It has a lot going for it, but the parts that aren't quite so positive drag it down a lot.

The horror aspects of 'You’re Next' are good. All the deaths are pretty neat, with the villains certainly look the part. Sharni Vinson is memorable in the lead role of Erin, but she's really the only cast member that I enjoyed in this.

The set-up, character decisions and ultimate twist are dreadful. I have a decent threshold of ignoring when characters do dumb things, but this film takes the biscuit in that regard. I was questioning so much of what they all do, to the point it got irritating. Some of the editing and camera work isn't great either.

Going back to the cast. Vinson is definitely the best person onscreen, her character turns into a very cool one as the film progresses. With that said, I never felt she fitted in well. Vinson as Erin as a film's sole protagonist would be awesome, but she's unfortunately held back a lot in this.

I guess if you want a 95 minute slasher that doesn't take any thinking or anything of the sort, then this is a film that's worth a watch. However, for me, the supporting elements aren't good enough to match the solid horror.

**What would happen if the main character of a horror movie wasn’t a moron? You’re Next answers that question with entertaining violence and clever stereotype subversion.**

You’re Next begins as a typical horror slasher with an isolated group of family/friends falling under attack from masked axe-wielding murderers, but a couple of twists and turns along the way set this movie apart. The true stand-out that makes You’re Next so much more interesting than any other slasher is that the female lead is not a stereotypical inept final girl but a strong, capable survivalist, much more than the killers bargained. You’re Next is brutal, gore-filled, and dark but satisfies by turning many horror stereotypes on their head with characters actually making some intelligent decisions in a slasher movie! Like many scary movies, there is some brief and unnecessary sex and nudity, so be prepared, but if you can get past that (or fast forward), the rest of the film is a blast!

You’re Next is a classic slasher film that has brutal kills and suspense, but suffers with a lackluster story and disappointing performances.

The story here is pretty generic with a group of unknown assailants brutally invading a home. There are some twists that the writers attempt to put into it, but most of them are pretty predictable and lack any serious shock.The plot uses the same trope that is used in countless horror films of our lead character luckily having some type of background training that allows her to be able to expertly defend herself. It is fine, but there is something terrifying about seeing an everyday person being thrown into these scenarios.

The performances are pretty bad across the board. Sharni Vinson does a great job and really carries the film overall. The mother and father are simply terrible. Every line delivered by them feels forced and uncomfortable. The other performances are all okay, but really do not make an impact at all.

Overall, my enjoyment of this film is heavily swayed by the gore, violence and suspense present throughout the entire runtime. There are some brutal scenes that had me verbally gasping, which is always a treat to have in a slasher film. Despite my complaints, there is enough here to find enjoyment and with a runtime of only 94 minutes, I would recommend this to any slasher fan.

Score: 72% |
Verdict: Good

You're Next is directed by Adam Wingard and written by Simon Barrett. It stars Sharni Vinson, Nicholas Tucci, Wendy Glenn, A.J. Bowen and Joe Swanberg. Music is by Mads Heldtberg and cinematography by Andrew Palermo.
Bloody and bloody good fun!

The Davison family and partners meet up for a family reunion at a remote holiday home and quickly find that their inner issues are the least of their worries.

The splinter of horror that encompasses home invasion, that most terrifying of subject matters, has had enough filmic entries to actually fill a house! So when another one comes along with good hype and a promise of reinvigorating the formula, it's cause for horror film fans to start salivating.

You're Next doesn't reinvent anything, but it consistently and confidently keeps the formula well oiled and proves to be one of the better films of its type. The set up is standard, a big old country house in the woods, a whole bunch of likable and dislikable people, and of course some outside assailants about to unleash hell on everyone in the house. Refreshingly this is not a roll call of pretty teenagers being stalked and slashed, this is an assorted bunch, young and old, all shapes and sizes, and the family bickering that precedes the carnage is a smart move, because once family members start getting killed there's a genuine sense of grief and regret coursing through those yet to be sliced and diced.

It's nice to find that Wingard has great respect for his target audience, he's made a film for fans of the sub-genre and inserted a darkly comic streak that pays off royally. It's often very nudge nudge and wink winkery, but always in the right places. The director also proves to have a devilish eye for a murder scene, with some of the killings here high grade in blood, physicality and originality. Elsewhere the makers give us a great heroine, a truly resourceful gal that fights back with a ferocity that's both sexy and frightening, and while the revelation of why these events are happening is hardly original -– or that the back story given for our heroine's skills is just silly -– Wingard plonks it all together with such bloody verve it hardly matters.

Some less than good acting from a couple of the cast, and the overuse of shaky-cam stops it from going through the roof out into the genius stratosphere, but this is a cracker of a home invasion horror and well worth a night in with the lights off and the volume tuned up loud. 8/10

It has a lot going for it, but the parts that aren't quite so positive drag it down a lot.

The horror aspects of 'You’re Next' are good. All the deaths are pretty neat, with the villains certainly look the part. Sharni Vinson is memorable in the lead role of Erin, but she's really the only cast member that I enjoyed in this.

The set-up, character decisions and ultimate twist are dreadful. I have a decent threshold of ignoring when characters do dumb things, but this film takes the biscuit in that regard. I was questioning so much of what they all do, to the point it got irritating. Some of the editing and camera work isn't great either.

Going back to the cast. Vinson is definitely the best person onscreen, her character turns into a very cool one as the film progresses. With that said, I never felt she fitted in well. Vinson as Erin as a film's sole protagonist would be awesome, but she's unfortunately held back a lot in this.

I guess if you want a 95 minute slasher that doesn't take any thinking or anything of the sort, then this is a film that's worth a watch. However, for me, the supporting elements aren't good enough to match the solid horror.