PLOT: When the Davison family comes under attack during their wedding anniversary getaway, the gang of mysterious killers soon learns that one of victims harbors a secret talent for fighting back.
REVIEW: I was lucky enough to get passes to an advance screening of this film last night, two days before its release, and I am so happy I was able to see this this week. With The World's End releasing this weekend I wasn't entirely sure if I was going to be able to make it out to see You're Next despite the great reviews and my unquenchable thirst for horror. You're Next is getting all kinds of rave reviews, similar to The Conjuring earlier this summer, for being not so much a unique kind of horror movie but more a formulaic, back to basics take on slashers. I have to say that just about every early review I've read up to this point is dead on. You're Next is nothing new, it's not original, and it's not even really all that creative. However, it's quite possibly the greatest and downright best slasher film I've seen in at least 10 years. At least to my recollection, You're Next is the best at getting all of the conventional slasher bits down pat but also never takes itself too seriously.
The best part about You're Next is that it blends in a sense of humor along with all of the horror. The movie isn't really that scary, but what it does it entertain the crowd like a horror movie should. Horror movies aren't really known to be films that the Academy chases after to praise, but they are movies that audiences chase after in hopes of their next scream or smile, however demented the latter may be. Some have gone as far as saying that this is a black comedy, or horror comedy, and I'd like to agree because while it has a very dark and serious look, the characters are a bunch of cartoon characters. There's one of every type of person present in the movie, and it's the one that nobody expects to be much else than what she is said to be, that ends up being the major player. I loved this part of the movie because no slasher movie is complete without its survivor girl, ask Leslie Vernon, and Sharni Vinson fits the bill perfectly.
For every cheesy line or awkward moment of dialogue that provides laughs, there is an equal reaction of disturbed violence or haunting visual to match it. There are quite a few scenes in the film that draw the heebie jeebies out from under the skin, one of which makes monsters under the bed seem like a dream in comparison. There's blendy of blood, and little to no gore (at least in my standards) and that allows for the kills at the end of the movie to pack a bigger punch. Sharni Vinson as Erin was the biggest surprise of the movie, as no one in the film struck an familiarity with me but she does an outstanding job emerging from the large group of characters and becoming the survival girl. At first, some could find it hard to believe her as the main protagonist but at the same time it's very believable that a young female college student would be the one to keep her head on straight in a crisis involving several people.
One of the things I really liked about the movie outside of the survival from masked killers put on by Erin, was the score behind the film. For me, it sounded an awful lot like an old 80's slasher film. It has the feel to it and it gives the film that strange feeling that you've been there before, or experienced this in some way shape or form, and enjoyed it. I think the score was one of many ways that You're Next was a love letter to its predecessors. It wasn't hugely original, but it paid homage to the classics that had been there and started in the game from the beginning. While it may have not been an entirely original story, it was definitely one of the freshest takes on the genre that we've seen in awhile. It's not a remake, or a reimagining, but it's a tribute to all those who came before them and dances carefully between the classics and the B-list horror movies that have tried to mimic those classic slashers and what made them as relevant as they are today over all the schlock that we've received since.
Even though it was pretty obvious to me that a few twists and turns were in store, I still had a ton of fun with You're Next. There are several twists at the end that leave you interested in the movie all the way through, but you'd have to be pretty oblivious not to know that some of them are coming. I didn't let any of that ruin the movie for me, as I kept the twists in the back of my head I was still able to enjoy whatever was taking place on the screen. You're Next's strongest quality is the fact that once it starts with a two-kill title intro, it never lets go and continues to build the suspense of the animal mask killers. I didn't find myself surprised or completely at a loss for what was going on once in the movie, but kill after kill provided plenty of entertainment. There really are no lulls in the film, and it paces itself very well for a slasher. Where most slashers have a lull in the center after extraneous characters are killed but the head honchos are headed towards, this one does a fairly good job of killing off one character at a time. The masks are particularly as scary as I imagined them to be, as the killers seem pretty human in motion and action and unlike most masked killers, they never seemed to be supernatural in any way. Maybe that's what makes You're Next so enjoyable and relatable for audiences. You pretty much know from beginning it's man vs. man, or man vs. woman in this case, and you really don't know who's going to come out on top in such an even matchup. You're Next definitely leaves me wondering though, what's next? For Adam Wingard, after successes with V/H/S and its sequel, and now this, many are wondering if this guy is the next real deal in the genre of horror. Only time will tell, and hopefully all you horror fans get out to see this movie this weekend, because that's all I have to say, You're Next.
ACTING : ( 6 / 10 )
STORY : ( 7 / 10 )
EXECUTION : ( 9 / 10 )
POSTER : ( 9 / 10 )
AWESOME : ( 9 / 10 )
FINAL RATING : ( 8 / 10 )
No comments:
Post a Comment