You're Next (2013)

"I'll never stop trying."

I saw You're Next (2013) a few years ago. I remember it being a lot of fun. I remember likening it to a kind of R-rated Home Alone for adults. With a decidedly feminist edge.

My October Playlist needed a proper Home Invasion Sub-genre addition, so I decided to return to the movie, these many years later, to see if it held up.

First, I had to purchase it on Amazon (only ten bucks: a rental can be had for three). And away we went.

Summary:

The Davison clan gathers in a secluded mansion in the woods of Missouri. What the Davisons don't know, is that they aren't alone. Someone is hunting them. What those hunters don't know? One among this flock of sheep can fight back.

Pros:

A Real Final Girl: Sharni Vinson plays Erin, who's been invited to the weekend getaway by Crispian. What she hasn't told her boyfriend, and what becomes incredibly pertinent over the course of the film, is the fact that she grew up on a survivalist compound in the Australian Outback. She is a certified bad ass from the moment the first crossbow bolt lashes into the dining room. Most Final Girl archetypes need to FIND their power over the course of the film; Erin IS powerful from the very first. She's the one that makes everyone take a chair with them as cover from incoming crossbow bolts. She's the one that locks and bars the doors and windows. She's the one that sets the traps and arms the hapless family members. Vinson does all this with a grim determination. Earlier in the film, she plays Erin's lightness and charm with skill. But when the blood starts flowing, and, boy, does it, she locks into business mode and it is awesome. She is not immune to harm: she gets beaten, cut, and lacerated throughout. But she says something early on that reverberates through the entire film: "I'll never stop trying." And she never does.

Great Stalkers: A good horror film needs a good baddie. Monsters, ghosts, ghouls and maniacs: the genre is a crowded field, and coming up with something new can be trying indeed. Director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett devise some great stalkers for their home invasion flick. These men act with military precision (it is hinted that they are all former servicemen, perhaps even military contractors), decked out in combat boots and night-black fatigues. They are quiet, and careful, and in control. What really sells it are the masks, however: striking, white, full-face animal masks (a lamb, a tiger and a wolf). The masks are oddly expressive and gel with the silent-stalker attitude of the intruders very well. Especially effective are the ways Wingard finds for the masks to appear out of the shadows, reflected in window panes throughout the film. By the time you, or the victim at hand, realize what that white blob is, by the time it sharpens into focus, it is too late. Without sharp music cues or jump scares, You're Next finds innovative ways to build tension and suspense using its animal-masked intruders. The stalkers are quiet, reserved, and only speak when the absolutely must. Wingard and Barrett keep them largely enigmatic and it works. The audience only needs to know what the family knows: these man are dangerous, they are well-trained, and they are coming for blood.

How it Handles Exposition: Barrett's script is particularly adept at handling the necessary exposition needed for the film to move and for the audience to understand. That couple that get killed in the beginning? That's the neighbor who "ran off with the college girl." They are also witnesses that need to be disposed of. Barrett finds ways to work in authentic dialogue that explains most of what is happening in the film: the Davison patriarch used to work for a military contractor company; the siblings hate and judge each other. I won't spoil any of the major turns of the film, but understand that the hints and clues are all there.

Cathartic: By the time Erin's first trap, the nails in the board under the window, finally pay off, there is a palpable sense of catharsis. We have seen the Davison clan terrorized and bloodied for a majority of the run time, and they finally score a win. Every time Erin grabs a tool, acts cool under pressure, kicks a stalker in the balls, or firmly takes control of the situation, it makes you want to pump your fist and cheer. The violence in the film is incredibly visceral, but it feels like letting the steam out when Erin first fells one of the stalkers, and crushes his head with a meat tenderizer: the squishy sounds and splats and her outraged grunt-screams assault the senses. Wingard knows that the terror has to be real. Then he has to give us a hero to return that terror to the tormentors. It's great.

Brisk: The movie sets up its necessary elements, but then lets loose with the hunt. We get the prologue kills to set up the threat; then the family gathers and we get to know who's who; then the assault begins. Clocking in at an hour and thirty-five minutes, You're Next will not waste your time.

Humorous: Barrett's script toes a nice humorous line through the entire film. The family banter at the dinner table is both hilarious and so relatable. The villains manipulative, desperate monologue at the end is a masterful stroke of someone backed into a corner, pushing and nudging every possible way to get out of the predicament. The film never fully falls into the comedy-horror hybrid camp, but uses its humor to blow off some of its pretty intense steam. One of my favorite lines in the movie? "Would you just die already? This is already really hard for me!"

Not Supernatural: The killers here are real: they use tactics and strategy to stalk their prey. They use hand weapons and a crossbow to minimize sound. They secreted one of their number in the house for a number of days, waiting. They are not a cult; they are not ghosts or monsters. They are cold-hearted killers hunting a prey they know they can handle. Of course, if the terror comes from a living, breathing source, then that terror can be neutralized. Neutralized by anyone with the courage to step up and fight back. I like films where there's a real, fighting chance. Otherwise, you waste my time.

Cons:

That Ending: I thought that the ending was a lazy payoff for the ax trap poised above the door. I didn't like it. I understand why the filmmakers thought it would be clever, but I wasn't feeling it.

In Conclusion:

I had a great time with this one (again). What's more: my wife, who does not typically go for horror films, had a ball. We oohed and ahhhed and cheered with the beats of the movie. We recoiled in horror and flinched in disgust. That's why you go to the movies, right? Home invasion movies really are a dime a dozen: having your home invaded is an easy emotional pot to stir. While You're Next doesn't exactly rewrite the formula, it does give us a kick ass female Kevin McAllister who is more than up to the challenge of fighting for her life. That's enough for it to feel like a breath of fresh air.

Should You Watch It?

Yes: If you are a horror fan, consider this a modern classic. It would make a welcome addition to any spooky Halloween playlists, too.

Miscellany:

- Simon Barrett, the screenwriter, plays the Tiger Mask Stalker.
- The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011, but would not get a wide release until 2013.
- The film features two other famous mumblegore film directors in its cast: Ti West as the doomed Tariq and Joe Swanberg as Drake. They are frequent friends and collaborators of both Simon Barrett and Adam Wingard.
- The film had a million dollar budget, and pulled in a total box office take of $27 million.