This
has actually been doing the rounds in film festivals since 2011 and along with V/H/S 2, featured at last month’s
Film 4 Frightfest.
There
are numerous examples of the so-called home invasion horror and The Purge impressed
earlier this year.
As
per the trailer, will this provide the ‘perfect day’?
Plot
details and/or spoilers will be revealed from behind the mask.
Those
endeavouring to survive the night include:
Nicholas
Tucci – Felix
Sharni
Vinson – Erin
AJ
Bowen – Crispian
Rob
Moran – Paul
Joe
Swanberg – Drake
Wendy
Glenn – Zee
Barbara
Crampton – Aubrey
We
open up with a couple committing acts of the flesh with the woman completely disinterested.
While
he showers, music is set to repeat and shortly after, she’s murdered by a
masked intruder.
The
man suffers the same fate before ‘YOU'RE NEXT’ is splattered on the glass door.
We
are introduced to Paul and wife Aubrey Davison as they head to celebrate their
imminent wedding anniversary at a remote house, courtesy of Paul’s recently
acquired severance pay.
You
see, he’s worth more than a mint.
They’re
not doing this alone so family and better halves are invited to join the merry
gathering.
Crispian,
Felix, Drake, Tariq, along with Erin, Zee, Kelly and Aimee are sitting
comfortably so we’ll begin dinner.
Drake
makes a snide remark about Crispian’s relationship with Erin
and the friction between siblings boils over into a full scale argument.
Let
the mayhem ensue…
Amidst
raised voices, a masked marauder does a more than decent impression of Robin
Hood, only with a crossbow.
Those
suffering bolts from the blue include Tariq (head shot) and Drake (back shot) who
unfortunately survives.
Any
further casualties are avoided as the rest successfully evade fire.
Calling
911 is useless as it appears that some kind of illegal jammer is in operation…
Aimee
agrees to make a run for it but a stretch of piano wire placed accurately at
neck height prevents any further progression.
These
murdering randomers hide behind a tiger, lamb or fox mask.
Aubrey
takes five upstairs to grieve but somebody under the bed ensures her interest
swiftly ends. The others find her
bloodied corpse and ‘YOU'RE NEXT’ is scruffily scrawled on the wall.
Animals
attack but Erin fights back, causing them to
retreat.
After
Kelly has a close encounter with a mask, she flees in terror to the house of
horrors next door.
The
still blurring music doesn’t soothe any wounds and she’s axed by a mask in
close attendance.
In
an order that’s probably wrong, the following happens.
Erin
proves to be the thorn in their side when she takes out a mask by bludgeoning
him with a meat tenderiser.
Probably
by now, Crispian has gone for help.
Right,
I think we’re now heading the right direction.
Paul
investigates upstairs and discovers that the house has been host to unwelcome
visitors before they even arrived. One
of those blighters appears and slits his throat, which is met with muted
surprise by onlookers Felix and Zee.
It
turns out that Felix has paid the masks a large amount of money in order to
secure their father’s small fortune.
What’s
that saying? You can choose your friends
but you can’t choose…
It’s
remarked that hired help ‘served together’ which can only mean a military
background.
Zee
reluctantly helps Erin prepare wooden board traps to be placed on the floor
near the window which are nailed on to hurt.
Erin
is good at this shit as she grew up on a survivalist camp because her father
was paranoid that the world was going to end.
Meanwhile
in the basement, Felix stabs Drake with several screwdrivers and this time, he won’t
be re-joining us.
Oh
well, every cloud and all that.
Our
unlikely talent is attacked by a mask but escapes by jumping through glass. Before stumbling up, she removes a shard
embedded in her leg.
A
mask sees easy infiltration through the window but doesn’t notice a wooden
board out of view...
Ouch!
Erin
overhears Felix and co revealing their terrible get rich quick scheme and as
the jammer is now deactivated, her phone goes off which not only confirms her
location, but also that the police got her text.
She
surprises and executes a mask when he decides to come through a window. Using an axe, a booby trap is whipped up that
will be triggered if anybody opens the front door.
Two
down, one to go and the final mask is dispatched in the basement as a camera
set to auto provides the necessary distraction for Erin
to inflict a fatal attack.
The
danger isn’t quite over as Felix and Zee show aggression in the kitchen and
after some effort; he’s taken care of by wearing a powered up broken blender
and his twisted girlfriend relents when a knife is driven into her skull.
Confronting
Erin , he desperately tries to save his skin by
explaining that the deal was dependant on her not coming to any harm.
The
Beatles didn’t care much for money; as it can’t buy you love.
Crispian
learns that money can’t buy your life as the promise of millions fails to
seduce and he’s stabbed in vital areas.
A member of the
fuzz turns up too late (as they always do) and shoots Erin . He enters via the front way and Erin is powerless to prevent the axe from swinging…
We
smash cut to ‘You’re Next’ and the deceased are displayed in photographs from a
typical murder scene. Erin is labelled a
‘suspect’ and a life stretch in the nearest grey bar hotel surely beckons.
While
Adam Wingard’s hunt and destroy thriller doesn’t bring innovation to the genre,
it does what it says on the tin.
The thrill to kill is nicely brutal and importantly, is committed without hesitation.
You’d
be forgiven for presuming the masks to be of the silent variety but given
the situation; would be totally inappropriate.
It’s
plausible that somebody from Erin’s background could withstand and endure such
an unfortunate chain of events.
I’m
probably completely wrong but I wonder if Wingard took inspiration from extreme
French horror as more often than not, females are equipped to dish out strong
bloody violence.
When
this party gets in full swing, it never looks back and events should help quench the
veteran gorehound’s thirst.
Peculiarly,
the red stuff is rather like the average takeaway curry sauce - discoloured and
sludgy.
Jump
moments are clichéd and sparse relying on startling the audience with loud
noises and ‘unexpected’ appearances.
Humour
is darker than an eclipse meaning even Vin Diesel would struggle to see as the
reaction to murder can be suitably amusing.
A nail through the boot, as opposed to the nail while walking bare foot is Home
Alone with a wince.
The spirit of Jack Torrance exists as a mask has his own ‘Heeeerrrreee’s Johnny’ moment when he smashes through a door with
yeah, an axe.
Performances can be strictly come amateur
rather than dancing and more imagination was needed in regards to title and inherent usage.
I
only know of Rob Moran because of Farrelly Brothers comedy Kingpin and the quickly
killed Ti West directed ‘Second Honeymoon’ from horror anthology V/H/S.
My
final criticism is the soundtrack transition as the fairly sinister unnaturally becomes whacked out electronic beat. Still, Looking
for the Magic by The Dwight Twilley Band is a welcome track choice.
Bitching
and moaning aside, this proudly demonstrates that breaking the budget bank is
not essential in crafting an extremely well made horror and you could certainly
do a hell of a lot worse.
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