YOU'RE NEXT (2013 - HORROR) ***1/2 out of *****
(Now, that's one fucked-up family - DON'T sign me up!)
CAST: Sharni Vinson, Nicholas Tucci, Wendy Glenn, AJ Bowen, Joe Swanberg, Margaret Laney, Amy Seimetz, Barbara Crampton, Rob Moran.
DIRECTOR: Adam Wingard
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and some compelling reasons to never attend any family reunions - straight ahead...
IT'S LIKE THIS: Ah, the family reunion... A great opportunity to catch up with the people who know and love you best. The people you can always confide in and who are always on your side. The people who stand by you through thick and thin and - in the end - are the most important people because they were with you from the beginning, and will always be there for you. The people you should always place first because they are family...
... unless, of course, you're part of the Davison family. In which case, tell those fuckers to kiss your ass and instead go off to Catalina Island with your boyfriend/girlfriend/whatever.
You see, folks, the Davison family is one pill of a clan. If I was born into that family, I think I would drive to the nearest orphanage, ring the doorbell, and curl up in a box on the doorstep sucking my thumb. The idea of spending a weekend reunion with idiots and tools as big as the Davisons is a horror movie in itself - even before they start getting killed off by the usual masked killer (or killers).
And get killed off, they do. The Davisons have barely had a chance to sit down for some chow in their palatial country estate (conveniently located in some ass-end patch of isolated forest with no cell phone reception) when the fun starts: an arrow crashes through the dining room window and skewers one of them. From that point on, it's "guess-who-gets-it-next" in the fashion of such old-school horror flicks as FRIDAY THE 13th and HALLOWEEN, mixed in with more recent "house-under-siege" stuff like THE STRANGERS and THE PURGE. In other words, here we go again. Again.
So... who will survive? Well, since pretty much everyone in this flick (excepting our lovely, resourceful heroine Erin, played by Sharni Vinson, who is the outsider girlfriend of a Davison son) is a douchebag (or douchebaguette, ha ha), there really isn't much question as to who will make it out alive. Rather, the questions should be: (1) Who is behind those animal masks? (2) And why are they terrorizing the Davison family?
Actually, scratch that second question. We know why the killers are terrorizing the Davison family: because they deserve it. As for Erin: go, girl! And, sweetie, some advice: marry yourself into a family that isn't comprised by a bunch of shallow, gossipy, money-obsessed, backstabbing status-conscious losers.
BUT, SERIOUSLY: Recently, we completed our GIALLI SAMPLER that examined 51 thrillers (20 Italian and 31 American) that bear the "Giallo Style." In the sampler we discussed how Italian Gialli (colorful, stylish Italian mystery/thrillers) from the 60s and 70s had a major influence on American suspense films - from the 70s onward. In our AMERICAN GIALLI section of that sampler, we covered 31 American thrillers from 1970 to 2013 that bear the distinctive Giallo traits.
Another example of an American Giallo is our latest review: YOU'RE NEXT. This movie is more of a horror film than a thriller - but the thrills are definitely there and so is the Giallo style. From its gory setpieces, to its stylish execution, to it twist-filled plot, this film is like a modern twist on Mario Bava's ECOLOGIA DEL DELITTO (TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE) from 1971. Like that film, YOU'RE NEXT is set in an isolated woodland location, revolves around a series of gory murders, has some hairpin twists and turns, and - most importantly - was filled with a cast of unlikable and unsympathetic characters who are almost deserving of their fate.
What sets YOU'RE NEXT apart from TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE and makes it a solidly good (and better) film is one crucial thing: the lead role of Erin, a sympathetic and likable character that TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE doesn't have at all. She is an amazing and dynamic protagonist, and Australian actress Sharni Vinson simply kicks the role into the net and OWNS this movie. Vinson is a terrific actress who has the presence and intensity to carry this movie on her shoulders. All of the appeal of YOU'RE NEXT comes from watching Erin (who grew up in a survivalist camp in Australia and knows how to take care of herself) fight back and turn the tables on the evil killers.
Without Vinson as Erin, this movie would have been an entertaining horror film - but nothing more, exactly like TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE. With the Davison family full of such empty, unappealing characters, there would have been no one to root for. But with such a resourceful, intelligent, and courageous lead as Erin driving the story forward, YOU'RE NEXT becomes a highly satisfying experience - and is one of the best neo-slashers to come out in the wake of SCREAM's success back in 1996. Like SCREAM (another American Giallo), this movie has a nice combo of snarky humor and visceral scares.
However, let's be clear: without the great character of Erin at the forefront of the story, and the charismatic and intense Sharni Vinson playing her, this movie would not be as good as it ultimately is. Quite simply, Erin is one of the best horror movie heroines in recent years - and Vinson one of the most exciting new faces on the silver screen. Go, girl!
