YOU'RE NEXT (2011)
Dir: Adam Wingard
Running Time: 95 minutes
A swiftly-paced
home-invasion horror, You’re Next barrels along admirably for
the popcorn crowd. With a tongue placed joyously in cheek, the remainder of the
film’s metaphorical body lies strewn across the set in dismembered body parts
and bloody guts.
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| "Who ordered the axe?" |
 |
| Her on the right is her off've Re-Animator |
A simple tale
expediently told, the script wastes no time - it establishes immediately the antagonists’ brutal modus operandi and the
unwitting victims to whom the carnage is meted out in pleasingly rapid
succession. There’s certainly a pull on well-worn hastily-sketched horror
caricatures, but the relatively unknown cast play their parts with a tangible
bite that fills the screen. Particularly enjoyable are Sharni Vinson’s
unexpectedly resourceful antipodean hero and Joe Swanberg’s boorish Drake.
With a knowing
1980’s video nasty era synth score, director Wingard tonally atones to genre
fans for his other effort - the disappointing dirge that was V/H/S.* Because essentially,
it’s everything that mean-spirited film isn’t: exhilarating, tense, and fun.
8/10
*made after but released prior.
*made after but released prior.
