So, I Was On Netflix: You're Next

I heard an unending amount of buzz on You're Next prior to its August 2013 release, with numerous people calling it the next big thing in the world of scary cinema. Lionsgate gave the movie a late August date that had worked well for past horror movies, Michael Fassbender wore an animal mask from the movie to the Comic-Con panel for X-Men: Days of Future Past, reviews were great, it all seemed to be working in the movies favor. Then, it bombed horribly at the box office and it just sort of faded away. What a shame. The movie certainly lives up to the hype as one of the more inventive horror flicks in ages.

You know how one primary complaint about many horror films is that the characters are underdeveloped, and thus make their grisly demises lack any scares? I'm always befuddled how many horror films manage to get made without any compelling characters to speak of, especially when You're Next does a great job of making a memorable rosters of people to know in a very short period of time. They don't give each and every character some humongous backstory that overwhelms the proceedings, but instead make the ingenious decision to center every person in the story around archetypes present in typical families. 

There's the sister, and of course her aggravating boyfriend, the parents, the siblings who don't get along; these stereotypes are extremely entertaining to watch in the beginning of the proceedings due to how well the actors portraying these guys bring 'em to life. However, it gets really fascinating to watch these archetypes once the chips are down and the films main home invasion plotline starts. Seeing situations like brothers bicker even under the most hideous circumstances feels very real and makes it easy to latch onto this cast.

Of course, the best part of this cast is Sharni Vinson, playing the main character Erin. She's the one person in the roster who subverts her stereotype, and she does so in a most entertaining fashion. I won't spoil what exactly she does within this story, but let's just say she makes quite an impact. Adam Wingard is responsible for directing this feature and he does a remarkable job keeping an extremely suspenseful vibe in the movie that never ever lets up. He refrains from egregious shaky-cam, and also has a keen eye for how to incorporate suspense into even the most seemingly mundane scenes.

As the story hits it's finale, it's a whirlwind of insanity and brutality that had me in awe. Creativity is never in short supply in these ending sequences, as it's applied to both character interactions and gruesome deaths. However, this is where the one shortcoming for the movie crops up, which is one final "twist" that feels poorly developed. Again, I ain't gonna even hint at what it is, but I will say it felt poorly done and needed just a bit more work in order to for it be as effective of a surprise for the audience as it is for the character it concerns. Still, that kind of fumble doesn't overshadow the numerous accomplishments You're Next achieves, one of which that I need to acknowledge is the score by Mads Heldtberg. That music he composes has this unique sound to it that just really adds tension whenever it crops up.