Trailers can be the worst thing to happen to a movie. In 1:30 minutes, a lasting impressing needs to be made that leaves the audience wanting more. You’re Next is currently suffering from this problem, as its trailers make it look more like a rip off of The Strangers than the incredible experience that it is. You’re Next is a new school slasher film that turns several horror troupes on their heads and features one of the BEST female protagonists that we’ve seen in a long, long time.
Simply broken down, You’re Next follows the Davisons, the WASPy-ist white people you’ve ever seen outside of a satirical comedy, and their much begrudged reunion in the rich country side of White Folk County. There, the dysfunctional family begin to get picked off one by one by unknown “strangers” in animal masks. What begins as a slaughter quickly turns into one against many as the visiting girlfriend Erin (Sharni Vinson) shows a side of her that no one expects, and fights back.
Hands down the best reason to see You’re Next, other than their correct usage of “You’re”, is watching Vinson take charge and be the competent hero of the movie without needing any help from a male character or even acting helpless in the least. The Aussie actress carries the movie, and is someone that audiences will come to care and root for as she fights for her life and the Davisons’. The rest of the cast unfortunately are all given characters that are unlikeable, and their deaths may be the only thing that audiences may enjoy.
The deaths will probably come in second when ranking the reasons to see You’re Next. Both writer Simon Barrett and director Adam Wingard put together a well paced horror thriller where every gruesome death is a treat in one way or another. The practical effects are put to good use without being overdone, while the murderers creep through the backgrounds of scenes like haunting specters. The tension, seemingly disappearing into the walls, builds as rich yuppies get carved up like Christmas hams.
In a year that has seen some of the biggest movies to ever be projected across the silver screen, the year’s best movies have been the lower budgeted and indie films. Iron Man 3, Man of Steel, and even Star Trek 2 haven’t stirred audiences like The Kings of Summer, The Way Way Back, and You’re Next. The super movie bubble will pop sooner or later and movie makers like Jordan Voght-Roberts, Jim Rash, and Adam Wingard will be the real heroes to save movie lovers.