You're Next

You're Next

IMDB: 6.5  Rotten Tomatoes: 74%

Plot: A family get together at their spacious cabin in the woods is made horrific by a group of animal masked invaders who murder the family one by one in  a variety of ways.

My Thoughts: This film was trumpeted by critics and audiences, including some friends whose taste I do not question as it tends to line up with mine, as the best horror film of the year and to that I can only say Meh. Overall it is a slightly above par film, the film looks good but doesn't stand out, the acting is for the most part fine, I don't find them particularly convincing or compelling with the exception of Barbara Crampton who plays the mother Aubrey to a heartbreaking perfection. I also want to point out director Ti West as "Artiste filmmaker" Tariq in a humorous role. The problem I have with this film is that it can't seem to decide what type of film it wants to be. At times it plays as a hip, funny post modern horror comedy in the vein of Scream or Cabin in the Woods as it builds a family of characters that are unlikable rich yuppies that we can laugh at as they die arguing with each other then mixes it with tender moments of a mother crying herself comatose at the sight of her daughter's ripped open throat as she dies in front of her, a moment the film never fully recovers from. As for the twists, which I won't spoil here, they felt unearned as if they decided lets throw this in to be a shock but they don't ring true with the earlier actions of the characters. One last criticism I have is that what could have been a true stand out kill gets cheated by the film pulling its punch at the crucial moment, a character gets the business end of a blender shoved onto their head and it is plugged in and turned on, a gore gag that would have won me over to the film's side had it been properly executed sadly nothing is shown but a screaming face with blood dripping down. I don't know if the ratings board was a factor or budget or if they just chose not to go there out of artistic reasons. Over all if you are a horror hound you can do a lot worse than this one but you can also do a lot better. Not recommend.