You're Next - The scoop and digest

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.

Erin takes control of a volatile situation by cutting off entry points and tooling up.

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.

Erin answers a call from Crispian who makes the admission of his involvement in the massacre.

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.