Some genres ends up following a lot of the same formula. There might be some variations and the occasional unique approach, but a lot of times, the music is similar no matter what song is playing. Slasher movies can get like that, and romantic comedies are especially bad about it. And then there's the "home invasion" movie. Whether it's a thriller like The Purge or a straightforward horror flick like The Strangers, home invasion movies can end up with a "seen one, seen 'em all" feeling.
I'm apparently not the only one to have noticed that, because the creative minds behind the movie You're Next seem to have taken that into consideration. Directed and written by a duo of up-and-coming filmmakers making names for themselves on the independent horror scene, You're Next is a movie made by people who know that formula by heart and put their own spin on it. It's not without its faults, but You're Next is one of the better home invasion movies in recent years.
As their thirty-fifth anniversary approaches, Paul (Rob Moran) and Aubrey Davison (Barbara Crampton) have assembled their children and their significant others at their remote Missouri cottage to celebrate. But the family reunion is a less than joyous occasion, as the siblings heatedly bicker amongst themselves. But before an argument between brothers Drake (Joe Swanberg) and Crispian (A.J. Bowen) at the dinner table can explode into anything further, things are cut short when a gang of masked thugs storm the house armed with a crossbow and machetes. As the assailants pick off the terrified family one by one, Crispian's girlfriend Erin (Sharni Vinson) puts her lifetime of survivalist training to good work by fortifying the house and arming herself with whatever she can find, determined to turn the predators into the prey.
I went into You're Next unsure of what to expect. The trailers and TV ads made it look like just another home invasion movie, only with a low budget. But when I walked out of the theater, I left surprised by the movie. I honestly didn't think it was particularly great, but I was impressed by how smart it is. The movie's creators have obviously seen a ton of movies like this, and chose to do things in a way that would subvert one's expectations. It's not a self-referential, tongue-in-cheek affair like Scream, but instead a sly twist on the genre's conventions.
The movie was directed by Adam Wingard, who did a fantastic job crafting it. He makes that shaky camerawork I've complained about so many times in the past look good, using it in a way that allows you to not only tell what's happening, but it helps add to the tension. He manages to build an "anything can happen" vibe, an atmosphere that makes you feel like the killers could be anywhere, waiting to strike or plotting their next move. Wingard uses this effectively, giving us some great scares and suspenseful moments. It gets downright tense at times, all due to Wingard's fine direction.
The script, meanwhile, isn't bad either. Written by frequent Wingard collaborator Simon Barrett, the script lends itself to some intelligent moments. Barrett has obviously seen a ton of movies like this, and uses what he's learned from them to create a more vicious game of cat and mouse. The killers are often thinking one step ahead, setting things up that would deter any escape plan someone with a modicum of common sense could come up with. With a lot of horror movies, you might find yourself wondering why the characters don't just charge out the front door and run to freedom. The killers in You're Next have thought of that and planned for it. They've even got plans for when the plans go awry.
Barrett also makes an incredibly smart move by having the movie's "Final Girl" immediately take charge once things go to hell. Not five minutes after the killers make themselves known, she's boarding up windows, setting booby traps, and finding anything that she could potentially use as a weapon to defend herself. Most Final Girls wouldn't think to do that until the movie's nearing the climax, and it's refreshing to see a level-headed character take charge so quickly.
If there's one real drawback to the movie, it's the cast. I had a hard time getting into the movie at first thanks to some really awful, melodramatic acting, but once the herd got thinned out, it helped a lot. The truth is the majority of the cast is forgettable. I understand that most of the actors are just there to be fodder for the killers, but that's no excuse for bad acting. The only person I thought made a positive impact was Sharni Vinson. She's awesome, playing her character like a total badass. Her character is the only competent character in the movie, and Vinson makes the most of it. She's strong, likable, and captivating, and I'm honestly looking forward to seeing more from her in the future.
Lionsgate picked up the distribution rights to You're Next in 2011, not long after its premiere at that year's Toronto International Film Festival. It wound up spending two years collecting dust, sitting on a shelf awaiting a national release that wouldn't come until late last month. I don't know why it took so long for Lionsgate to release the movie, but it does work in the movie's favor in a sense. It gave Wingard and Barrett time to make names for themselves on the indie horror scene with their contributions to the anthology flicks V/H/S, The ABCs of Death, and V/H/S/2, and it's that street cred that drew me to You're Next. But while their work here is exemplary, the movie itself as a whole is just okay at best. It's worth seeing if you're a fan of movies like this, but you're not missing anything if you choose to skip it. (And considering that I don't think it's playing theatrically anymore, you're probably stuck waiting for it to pop up on DVD or on-demand anyway.) But now that You're Next has seen its release, I do wonder what's next for its creators. That's something I'd want to see.
Final Rating: ***
No comments:
Post a Comment