Home invasion thrillers are my second favorite sub-genre after prison based movies. They are always so cool and tend to get very messy, very fast. When I saw that Adam Wingard’s film was playing a midnight slot at SXSW and the words “home invasion thriller” were featured in the synopsis I immediately knew I would be seeing it. It wasn’t until a few days into the festival that I found out it had screened twice before in 2011 to glowing reviews and instantly knew I’d be in for a treat. All I can say is wow, You’re Next kicked major ass!
I don’t want to spoil anything about the film so I’ll keep my synopsis simple. When the large and dysfunctional Davidson family reunites for a family weekend at their mansion, the group comes under attack by a trio of men wearing creepy animal masks. Unbeknownst to everyone in the group, Erin (Sharni Vinson), the girlfriend of one of the sons, just so happens to have the skills to actually fight back and, man, is she prepared to fight back hard.
The first 15 minutes of the movie, while kind of cool, aren’t that special, but once the family gathers for dinner and the first person gets dropped, that’s when the heat gets turned up. It’s at that point that Wingard’s thrilling and suspenseful film takes hold and never lets go. Wingard’s film is by no means average, and while the plot might make it seem that way, it’s the execution that makes You’re Next stand out from the crowd of other home invasion thrillers. This is a brutal and intense film but it’s the dead-on timing of the humor that makes it a perfect midnight selection and one that isn’t all about gore. This balance of humor and brutal kill sequences is the key factor that makes this picture rise above the rest.
What I loved about the movie is that it sets us up to think that the movie is going down one road but when the reveal happens you realize you’re now on a completely different road, one with even more dangerous twists and turns that will undoubtedly end with blood being spilt.
While the story, the atmosphere, the suspense and the crazy cool killings make You’re Next awesome, it’s Sharni Vinson’s lead that elevates it to the “cool as shit” status. Female leads in these types of horror/thrillers rarely do anything for me, but the Australian native conquers her role much like Yeong-hie Seo did in Bedevilled, 
taking the fight to the menacing attackers and showing that they will not walk away from this home without taking a beating from her vengeful fist first.
Though Sharni takes the lead, there are other actors in the film like Joe Swanberg, Ti West, Amy Seimetz, and AJ Bowen, but it’s Swanberg that’ the only other fun character to watch. In fact, if you know of Joe Swanberg or Ti West, there is a great scene where they poke fun of each other and it’s something only fans of theirs or festival goers will get and, if you do, it’s hilarious (hint: they are both directors).
For the life of my I can’t figure out why Lionsgate purchased this film and then shelved it for nearly two years, after seeing it my mind can’t understand why. You’re Next will finally be released this August and horror/thriller fans will more than be satisfied with the results. You’re Next is fun, gory, hard-R entertainment that’ll leave you with a great feeling of satisfaction when the credits begin to roll.
Rating: A cool as shit home invasion thriller (7.5/10)
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