Writer: Simon Barrett
Director: Adam Wingard
Starring: Sharni Vinson, Joe Swanberg and AJ Bowen
Review Written By: Michael Dalton (Prime Minister)
Director: Adam Wingard
Starring: Sharni Vinson, Joe Swanberg and AJ Bowen
Review Written By: Michael Dalton (Prime Minister)
In You’re Next a family meets at the parents mini-mansion for a weekend of socializing, reuniting and passive aggressive conversations. However something is not quite right and before you know it the family are under attack from a gang of mysterious and brutal home invaders. With people dropping like flies, one woman will step up and prove herself surprisingly adept at survival.
You’re Next is silly, gory, entertaining horror fun. It’s a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously and has some good, bloody death scenes for all you horror hounds. Whilst it may not be that scary, it is very entertaining if you’re a fan of this type of horror cinema and has some very well executed sequences. The film has a couple of good twists and moves along at a quick pace with a short running time, however despite the short running time being very much an advantage to this film and necessary, the start does feel slightly rushed as a result.
The film begins with a series of family conversations that are surprisingly engaging and promise much. Seeing these family dynamics play out is interesting, relatable and could have in fact been the basis for a whole film. It is unfortunate that writer Simon Barrett and director Adam Wingard are so impatient to get to the horror and the gore, that they don’t let this build more and flourish. In a Quentin Tarantino movie we could have had a twenty minute long conversation out of that familial set-up that wouldn’t have lost our interest for a second and maintained if not continued to build the tension. However this is not a Tarantino film, they shouldn’t aim to emulate Tarantino and nor should the running time be extended unnecessarily. However the catty back and forth remarks promise to be so entertaining that it feels as if just as we’re about to get to know and enjoy these characters they are taken from us. A bit more exploration of this family at the beginning would have resulted in a more interesting, deeper, funnier film and one that would have made us connect to and develop the characters more before the bloodshed begins.
Additionally while the film is at times legitimately surprising, the ultimate reveal and motivation behind it all is rather uninspired. It’s something that crossed my mind at the start of the film and I thought to myself, I hope it’s something more interesting than that…it wasn’t. It was a very standard and unoriginal motivation and it didn’t do much to help the other standard and unoriginal elements of the film. A more unique, crazier motivation behind it all, along with further exploration of the family, would have gone some way to making this film more original than it was and memorable than it will end up being.
However as a simple, slasher film, director Adam Wingard does a great job staging the scenes of violence. One particular photographic scene lingers in the memory, whilst his use of music is also effective. He displays much promise and energy in this film and I look forward to seeing films of his in the future, hopefully with more entertaining entries into the horror genre. The performances vary with Sharni Vinson being the obvious standout in the lead role of Erin. However my favourite performance of the film belongs to Joe Swanberg as the rather mouthy Drake, who shined in the early family dinner table exchanges.
Overall You’re Next never truly scared me and I think opportunities were wasted in regards to the family to substantiate this film, whilst the ultimate reasoning behind all the bloodshed was rather disappointingly unoriginal. However if you’re a horror fan, You’re Next is a very fun, enjoyable movie and it is definitely an engaging, silly and bloody ninety minutes.
You’re Next is silly, gory, entertaining horror fun. It’s a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously and has some good, bloody death scenes for all you horror hounds. Whilst it may not be that scary, it is very entertaining if you’re a fan of this type of horror cinema and has some very well executed sequences. The film has a couple of good twists and moves along at a quick pace with a short running time, however despite the short running time being very much an advantage to this film and necessary, the start does feel slightly rushed as a result.
The film begins with a series of family conversations that are surprisingly engaging and promise much. Seeing these family dynamics play out is interesting, relatable and could have in fact been the basis for a whole film. It is unfortunate that writer Simon Barrett and director Adam Wingard are so impatient to get to the horror and the gore, that they don’t let this build more and flourish. In a Quentin Tarantino movie we could have had a twenty minute long conversation out of that familial set-up that wouldn’t have lost our interest for a second and maintained if not continued to build the tension. However this is not a Tarantino film, they shouldn’t aim to emulate Tarantino and nor should the running time be extended unnecessarily. However the catty back and forth remarks promise to be so entertaining that it feels as if just as we’re about to get to know and enjoy these characters they are taken from us. A bit more exploration of this family at the beginning would have resulted in a more interesting, deeper, funnier film and one that would have made us connect to and develop the characters more before the bloodshed begins.
Additionally while the film is at times legitimately surprising, the ultimate reveal and motivation behind it all is rather uninspired. It’s something that crossed my mind at the start of the film and I thought to myself, I hope it’s something more interesting than that…it wasn’t. It was a very standard and unoriginal motivation and it didn’t do much to help the other standard and unoriginal elements of the film. A more unique, crazier motivation behind it all, along with further exploration of the family, would have gone some way to making this film more original than it was and memorable than it will end up being.
However as a simple, slasher film, director Adam Wingard does a great job staging the scenes of violence. One particular photographic scene lingers in the memory, whilst his use of music is also effective. He displays much promise and energy in this film and I look forward to seeing films of his in the future, hopefully with more entertaining entries into the horror genre. The performances vary with Sharni Vinson being the obvious standout in the lead role of Erin. However my favourite performance of the film belongs to Joe Swanberg as the rather mouthy Drake, who shined in the early family dinner table exchanges.
Overall You’re Next never truly scared me and I think opportunities were wasted in regards to the family to substantiate this film, whilst the ultimate reasoning behind all the bloodshed was rather disappointingly unoriginal. However if you’re a horror fan, You’re Next is a very fun, enjoyable movie and it is definitely an engaging, silly and bloody ninety minutes.
Summary: A silly, gory, fun horror ride that could have been better if not for a rushed start and an unoriginal central motivation.
Movie Parliament Rating: MINORITY GOVERNMENT
By Movie Parliament Prime Minister,
Michael Dalton
Disagree with this review? Give us your thoughts in the comments below.
Movie Parliament Rating: MINORITY GOVERNMENT
By Movie Parliament Prime Minister,
Michael Dalton
Disagree with this review? Give us your thoughts in the comments below.
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