill horror film. In other horror films, there may have been leading ladies that have attempted to attack their killer, but they usually scream and run off after their first strike and end up not knowing what their going to do next. This certain lead, however, knows exactly what to do once the carnage ensues! And she wants these killers dead, and will stop at nothing until they are all dead! She sets traps, commences sneak attacks, and even fights the killers head-on! This certain character may very well be the best female lead yet, and unlike many other female leads in other countless horror films, we are truly invested in her survival!

There are some other neat aspects to the plot of “You're Next” than just it's fantastic leading lady though. I think it's cool that the killers are humanized instead of just being our same-old mindless, killing machines without personality like we've seen a hundred times before! These killers also have a real motive for attacking this certain family. The killers are smart too, as they employ many cool strategies in order to kill their victims as fast as possible, like using trip wires and a cell phone jammer! (Though they did forget to count on one thing... our leading lady!).

Even with some predictable plot twists, the story of “You're Next” is still head-above-shoulders compared to many other films in it's genre!

ACTING: This is a low-budget film, so you can kind of expect the acting to be a little mediocre. And it is for the most part. The somewhat mediocre acting may ward off some viewers, although I, myself, forgive the acting, considering the fact that this film is low-budget and independently made. I mean, you can't expect to get great actors if your film is on a low budget and have no help from a studio.

CINEMATOGRAPHY: The cinematography is excellent, with many cool and creepy shots through-out! Cinematographer Andrew Palmero took a lot of time and effort into shooting this film, as he really shows us his talent behind the camera. The only downside to his work is that the camera is slightly unsteady at times. A minor problem, but it would have been nice if he could of maintained a little more self-control.

SCRIPT: The scriptwriting is absolutely brilliant! The dialogue is believable, the use of dark humor is effective and times in just right, and believe it not, this films does contain a lot of logic and reasoning. (With the exception of a couple scenes) It may not be apparent at first, but the logic is there.

EDITING: There's not much to be said about editing. The only thing that comes to mind is that it would have been nice if the film could pay more attention to a few scenes, but Adam did state in an interview that he couldn't focus too much on certain scenes since because the budget wasn't big enough. Well, gotta keep within the budget, I guess.

SOUNDTRACK: “You're Next” contains a cool 80's style electronic score that always times in at the right moment. The score fits the mood of the film, and to every situation that's going on! A truly great score, I thought.