What starts out as a peaceful family reunion in a secluded home quickly devolves into utter madness and hysteria when a family is inexplicably attacked by assailants wearing animal masks. But the bad guys haven't reckoned on the tenacity of one of the guests - from outside of the family - who becomes a thorn in their sides (and head, and arms, and so on). You're Next is an unequivocal scare ride, impressive enough to make one forgive the occasional lapses in logic.
First to arrive are the mother and father, Paul and Aubrey. They plan to renovate the house, sort of a retirement project for Paul (who had worked for a defense contractor). Shortly thereafter, Aubrey thinks she hears footsteps upstairs. Paul goes to check it out but finds nothing. Meanwhile, son Crispian (yes, that's his name) is driving up with his girlfriend Erin; he's a teacher of some repute who's probably not as successful as he'd like to be. His two brothers and sister and their respective significant others are to arrive the next day. Crispian seems like a nice enough fellow, and he explains to Erin that his family hasn't been all together in a long time. "It'll be...interesting," he tells her that night. "How so?" she asks. "You'll see," he adds mysteriously. At this point we're supposed to grasp that there are long- standing issues among the family members, as is not unheard of.
The next day, the rest of the guests are on the scene. There's noticeable tension between Crispian and his brother Drake, as well as between Drake and the youngest brother, Felix. One gets the impression that there're been plenty of bickering and sniping over the years. Drake picks on both of his brothers plus his sister's boyfriend Tariq, a documentary director. And then the attack begins, and chaos reigns.
People are picked off, shot by bow and arrow or hit with an axe. Some try to go for help, to no avail. Cell phone service is down, too. No one knows who's attacking the family, it seems; is this a random event, or were they selected for extermination?
While most of the guests are loudly panicking, only Erin has the wherewithal to act quickly and decisively. She knows how to use weapons, including her own body. She knows how to keep intruders out. For example, she has the idea of people rushing out of the dining room while holding a chair, thus giving them some cover. She takes charge better than anyone else there seemingly can. It's not really important why she possesses these skills; it's just enough to know she can employ them. Makes for a better movie than watching a family get cut down, that's for sure.
There are two things that intrigued me in this movie. One is the dazzling, breathless direction by Adam Wingard (V/H/S), which puts the viewer right in the middle of everything. This not only makes it tough to think about the motives of the family members but also gives the viewer almost no time to contemplate anything other than pure survival. Just like the family members. Aha. The second is that underlying question of why the family is being attacked, for if they've been specifically targeted, is it because the family has money, or some other, equally nefarious reason?
Here are some caveats, though: the attackers seem pretty dumb, when all is said and done. Their dumbness doesn't detract from the action/violence/plot, anyway, so it's not a real issue. Along the same lines, the method behind all of the madness seems a little sketchy, even far fetched. But it's not implausible, so again it doesn't detract from the mayhem.
So it turns out I liked You're Next quite a bit, although those who aren't thrilled with blood and guts and such should really not bother. There's nothing for you here. There is a story, and it's a pretty interesting one, serving as a nice backdrop for the murdering and whatnot.
First to arrive are the mother and father, Paul and Aubrey. They plan to renovate the house, sort of a retirement project for Paul (who had worked for a defense contractor). Shortly thereafter, Aubrey thinks she hears footsteps upstairs. Paul goes to check it out but finds nothing. Meanwhile, son Crispian (yes, that's his name) is driving up with his girlfriend Erin; he's a teacher of some repute who's probably not as successful as he'd like to be. His two brothers and sister and their respective significant others are to arrive the next day. Crispian seems like a nice enough fellow, and he explains to Erin that his family hasn't been all together in a long time. "It'll be...interesting," he tells her that night. "How so?" she asks. "You'll see," he adds mysteriously. At this point we're supposed to grasp that there are long- standing issues among the family members, as is not unheard of.
The next day, the rest of the guests are on the scene. There's noticeable tension between Crispian and his brother Drake, as well as between Drake and the youngest brother, Felix. One gets the impression that there're been plenty of bickering and sniping over the years. Drake picks on both of his brothers plus his sister's boyfriend Tariq, a documentary director. And then the attack begins, and chaos reigns.
People are picked off, shot by bow and arrow or hit with an axe. Some try to go for help, to no avail. Cell phone service is down, too. No one knows who's attacking the family, it seems; is this a random event, or were they selected for extermination?
While most of the guests are loudly panicking, only Erin has the wherewithal to act quickly and decisively. She knows how to use weapons, including her own body. She knows how to keep intruders out. For example, she has the idea of people rushing out of the dining room while holding a chair, thus giving them some cover. She takes charge better than anyone else there seemingly can. It's not really important why she possesses these skills; it's just enough to know she can employ them. Makes for a better movie than watching a family get cut down, that's for sure.
There are two things that intrigued me in this movie. One is the dazzling, breathless direction by Adam Wingard (V/H/S), which puts the viewer right in the middle of everything. This not only makes it tough to think about the motives of the family members but also gives the viewer almost no time to contemplate anything other than pure survival. Just like the family members. Aha. The second is that underlying question of why the family is being attacked, for if they've been specifically targeted, is it because the family has money, or some other, equally nefarious reason?
Here are some caveats, though: the attackers seem pretty dumb, when all is said and done. Their dumbness doesn't detract from the action/violence/plot, anyway, so it's not a real issue. Along the same lines, the method behind all of the madness seems a little sketchy, even far fetched. But it's not implausible, so again it doesn't detract from the mayhem.
So it turns out I liked You're Next quite a bit, although those who aren't thrilled with blood and guts and such should really not bother. There's nothing for you here. There is a story, and it's a pretty interesting one, serving as a nice backdrop for the murdering and whatnot.