In this new series of pieces, I want to tell you about some of my favourite films and why I love them, hopefully with the aim of convincing you to give them a try if you haven’t already; today I am going to talk about You’re Next.
You’re Next is a black comedy horror film directed by Adam Wingard. The plot centres around a family gathering that goes to hell when a group of masked, armed assailants, try to break in and kill everyone. There are plenty of twists and turns along the way that keep you guessing until the very last minute.
The easiest way I could define this film for you would be to say it is a smart slasher film. By that I mean it is self-aware as well as written in a smart way, You’re Next is keenly aware of how slasher films go, and it plays off that. By having Erin (Sharni Vinson), not be the typical final girl it makes the film far more interesting. When I say she isn’t the typical final girl what I mean is that she doesn’t spend the first 45 minutes of the film scared out of her mind, right from the off she takes charge of the situation and leads the fight back.
Therein lies another thing I like about this film. Many times, I have been watching slasher films and I have asked myself why do the victims never fight back? Or why do they wait until the last 20 minutes of the film to do something? This film bucks the trend of the killer hunting down the victims and killing them for the first 2 acts of the film, only to have the final girl turn the table on them in the 3rd act and it presents the struggle between Erin and the masked men as far more even; far more war like. As the masked men kill the people around her, she kills them.
What’s more, there is some fantastic gore in this film that is wince inducing. There is a larger scale version of the nail scene from A Quiet Place, years before it I might add, as well as a grisly scene with a blender which I will leave up to your imagination. The level of violence feels just right for the tone of the film and its black comedy sensibilities, never feeling unnecessary, or unpleasant.
Overall, this is a fantastic film, that when under watched and underappreciated when it came out, it is probably my favourite slasher film ever and I think that it deserves to be seen as it does something fresh and smart with the genre.
Written by Luke
Another Millennial Reviewer 