Review of You're Next (2013) by Ryley L — 25 Mar 2015

Adam Wingard isn't exactly known for being subtle when it comes to his films that are geared almost precisely towards being a certain kind of retro homage. The Guest (2014) was a melting pot of genres that spanned from action to horror, and You're Next isn't any different other than the difference being how closely it sticks towards being a clear-cut homage and love letter by Wingard - and screenwriter, Simon Barrett - to the slasher subgenre.

Billed as a slasher and black comedy movie, You're Next slants more towards the former than the latter, as much of the screenplay is largely a miss when it comes to the supposed 'comedy' from the dialogue, acting and characterizations of the insipid characters; though perhaps the ludicrous assumption that You're Next is a black comedy is where the comedic value truly lies within. Yet, if one is to look past how the 'comedy' portions fall short, You're Next is an excellent slasher homage and home invasion thriller even if it doesn't exactly introduce anything new to the horror scene. As with The Guest, Wingard and Barrett prove themselves yet again with how You're Next plays out at an atmospheric level, as it begins awkwardly with the sense of dread that quickly swells to a suffocating degree, and explodes almost euphorically and nihilistically as arrows pierce the skulls that the machete of the killers miss.

The major problem with slasher movies is how it could easily slip into being one-note, and when the premise revolves around a home invasion, the stakes are higher than ever when it comes to crafting a fresh movie that masterfully avoids the pitfalls of the subgenre and horror as a whole. Under the direction and writing of the Wingard-Barrett duo, You're Next avoids falling down the slope that The Purge (2013) did, as they introduce a game changing third act that flips the tables on the killers, credited as "Lamb Mask", "Tiger Mask" and "Fox Mask".

Notwithstanding the appearances of constant collaborators, particularly Ti West and Joe Swanberg, the acting - bar the lead performance by Sharni Vinson - is largely either misplaced or outright terrible, and if the performances in You're Next is put beside those in The Guest, it's quite obvious that the fault lies less on Wingard's direction and more on the actors themselves as their unintentional bad delivery of lines and acting spoils any form of redemption the movie has in terms of performances other than what Vinson puts out as the survivalist female character and the ultimate, badass wrench in the plans of the antagonists.

If the faults with mostly everything except the high impact violence, atmosphere, score, and Vinson is overlooked instead of being shoddily justified as homages to the furiously milked slashers of the '80s, You're Next is very much a literal bloody good time despite being a slasher pastiche.