Note to would-be killers; do your research. A lesson learned by animal-masked psychopaths who bite off more than they can chew in the lovely You’re Next. Erin (Sharni Vinson, just, fantastic) accompanies her professor/boyfriend to his family’s reunion at an isolated farmhouse. Mom’s on heavy pills, big bro’s a douche and there’s no booze. An unpleasant weekend even before arrows start flying through the windows. Brutally tense, director Adam Wingard lingers between blunt kills before pulling off the film’s neatest trick. Seems Erin was raised on a survivalist compound that excelled in rigging togethers a series of Home Alone-esque booby traps. That the film is almost able to switch protagonists (these killers are really outmatched here) is a testament to the satirical slice writer Simon Barrett crafts. You’re Next wears the costume of a routine home invasion thriller, but underneath is a taut, creative and impressively funny throwback.
This article appears in Aug 22-28, 2013.
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