Every so often, I will encounter a film that really surprises me. I'll sit down all ready to watch a movie and think I know what I'm in for and then the film manages to pull the rug out from me and really, genuinely surprise me. That was what happened when I watched the film You're Next. From the ridiculous title to the overly familiar home invasion horror film set-up, I thought I knew how this movie was going to play out. Much to my surprise, the filmmakers anticipated this and repeatedly threw in curveball after curveball, keeping me on my toes the whole way through.
The Davison family is gathering at their large, rural country home to celebrate the wedding anniversary of their parents, Aubrey and Paul (played by Barbara Crampton and Rob Moran). Their son Crispian (played by A.J Bowen) is bringing his girlfriend Erin (played by Sharni Vinson) home to meet his family for the first time. Also arriving are Crispian's two brothers, Felix (played by Nicholas Tucci) and Drake (played by Joe Swanberg) As the family gathers for dinner, old rivalries between the siblings begin to re-emerge. Just as the tempers begin to flair, crossbow bolts start sailing through the dining room windows, attacking the family. The house is under attack by three lethal killers in animal masks. The Davisons have an unexpected ace up their sleeve in Erin though. She quickly springs into action, getting the family out of the line of fire and securing the house. However, their cell phone signals are jammed and with no way to call for help, they need to figure out a way to get help while also fending off the attacks of the three killers outside.
That's it, that's all the plot summary you're getting from me on this one. Director Adam Wingard and screenwriter Simon Barrett created a brutal and thrilling horror flick with a liberal dose of dark humor. They seem to relish in planting surprises for who they know their main audience will be, horror buffs. There were scenes that were set up for me to expect one thing only to be completely caught off guard when it was something else entirely. The film is still a home invasion film and it does follow those genre conventions to an extent, but at the same time knows when to tweak those expectations and play with the audience.
One thing the film doesn't do is make their characters complete morons. There may be some desperate actions made by some characters, but given the situation, I can see why they made those decisions. Especially with the character of Erin. I think a big reason why I loved this movie was her character. There has been an annoying trend in movies like this where the heroine will hit the killer once or twice, the killer slumps over and the heroine drops the weapon and wanders off only to be attacked again. This always drove me crazy in movies and this film finally addresses this with a marvelous (and brutal) scene where Erin doesn't do that and instead repeatedly wails on her attacker until she basically caves his head in. The first time I watched this movie I wanted to stand up and cheer because that is exactly what you should do in that situation. She continues to show a fantastic level of ingenuity and cleverness throughout the film that I don't think I've seen in a horror movie since Nancy Thompson in A Nightmare on Elm Street.
You're Next is a visceral and at times grisly horror film that also at times has it's tongue firmly planted in it's cheek as it blends dysfunctional drama with a slasher movie creating a strange but entertaining brew of a film. It's a nasty and twisted little film and I have to admit I enjoyed every minute of it.
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