you're next movie review

You’re Next

"You're Next"

“You’re Next” is a simultaneously nihilistic and grossly incompetent horror homage. Imagine “Ten Little Indians” remade by horror buffs who don’t have the patience to reproduce what they love most about horror films. Wingard, Barrett and company don’t do anything with the slasher conventions they play around with.

Watching “You’re Next” is like eating a tin-foil-wrapped tray of leftovers. It’s a hamburger, so you shouldn’t expect steak. But the contents of your tray are: a half-eaten, microwave-nuked cheeseburger; leaves of wilting, translucent lettuce; slices of yellowing, sickly tomato; and floppy, soggy french fries. Consuming this product is not entirely unpleasant since it’s almost impossible to screw up such a short order. But that doesn’t change the sad fact that “You’re Next” is essentially a flavorless leftover. It looks like what you ordered, but it’s only satisfying if you settle for much less.

Because “You’re Next” is an assembly-line product made on a small production line, the film has a situation instead of a plot, and types instead of characters. All you need to know is this: A family of estranged siblings re-unite for dinner with their parents. They are subsequently hunted down by masked killers before they can develop personalities, though they all have obvious tics meant to signal personality. For example, Felix ( Nicholas Tucci ) is shy because he doesn’t say anything. His girlfriend Zee ( Wendy Glenn ) is jaded because she rolls her eyes and smokes. And Drake ( Joe Swanberg ) is an opinionated asshole because he smirks a lot and is generally loud. So we root for Erin ( Sharni Vinson ), an Australian college student, because she’s the only one who can handle herself in a crisis. Better still, Erin is really good at killing people with improvised weapons. Like, brutally. As in, once she starts putting the hurt on an assailant, she doesn’t stop until blood rockets out of freshly created orifices. Look out Sarah Connor, here comes Erin!

Erin’s a cold-blooded badass because she grew up around survivalists. This isn’t really a spoiler because that information doesn’t tell you anything about the character. All it tells you is that Erin can beat people up real good because her family are the most extreme doomsday preppers, the kind who anticipate the end of the world by learning how to survive in any hostile environment.

Knowing that Erin was raised as a survivalist doesn’t provide a foundation towards understanding her actions. Instead, it serves as a pretext for her contextless behavior. All we need to know is that Erin’s pretty good at being brutal. The scene where Erin tells us about her survivalist past is bereft of any memorable details. This is not an explanation, it’s an excuse. It’s the filmmakers’s way of excusing their love of ghoulishly sadistic violence.

“You’re Next” is tonally all over the map. It’s as if Wingard and Barrett had a checklist of stuff they wanted to see in their film, and didn’t know how to work around that list. Some kill scenes are serious and icky (look before you run!), while some are gross and funny (headshot!). The difference between these two kinds of violence isn’t substantial. The film’s macabre sense of humor is especially poorly timed. One character pouts “you never want to do anything interesting” when their partner refuses to have sex on top of a corpse. That sequence is sandwiched between scenes where characters maim each other with gusto, especially each other’s throats.

The film is also visually confusing. Most of the film’s action is covered, and not composed. You can’t tell if characters are geographically close to each other until they actually bump into each other, thanks to Wingard’s serial abuse of jiggly, close-up-heavy hand-held camerawork. And the film’s plotting is equally choppy. It’s like you’re channel-surfing, and any inter-related scenes are only coincidentally united by a coherent narrative. Characters disappear and re-appear on a whim, and, eventually watching killers pop out of unusual places gets pretty tedious. Even if you’re really in the mood for scraps, “You’re Next” isn’t going to tide you over.

Simon Abrams

Simon Abrams is a native New Yorker and freelance film critic whose work has been featured in  The New York Times ,  Vanity Fair ,  The Village Voice,  and elsewhere.

• Nicholas Tucci as Felix
• Joe Swanberg as Drake
• Sharni Vinson as Erin
• Rob Moran as Paul Davison
• Ti West as Tariq
• Barbara Crampton as Aubrey
• AJ Bowen as Crispian
• Wendy Glenn as Zee
• Amy Seimetz as Aimee
• Kate Lyn Sheil as Talia
• Adam Wingard
• Simon Barrett

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You're Next Reviews

Humour hugs every frame and helps remove that skin-crawling intensity of Funny Games, replacing it with the energy and vibrancy of Scream.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 20, 2024

You’re Next is an entertaining flick with a good cast having a good time playing an assortment of unlikeable characters. This tight and confined chamber piece has wit and ingenuity, offering up an assortment of stand-out moments and wince-inducing kills.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 28, 2024

Manages to not only be a genuine tribute to the strengths of the home-invasion subgenre, but also finds ways to circumvent those tropes, delivering something that's a delight from start to finish, while also offering up genuine tension.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Sep 20, 2023

The material is a welcomed change from the dull, commercial-minded yarns such material would normally produce.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 25, 2022

It's a sly thriller that seems self-aware of its intent, making the laughs land, the synthy-score pop, and the thrills and kills squeamishly entertaining.

Full Review | Nov 12, 2021

Laughs are only a fraction of the responses you'll hear if you see this with an audience, which I suggest you do. Applause, gasps, cheers, whatever sound people make when they are grossed out; not a scene goes by without a hearty reaction from the crowd.

Full Review | Feb 24, 2021

Quite a few surprises are also gratifyingly lined up for audiences, taking care not to overdo the twists while still allowing several to alarm the unsuspecting.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Dec 4, 2020

The film checks all the requisite boxes and moves in a few new directions to boot.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 7, 2020

Twisted, gory, scary, tense, and shockingly funny.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Jul 8, 2020

You're Next is anchored by a singularly compelling performance by its lead actress, leading to a most visceral and entertaining experience.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Apr 17, 2020

I wanna be next in line to see You're Next again!!! It's bloody wonderful!

Full Review | Nov 27, 2019

As You're Next changes from grimly scary to an over-the-top gore fest, Wingard should have gone back and consulted those '70s films where not everything has to be explained.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.8/5 | Nov 20, 2019

The mix of gore, humor and familiarity takes the film from being a passable "B" movie to a successful and well-executed homage that may change the way we view the genre.

Full Review | Aug 8, 2019

While the absence of misogynist undertones makes this an extremely pleasurable horror crowd pleaser, the predilection for cheap laughs lightens the thrills to such an extent that it flies past black comedy into parody during key sequences.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jun 27, 2019

You're Next is an absolute beast of a horror picture that's so fierce, barbaric, and terrifying that the guy sitting next to me in the theater started to convulse from fright and leaped over his chair and bolted out of the theater.

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10 | Apr 11, 2019

You're Next is nice little ride, and I appreciate that it had a lot of awesome splatteriffic moments.

Full Review | Mar 2, 2019

You're Next operates as a genre palette cleanser, with its acerbic humour bringing a fresh, vital edge to the most worn slasher tropes.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 2, 2019

Vinson's cunning turn as Erin could potentially become iconic as one of the strongest female action heroes in a generation, which is fitting since gems as smart and satisfying as "You're Next" come around just as rarely.

Full Review | Jan 8, 2019

Saturated with snappy dialogue, twisty plotting and wicked-minded wit, the sacrificial lambs in You're Next that display murderous masked menaces and their pristine prey are a welcomed relief to the corrosive crop of dice-and-slice cinema

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Nov 17, 2018

Adam Wingard's nasty, scrupulously violent home-invasion film is like if the killers from The Strangers went people-hunting after a screening of Cannibal Holocaust.

Full Review | Nov 1, 2018

You're Next (2011)

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FANTASTIC FEST 2011: YOU’RE NEXT Review

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Before Fantastic Fest even began, word was starting to spread about Adam Wingard’s You’re Next :  early word out of the Toronto International Film Festival had the film pegged as a “must-see”, and—just hours into Fantastic Fest 2011—the film became even more buzzworthy when Lionsgate announced that they’d purchased the film for distribution in 2012.  All this added up to what might have been the most sought-after, talked-about screening at Fantastic Fest thus far (yes, even moreso than The Human Centipede 2 ), and—miracle of miracles—I managed to score a ticket to tonight’s midnight screening of the film.  Was it worth all that buzz?  Prepare yourself for a glowing descent into hyperbole, after the jump.

All day long, people have been asking each other, “You get into You’re Next tonight?”  Adam Wingard’s film—a home-invasion horror flick that some were comparing to the vastly-inferior The Strangers prior to seeing it for themselves—was the hot ticket at Fantastic Fest 2011 tonight, mainly because Lionsgate decided to cut the film’s two screenings down to one:  apparently, purchasing a film for distribution means limiting the number of people who might see (and rave about) your film.  That logic doesn’t sit well with me, but whatta I know?  I’m but a simple film critic/yutz with a keyboard.  I leave the big decisions to the marketing geniuses in Hollywood.

It’s a real shame, though.  Before tonight’s screening (which I had to fight tooth and nail to get into, but it turned out to be worth every email, called-in favor, and handski), they told us that we were very likely the “only American audience who’d see the film before its 2012 release”.  If I were Lionsgate, and if I heard the reaction of the crowd inside the Alamo Drafthouse tonight, I’d add another two screenings for the Fantastic Fest crowd:  if they wanna promote their movie, these are the people that’re gonna do it.

Like my Human Centipede 2 writeup , this review’s gonna be lengthy.  I took a little guff for rambling on for a couple thousand words during that review, so allow me to offer a Cliff’s Notes version for those in the audience that might not have the attention span (or interest) in combing through another epic:  You’re Next is just as good as you’ve heard it is, and offers up some truly amazing performances, genuine scares, a shocking number of laughs, and a few good plot twists.  The audience I saw the film with sat on the edge of their seats throughout, and the film’s two standout performances—from A.J. Bowen and Sharni Vinson—earned the most applause when the credits rolled.  It won’t hit theaters for a long while, but you should see You’re Next as soon as humanly possible once it does.

There.  That’s the short version.

Here’s the long one:  You’re Next isn’t just the best film that I’ve seen at Fantastic Fest this year, but it’s also one of the best films I’ve seen this year.  Yes, it’s a genre flick, and yeah, it’s another take on the “home-invasion” subgenre of horror films.  Yeah, it’s true that Ti West and Joe Swanberg (two directors-slash-actors who’ve alienated a certain segment of the film geek population with their films) both appear onscreen here, and it’s also true that the film bears a passing resemblance to the Liv Tyler vehicle The Strangers .  But You’re Next manages to do so much right, all these quibbles—which you may or may not have with the film—won’t even cross your mind once the flick kicks into high gear.

Here’s the setup:  a dysfunctional family is meeting at a big-ass country house somewhere out in the middle of nowhere.  We meet Crispin (Bowen) and Erin (Vinson) as they drive to the house, and we meet Crispin’s mother (Barbara Crampton), father (Rob Moran), brothers Drake (Swanberg) and Felix (Nicolas Tucci), and sister (Margaret Laney).  Each of the siblings arrives with a boyfriend or girlfriend, and each seems to have a grudge to bear against the other:  Crispin and Drake are rivals, Felix seems bitter about his family’s station in life, and so on.  On their first night in the house, Crispin tells Erin that the family hasn’t gathered together in awhile, and that the results “should be interesting”.

What Crispin, Erin, and everyone else don’t know is that—right up the road—the family’s only neighbors have just been brutally murdered by a group of masked killers.  A young lady is murdered, and when her lover exits the shower, he discovers her body, the words “You’re next” scrawled on a window in blood, and an axe that suddenly appears in his forehead.

Once the entire family has sat down to dinner, it only takes moments before the same group of masked killers we met in the film’s opening descend upon them:  crossbow bolts fly through windows, arms wielding knives come crashing through doorways, booby traps are set all around the house.  The family is under attack…but by whom?  And why?  And why does one of the house guests seem to be so damn good at fighting these attackers?

Finding out the answers to these questions is an absolute delight.  About half an hour into the film, I turned to my lady-friend and risked being booted for violating the Drafthouse’s strict “No Talking” policy by whispering, “This is so f-cking awesome”.  I know the rules at the Drafthouse, of course, but You’re Next is so damn good, I couldn’t help but flaunt them.  Director Adam Wingard ratchets up the suspense from the very first frame, but what really sold me on the film was the clever, oft-hilarious dialogue that unfolds between the family members in the film’s opening scenes:  the interplay between Bowen and Swanberg, in particular, is laugh-out-loud funny.

Speaking of Bowen, allow me to stop here for a second to single this dude out.  I’ve been a fan of Bowen’s since seeing him wreck shop in the little-seen The Signal (which you can catch on Netflix Instant), and just a few days ago I picked up a copy of A Horrible Way To Die , where Bowen plays the film’s lead villain.  After watching Bowen’s performance in Horrible, I remarked to the person watching the film with me, “It’s kinda hard to believe that this guy isn’t a bigger star”.  He’s got charisma by the bucketload, has the movie-star good looks (by the way, I ran into Bowen while smoking a cigarette outside the Drafthouse today, and he’s just as charming, handsome, and friendly as a dude with a man-crush could ever want him to be), and can pull off the high-wire act of balancing “menacing” and “charming” without breaking a sweat, sometimes in the space of a single line of dialogue.  If there’s any justice in the world, You’re Next will make AJ Bowen the star he deserves to be.

Anyway, Bowen’s not the only great actor at work here.  Sharni Vinson’s Erin is a compelling character, and Vinson herself is very easy on the eyes, but she also proves herself a more than capable actress, pulling off intense physical stunts and complex emotional material throughout the film.  Swanberg seems to have developed a reputation amongst film geeks as a bit of a toolbag (I’m still not clear on why that is, but I’ve heard it repeated enough times to mention the sentiment here), but I thought he was one of the funniest people in the film.  Also worth singling out:  Rob Moran, who also makes a strong impression in his scenes here.

If I’ve got a complaint about the film (and please be aware that—again— You’re Next is one of my favorite films of the year, so remember that this is a small complaint), it’s that the big reveals sometimes feel a little…obvious.  I wanted some of the mysteries to have more unique resolutions, to be a little less “seen that beat before”.  But even when You’re Next is delivering plot points we’ve seen in other films (and films that are very similar to You’re Next ), it makes those reveals compelling.  It’s a testament to the writing, the direction, and the ability of the actors onscreen that these somewhat-stale reveals don’t feel somewhat-stale in the moment.

I’m going to wrap this up before I’m compelled to run my mouth any further.  You’re Next has a great number of surprises in store for viewers, and you should walk into the film knowing as little as possible to fully appreciate it.  If someone from Lionsgate happens to be reading this, allow me to add the following:  you’re not doing Wingard or his film any favors by restricting You’re Next to one screening at Fantastic Fest.  If this crowd really is the only group that’ll see the film before its release next year, I’d humbly recommend that you add at least one more screening for this week’s “Gathering of The Geeks” in Austin—it’ll only add to the tremendous word-of-mouth that this film’s sure to continue building.

My grade?  A-

And if you missed it, here's Matt's review from TIFF

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4K Ultra HD Review – You’re Next (2011)

August 19, 2024 by admin

You’re Next , 2011.

Directed by Adam Wingard. Starring Sharni Vinson, Barbara Crampton, Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen, Ti West, Nicholas Tucci, and Larry Fessenden.

A family reunion turns into a fight for survival as the occupants of the family home are picked off by masked assailants.

For their latest 4K UHD box set Second Sight have turned their talents to presenting Adam Wingard’s 2011 slasher revival hit You’re Next in a similar way to their release of the director’s 2014 movie The Guest a few years back, which is quite welcome as these days Wingard is better known for his overblown Godzilla/Kong movies and it is always fun to go back to a filmmakers earlier works to see how they hold up.

Creeping in just as the torture porn boom of the 2000s was heading towards terminal decline, but before the more cerebral psychological horrors of the following decade hit, You’re Next is a movie that pays homage to the slasher movies of the 1970 & ‘80s – people trapped in one location being picked off by masked killers, complete with gory kills, gratuitous nudity and a dark streak of humour – but is also very much a movie of its time, complete with extremely unlikeable characters, choppy editing, sickness-inducing handheld camerawork and a knowing wink at the audience, who are no doubt as clued up as the filmmakers on how these movies normally play out.

And viewing You’re Next in 2024, it is obvious how much the modern slasher movie has taken from this one, especially when it comes to filling the movie with characters you want to see get a crossbow bolt through the forehead (remember when audiences rooted for the innocent victims, rather than cheering their demise?), and containing villains that are as non-descript as the first couple of casualties in a slasher movie normally are, although 2008s The Strangers is probably more to blame for that. However, this movie is less about the masked hunters on the outside of the family home than it is about the parasites that are on the inside, as family members come together for a reunion, old grudges come to the surface and sibling rivalries drive the decision making when the assault begins.

The casting of You’re Next is one of its greatest strengths, most notably for bringing back scream queen Barbara Crampton to the horror scene, and her presence as the family matriarch Aubrey Davison not only gives the movie some serious genre credibility but also allowed the actress to begin the second phase of her career as a fully-formed icon – just check out how many acting credits she has accumulated since she made this movie. Also featured are indie movie regulars AJ Bowen and Joe Swanberg, filmmakers Ti West – who was fresh from directing The Innkeepers and about to dive into the V/H/S and The ABCs of Death anthologies alongside Adam Wingard – and Larry Fessenden, but the star of the show is Sharni Vinson as Erin, the girlfriend of AJ Bowen’s Crispian Davison, one of four Davison siblings, and a character in a slasher/home invasion movie who actually makes sensible decisions when it all hits the fan. I won’t go into any more detail here, but the cover art on the box set tells you all you need to know.

The limited edition box set features both the 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs, and if truth be told there isn’t that much to tell between them as the movie has been given a 4K restoration so it’ll be down to how good your home cinema is that will determine how to get the best out of each format, and unlike The Guest , You’re Next is not a brightly-lit neon extravaganza, instead being quite dark and muted in its colour palette. Still, the detail is sharp and clear, and whenever anyone is killed you do get to see the full extent of what is going on.

You also get two audio commentaries – one a brand new track with Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett, the other an archival track with Wingard, Barrett, Sharni Vinson and Barbara Crampton – and a stack of interviews from the likes of Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett, AJ Bowen, Joe Swanberg , producers Keith Calder and Jess Wu Calder, actor Amy Seimetz and production designer Tom Hammock, plus an insightful look at how You’re Next plays into the slasher sub-genre with Tim Coleman. All of this comes in the usual rigid slipcase with art cards and a collector’s booklet featuring essays from various critics and academics, so for consistency Second Sight have done it again.

As with all of these limited edition box sets, you cannot fault the quality of the product or the care and attention that has gone into making it, so collector’s are likely to snap this up pretty quickly, although there are standard 4K UHD and Blu-ray editions also being released if you do miss out. As a movie, You’re Next is a fun, rewatchable horror movie that has obvious stylistic and thematic ties to more modern movies like Ready or Not , Secret Santa and The Hunt , and also pays homage to past classics in equal measure. The kills are graphic and gnarly – it isn’t often you see a kitchen blender used to such gruesome effect – and the uneven tone actually plays into the movie’s favour, although the jittery camerawork is a little excessive, even for 2011 standards but especially when viewed through a 2024 lens, when everything in the genre is slick, smooth and wide.

Nevertheless, despite some shortcomings that were symptomatic of the era it was made in, You’re Next is still a good time and this is another winning set you will want to own, if only to sit alongside The Guest on your expanding box set shelf.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★

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You're next.

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 8 Reviews
• Kids Say 17 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Bloody home invasion movie is more hype than content.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that You're Next is a much-hyped indie horror movie of the "home invasion" variety, but with a kind of twist. Violence is over the top and bloody, featuring many attacks and killings with various weapons including knives, axes, machetes, wire, and even a blender. There's…

Why Age 17+?

Language isn't constant but does include many uses of "f--k," plus

A few women are shown topless, and sex is implied between various characters. On

Many characters die in many gruesome ways, with lots of blood and gore. Characte

Adult characters are shown drinking casually (i.e. at dinner). A character takes

Any Positive Content?

The movie is basically a festival of shock and gore, but it does show that women

Erin is an unusually tough female character for this kind of movie. She's re

Language isn't constant but does include many uses of "f--k," plus "s--t," "damn," "oh my God," and more.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

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Positive Messages

Positive role models.

Parents need to know that You're Next is a much-hyped indie horror movie of the "home invasion" variety, but with a kind of twist. Violence is over the top and bloody, featuring many attacks and killings with various weapons including knives, axes, machetes, wire, and even a blender. There's some female toplessness, and sex is both implied and discussed (once in a rather disgusting, disturbing manner). Language isn't constant but includes more than one use of "f--k." And some social drinking is shown, as well as a character who takes a Vicodin. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (8)
• Kids say (17)

Based on 8 parent reviews

Entertaining, well made, mildy surprising.

What's the story.

After a couple down the road is slain, YOU'RE NEXT moves onto the next house, where Paul (Rob Moran) and Aubrey Davison (Barbara Crampton) are celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary, with their grown children -- and significant others -- in attendance. Writer Crispian ( AJ Bowen ) comes with his Australian girlfriend, Erin ( Sharni Vinson ). Two more brothers and a sister, plus partners, also arrive, making the party 10 in total. The family sits down to dinner, starts arguing, and finds their arguing interrupted by intruders in animal masks. They start killing the family members one by one -- but then one woman starts fighting back, throwing a serious monkey wrench in their plans. Much bloody carnage later, who will be left standing?

Is It Any Good?

Storytelling clearly isn't Wingard's primary focus; it's possible the movie was meant to be funny, but he's a chronic camera-shaker, and the movie's amateurish look makes it hard to tell. Also, the story's red herrings stick out just a bit too far, calling attention to themselves. Ultimately, many of You're Next 's ideas just don't make sense. The one high point is Vinson, who nearly makes up for it all.

The reason that You're Next has generated such buzz in horror circles is that director Adam Wingard is clearly a fan, which isn't always the case in a genre that often inspires lazy, disdainful copies. Many of the cast members are either genre filmmakers (Larry Fessenden, Joe Swanberg , Ti West ), or horror icons (Crampton, from Re-Animator ). But outside of this assembling of like minds, not many actual ideas are generated, except for the concept of the female warrior; often, women are victimized in "home invasion" movies like this one.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Your Next 's gory violence . How much is shown? How over the top is it? Is it effective? Could the movie have gotten away with less?

Is the movie scary ? What makes a good horror movie ? What's the appeal of the horror genre in general? Why are these filmmakers such fans?

Is the main character a role model ? What are her strong points? Weak points? Is she someone you'd want to emulate?

Movie Details

• In theaters : August 23, 2013
• On DVD or streaming : January 14, 2014
• Cast : AJ Bowen , Joe Swanberg , Sharni Vinson , Wendy Glenn
• Director : Adam Wingard
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Lionsgate
• Genre : Horror
• Run time : 96 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : strong bloody violence, language and some sexuality/nudity
• Last updated : March 4, 2024

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Movie Review

They Probably Should Have Skipped This Dinner Party

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By Jeannette Catsoulis

• Aug. 22, 2013

Injecting the home-invasion thriller with fresh DNA, Adam Wingard’s “You’re Next” strays just enough from formula to tweak our jaded appetites. That it does so without spraying the gore to geyserlike excess says a great deal about Mr. Wingard’s sensibility. Never one to linger ghoulishly over violence — or to rely on bloodletting to plug a weak script — he prefers to strike and move on.

After a swift, shocking prologue, the movie invites us to the isolated country estate of a wealthy couple (Rob Moran and Barbara Crampton) where an awkward family reunion is under way. As old rivalries and resentments threaten to derail dinner, the 10 adults are interrupted by uninvited visitors — wearing animal masks, toting crossbows and intent on killing anything that moves.

The situation is all too familiar, but the pleasure lies in Andrew Droz Palermo’s unusually tactile photography — we can almost feel the viscosity of a stream of orange juice — and a table-turning plot by Simon Barrett that checks the genre boxes while still surprising us. The humor is subdued and sneaky (a documentary filmmaker, played by the horror director Ti West , is the first to be offed), and the balance of wipeouts and wisecracks is pleasingly fluid. And if Mr. Wingard’s moviemaking buddies (like Joe Swanberg and Larry Fessenden) are more talented behind the camera than in front of it, the rest of the cast — especially the hardworking Sharni Vinson as an Australian guest with a secret past — easily makes up the difference.

As a director, Mr. Wingard has an oblique, under-the-radar style that lingers, sometimes obsessively, on details. (This was most pronounced in his 2011 feature “A Horrible Way to Die.” ) His real talent, however, may lie in editing: choreographing more than a dozen crashing-around characters isn’t for sissies. On the evidence of this film, having a large family isn’t so hot either.

“You’re Next” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). Brains are puréed, skulls are tenderized, and necks are garroted.

You’re Next

Review by brian eggert august 23, 2013.

Four siblings and their significant others get together at their parents’ country house to celebrate their 35th anniversary. Passive-aggressive brother Drake (Joe Swanberg) tells his sister’s “underground documentary filmmaker” boyfriend (Ti West) that instead of making arthouse films, he should make commercials for television. “They’re short, and they really zap the audience,” Drake explains enthusiastically, deliberately goading his sister’s takes-himself-too-serious beau. If you’re at all familiar with film festival micro-dramas or the indie horror movement in the last five years, you know there’s an irony behind the notoriously minimalist Swanberg and West having this conversation in You’re Next , a brutal yet rewarding home invasion thriller that sticks close to conventions but does it extremely well. An art film in disguise, it’s an entirely commercial exercise enriched with the low-budget charm and characters of an arthouse piece.

Along with their director Adam Wingard, Swanberg and West have contributed both to indie horror (see V/H/S or The House of the Devil ) and the mumblecore movement, resulting in an offshoot called “mumblegore,” a sub-subgenre in which you might also include Baghead (2008) and The Innkeepers (2011). However, You’re Next doesn’t qualify; this is standard genre stuff ornamented by an ensemble cast and Wingard’s naturalist, handheld camera. So when Swanberg and West begin to argue about the merits of TV commercials vs. black-and-white docs, the audience should recognize the self-aware quality of what’s about to begin. Shortly after their little debate is over, West’s character stands up from the dinner table because he sees something outside. Drake, meanwhile, has shifted his passive aggression onto his professor brother, Crispian (AJ Bowen, from The Signal ). Suddenly, an arrow penetrates the dining room window and lands itself on West’s forehead. And Drake wins the argument.

Men wearing white animal masks and black getups, armed with crossbows, machetes, and axes, raid the house from inside and out, killing the houseguests one by one. Moneyed parents Paul (Rob Moran) and Aubrey (Barbara Crampton) wilt into emotional puddles as the body count of loved ones quickly increases. Shallow Drake and his snobby wife Kelly (Margaret Laney) are rendered useless in the trying situation. Princess-daughter Aimee (Amy Seimetz) isn’t so spritely after her boyfriend’s arrow-in-the-brain. And the youngest brother Felix (Nicholas Tucci) seems just as rebellious, stand-offish, and dim as his misanthropic girlfriend Zee (Wendy Glenn). Mix these characters together with some death, and they’re at each others’ throats, bickering over what to do now.  But it’s Crispin’s former student turned girlfriend, the Aussie survivalist Erin (Sharni Vinson), who takes control of the situation and fights back, making none of the horror movie mistakes usually made in such films.

Setting the film apart is its pleasant blend of fast-paced yet never unnatural tonal shifts, which, along with its wit and genuine shocks throughout, are the base of the film’s uniqueness. Screenwriter Simon Barrett engages in hilarious brotherly bullying in one scene and then takes us into sheer morbidity in another. One sequence features a near-sex scene on the bed next to a dead family member, sparking groans and Is this really going to happen? -type remarks from the viewing audience. Gradually, the terror gives way to suspense as Erin becomes a heroine, complete with 1980s-brand synth music set to her own Home Alone -like preparation for war montage. The way her character holds down the fort with tools and kitchen utensils goes from purely shocking to downright cheerworthy. The film even boasts an effective twist or two, just enough to keep the audience on their toes as they tally the bodies and cover their eyes at the film’s considerable amount of gore, especially near the end. Throughout, the audience begins to feel that Wingard and his crew have designed this film to play for larger audiences, going against their arthouse roots and, in the process, proving Drake’s unfortunate argument to be true. And yet, it’s ironic, because though You’re Next may not be an indie feature of considerable artistic integrity, its appeal, despite its commercialism, is far more accomplished than, say, any of Swanberg’s endless string of vapid, talky dramas.

In the hands of Wingard and his indie-inflected cast and crew, tired commercial formulas become effective again.   You’re Next debuted at the 2011 Toronto Film Festival, where Lionsgate picked up the American film rights. For whatever reason, it took nearly two years to finally distribute the film in theaters. And, unlike most of Wingard, Swanberg, and West’s releases, this one isn’t debuting on VOD or finding its audience on Netflix streaming. Deservedly, You’re Next arrives in wide release at the end of summer, when scores of moviegoers will surely eat this stuff up at late-night screenings. Much like this year’s The Conjuring , the film is familiar, but the formulas have been controlled in such a confident, enjoyable manner that we cannot help but admire how well Wingard has recycled old ideas to come up with something so gratifying, chilling, and downright fun. And, since it’s far more satisfying and self-conscious than the ugliness which brought about The Purge —another 2013 home invasion scenario—the material is a welcomed change from the dull, commercial-minded yarns such material would normally produce.

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You're Next

One of the smartest and most terrifying films in years, YOU'RE NEXT reinvents the genre by putting a fresh twist on home-invasion horror. 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.

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Den of Geek

You’re Next review

Director Adam Wingard barely puts a foot wrong in the efficient and scary home invasion slasher, You're Next...

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“It’s such a fine line between stupid and…” “…clever”, fictional cock-rockers David St Hubbins and Nigel Tufnel once mused in 1984’s  This Is Spinal Tap. Of course, at the time they were referring to the misogynistic minefield that is heavy-metal album art, but it’s an aphorism that’s equally applicable to the slasher movie, another misfit of pop-culture with a reputation for a fanbase with a permanently adolescent mindset: a reputation that’s almost certainly unfair, but then again, it’s hard to imagine even the most academic admirer of slashers arguing that there’s no fire accompanying that particular smoke.

The reason it’s such a fine line between stupid and clever when it comes to slashers – or, more accurately, good and bad – is because it’s so dependent on both formula (a lot of people will die) and exploitation (they’re going to die really horribly) that if at any point the filmmakers resort to cliche or cheap ways to get a rise out of you, it’s very easy for the film to feel grubby and cynical. This is particularly true if there’s (un)healthy doses of the misogyny that horror movies are still constantly plagued by, or the raw sadism that came to characterise the genre in recent years with the likes of the  Saw  and  Hostel  films. Lazily-made slashers are the filmmaking equivalent of a guy in the pub tricking you into watching footage of someone getting beheaded on his smartphone – not somebody you want to spend two hours (or even minutes) with. 

On the other hand, if the filmmaker is engaged, willing to experiment and, most importantly, knows what they’re doing, there is so much joy to be had is submitting to these exercises in pure exploitation. People like Hitchcock, Carpenter, Craven, Bava et al are all utterly manipulative – the viewer is essentially a mark for their bag of cinematic cons and tricks – but the reveals, shocks and misdirections present in their films are all executed with such impeccable timing and skill that you cannot help but be swept away by them. The best slasher movies have a visceral rhythm about them that makes them just about undeniable, and probably one of the most underrated of all genres when it comes to demonstrating pure directing prowess.

All of this is a very roundabout way of saying that  You’re Next  is a really good slasher film, and it’s largely because Adam Wingard, previously responsible for the decent  A Horrible Way To Die  and the slightly limp wrap-around segment of  V/H/S, directs the hell out of regular collaborator Simon Barrett’s fun, playful script, and never tires of finding new ways to shock, surprise and entertain you.

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Here’s the set-up: Crispian Davidson (AJ Bowen) takes new girlfriend Erin (Sharni Vinson) to meet his well-to-do yet highly dysfunctional family at a getaway to a country mansion, where his parents are celebrating their wedding anniversary. The group sit down to dinner together and immediately begin trading passive-aggressive, painfully awkward barbs with one another, only for the sniping to be interrupted by one of the group getting a more traditionally aggressive, painfully awkward arrow in the head. It soon becomes apparent that the house is under attack from a malevolent force that will not stop until all of them are dead – but one of the group isn’t prepared to go down without a fight.

One thing that immediately separates You’re Next from the majority of its home invasion brethren is how insanely fun it is: it’s a genre that is inextricably linked with sadism and bleakness (Straw Dogs, Inside, Lakeview Terrace, Funny Games  for God’s sake), but Wingard’s film sidesteps around this by making humour almost as vital an element as the horror. Much like Ben Wheatley’s  Kill List, the film begins with some well-judged cringe-comedy (with many of the laughs coming from fellow  V/H/S  director and mumblecore pioneer Joe Swanberg as Crispian’s asshole brother) which expertly orients the sympathies of the viewer by establishing the characters and family dynamics in just a couple of scenes, leaving more screen time for the ensuing carnage. It’s also worth mentioning that the acting across the board is a notch above most other films in the genre, and there is at least one breakout performance here: to say exactly who, however, would give away more about the way the film plays out than you really need to know.

While it’s a funny movie, it is certainly no slouch in the horror department, either: Wingard is a director who, along with fellow indie filmmakers like Scott Derrickson, James Wan and Ti West (who appears here apparently playing a parody of himself), take pride in crafting clever scares that go beyond something suddenly appearing accompanied by a loud noise – although there is naturally some of that too. The first half of  You’re Next, where the nature of the threat is at its most indistinct, is genuinely scary, with some memorably creepy images and a number moments likely to send the popcorn of nervous viewers flying.

It’s a testament to Wingard and Barrett’s skill that at exactly the moment when the intensity begins to let up and necessity dictates that we learn more about the threat the family face, the film smoothly shifts gear and becomes another proposition entirely, without missing a beat. While the scares in the second half perhaps become less intense, the relentlessly twisty plot, some surprisingly poignant moments, and progressively outrageous bloodshed more than compensates.

If you’re nitpicking you could say that You’re Next is essentially a collection of setpieces – although then this is a criticism you can apply to 99 percent of slasher movies – but the important thing is that there is not a duff one in the whole batch. Nearly every scene is built around a brilliant idea, where most modern horrors are lucky to have more than a couple; the result is one of the most confident scary movies in years, one that deserves to be seen on the big screen with as big an audience as you can find.

Like the best of the slasher genre, it perfectly straddles the border between stupid and clever, before turning everything up to 11. David and Nigel would love it.

Follow Paul Martinovic on Twitter  here  for more undercooked opinions.

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You're Next

Time out says.

A family reunion becomes a bloodbath in this American home-invasion horror. Arriving at his parents’ holiday house, Crispian (AJ Bowen) and his Aussie girlfriend Erin (Sharni Vinson) make tense small talk with the siblings over dinner until a bigger problem emerges: an unseen assailant firing deadly arrows at them from outside. While most members of the family fly into a panic, Erin remains level-headed and in control, and turns out to know a surprising amount about weaponry.

The action that follows is fairly routine brunette-fighting-for-survival stuff with a liberal dose of dark humour. The cynical, nihilistic tone means you only miss slain characters for their comedy potential: the script’s witty approach to its dysfunctional family means the pre-attack set-up is enjoyable, but it’s hard to care about the characters’ fates. The focus is on humour and inventive horror (gruesome, elaborate deaths are the order of the day) and a key emotional twist in the tale comes too late. A solid watch for gore fans.

Release Details

• Release date: Friday 30 August 2013
• Duration: 95 mins

Cast and crew

• Director: Adam Wingard
• Screenwriter: Simon Barrett
• Sharni Vinson
• Barbara Crampton

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R/HORROR, known as Dreadit by our subscribers is the premier horror entertainment community on Reddit. For more than a decade /R/HORROR has been reddit.com's gateway to all things Horror: from movies & TV, to books & games.

What’s everyone’s opinion on the movie You’re Next?

I didn’t watch until a few years ago because I always thought the title was stupid, but I wasn’t pleasantly surprised. They did a really job of building the characters. I guess you would classify it has dark comedy/horror/revenge/thriller

You’re Next

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Rebel Ridge review: a Netflix crime thriller that packs a punch

Green room director jeremy saulnier's electrifying mix of action, social commentary, and human drama makes rebel ridge a must-watch, easily one of the most entertaining films of the year..

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In the vast and ever-expanding landscape of streaming services, it’s easy for even the most promising films to get lost in the shuffle. Netflix, with its seemingly endless catalog of content, often buries its hidden gems beneath a mountain of algorithms and generic marketing. Jeremy Saulnier’s latest film,  Rebel Ridge , is a prime example. Despite its uninspired title and minimal promotion, it’s a cinematic experience that refuses to be ignored, a full-bodied thrill ride that tackles both visceral action and poignant social commentary with equal skill.

Rebel Ridge

The journey to  Rebel Ridge ‘s release has been anything but smooth. Plagued by production delays, casting changes (including the high-profile departure of John Boyega), and a mysterious lack of promotion, the film has flown under the radar for far too long. It’s a testament to Saulnier’s talent and dedication that he’s managed to create such a powerful piece of cinema despite these challenges.

From the film’s opening moments, we’re thrust into a world of tension and injustice. Terry (Aaron Pierre), a former Marine on a mission to bail out his cousin, is brutally targeted by corrupt police officers. His money is seized under the guise of civil forfeiture, a legal loophole that allows law enforcement to confiscate property without proving a crime. Terry’s frustration and anger are palpable, mirroring the experiences of countless individuals who’ve fallen victim to a broken system.

What begins as a personal struggle quickly escalates into a full-blown battle against corruption. Terry, with his combat skills and unwavering determination, refuses to back down. He forms an unlikely alliance with Summer (AnnaSophia Robb), a law clerk who’s also been victimized by the system. Together, they uncover a web of deceit that reaches the highest levels of power in their small town.

Rebel Ridge  defies easy categorization. It’s a western, an action thriller, a social drama, and a character study all rolled into one. Saulnier expertly balances these disparate elements, creating a film that’s both thrilling and thought-provoking.The action sequences are expertly choreographed, showcasing Terry’s combat prowess in visceral detail. But it’s the quieter moments, the ones that delve into the characters’ motivations and struggles, that truly resonate.

The film’s social commentary is sharp and incisive, highlighting the ways in which power structures can be exploited to oppress and control. Saulnier doesn’t shy away from tackling difficult topics like racial profiling, police brutality, and the failures of the justice system. But he does so with a deft hand, weaving these themes into the narrative without sacrificing the film’s entertainment value.

Aaron Pierre delivers a breakout performance as Terry, a man pushed to the brink by a system that’s rigged against him.He brings both physicality and emotional depth to the role, making Terry a truly compelling protagonist. AnnaSophia Robb is equally impressive as Summer, a character who embodies both vulnerability and resilience. Don Johnson’s portrayal of the corrupt sheriff is chillingly effective, a reminder that power can corrupt even the most seemingly benevolent individuals.

Saulnier’s direction is assured throughout, his visual style both elegant and gritty. He expertly captures the beauty and danger of the film’s rural setting, while also creating a sense of claustrophobia as Terry’s world closes in around him. The film’s suspenseful atmosphere, punctuated by bursts of brutal violence, keeps the audience on the edge of their seats.

Rebel Ridge  is a cinematic triumph, a film that delivers on every level. It’s a thrilling action movie, a searing social commentary, and a showcase for a talented cast and crew. Don’t let its unassuming title fool you, this hidden gem is a must-watch for anyone who appreciates intelligent, thought-provoking cinema.

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