SPOILER ALERT: It’s
virtually impossible to review this flick without giving away one major
surprise. It’s not a surprise in the
plot. You know me, that’s not how I
roll. It’s actually a spoiler as to the
nature of the film itself. Other
reviews have spoiled that surprise already, but I think
it’s only fair to let you know ahead of time.
It probably wouldn’t effect your enjoyment of the flick, but if you want
to go in completely blind you may want to hold off on reading this review until
after you see the movie. There. Now you know. I don’t wanna hear anyone bitching later.
When I first saw the trailer for You’re Next,
featuring the masterful musical choice of Lou Reed’s song Perfect Day, I
thought I knew what the flick was going to be.
I was expecting just another entry in the recently very popular home
invasion subgenre. A different,
hopefully better, take on The Strangers’ formula. Little did I know that the film’s promotion
had pulled a fast one on me. I was expecting
gritty violence. What I got was gritty
violence and… laughs. Lots of
them. You’re Next, a movie I
expected to be a run of the mill survival horror flick, turned out to be the
best horror comedy so far this year.
Synopsis: When a gang of masked, ax-wielding murderers
descend upon the Davison family reunion, the hapless victims seem
trapped...until an unlikely guest of the family proves to be the most talented
killer of all.
All too often with horror comedies, the delicate balance
between the two elements is mishandled.
You’re Next walks that line well. The audience at the screening I attended roared with laughter,
but the jumpier members of the crowd shrieked a few times too. The scares and laughs are placed perfectly,
setting each other up with expert timing.
As far as the comedy goes, it’s superb.
Writer Simon Barrett has crafted one hell of a screenplay. It’s not so much poking fun at the genre as
it is telling a serious story with funny characters. The dialogue is great, particularly the interplay between the
family members. If only the bickering
at my family reunions could be this entertaining. While we’re talking about the screenplay, I like that Barrett plays
most of his hand early, trotting out the big reveal early and letting it play
out slowly. That was smart. There are still a couple of twists left
(that the astute horror fan will see coming a mile away), but giving away the
main one before the audience gets the chance to call it was a good move.
Of course, that screenplay wouldn’t mean a thing without
actors who could do it justice. The
cast definitely does well with the material.
AJ Bowden is one of my favorite current genre actors. Mark my words, one day he will be a cult
favorite and will be charging stupid amounts of money for his autograph at
conventions. He’s excellent in this flick, but I feel like he was
underutilized. I think he should have
played Nicholas Tucci’s role and vice versa.
They’re both very good, but I think that casting switch could have
played a little more to both of their strengths. Rob Moran and horror stalwart Barbara Crampton are splendid (I
told you I would bring that word back) as the parents. The true standout is Joe Swanberg. I don’t know if he’s a giant bag of douche
in real life as certain members of the press have asserted, but he certainly
portrays one convincingly. He gets most
of the best lines, and his delivery is on point. Sharni Vinson also shines but, at this point, the less said about
her role the better.
On the horror side of things, we’ve got some well-executed
jump scares. A couple of the
particularly enjoyable ones play off of the background/foreground model a-la
Halloween. There’s also some commendable
gore. The best part; it all appeared to
be practical in the close ups. In fact,
there’s a refreshing overall lack of obvious CGI in You’re Next. Other reviewers have lauded the film’s
suspense, but I didn’t find that to be the case. Then again, a movie really has to operate well outside of normal
horror tropes to keep me guessing. From
the reaction of the crowd, it appeared that those less jaded than I spent at
least some of the movie on the edge of their seats.
There is one huge, glaring problem with You’re Next,
though. I HATED the way it was
shot. Outside of found footage movies,
where shaky cam makes sense, this is the most spastically jerky movie I’ve seen
in years. I already hate shaky cam
action sequences, but this goes above and beyond. The camera can’t even hold still when nothing is happening. There is absolutely no excuse for the camera
to be bobbing and swaying during a scene of a couple lying in bed talking. In the “dinner attack” scene, the camera is
jumping so spastically that it’s sometimes impossible to even tell which
character you’re looking at. Director
Adam Wingard has been criticized before for his excessive use of the “cameraman
with Parkinson’s” technique. It’s a
damn shame too, because there are a handful of sustained shots and slow motion
sequences that look fantastic. I weep
for the movie this could have been if it was shot well. If you’re susceptible to motion sickness,
you might have issues with this one. I
don’t have that problem. I’m just
nauseated by crappy filmmaking.
Random Thought #1: One of the creepy animal masks the
killers wear is very similar to one worn by a WWE wrestler that debuted
recently. I lost count of the times I
heard the name “Wyatt family” spoken in the audience. Brilliant marketing.
Well-played Vince.
Random Thought #2: I expect to see a lot of lamb masks this
Halloween.
Random Thought #3: There are times when an amazing synth
score straight out of the 80’s kicks in.
It is truly beautiful. Retro
done right.
Random Thought #4: If I do another edition of The Horror
Movie Darwin Awards, there’s one in this flick.
