Director Adam Wingard’s You’re Next is a refreshingly modern and sly take on the slasher genre.
When Erin (Sharni Vinson) joins her boyfriend’s less than harmonious family for a weekend at their country cabin, no-one anticipates their ‘getting to you’ time will be interrupted by the arrival of masked killers hell-bent on working their way through the entire family.
But equally, the killers don’t anticipate the presence of a survivalist, kick-ass, all-action girl who knows how to fight back…
The audience barely has time to meet the family before Wingard unleashes the action and the full-on, sadistic bloodbath begins.
The speed and ferocity of the killings is so great that the audience shares the family’s shock and bewilderment, staggering with them from one violent set piece to another with scarcely time to draw breath.
Aiding Wingard in creating a deep sense of uncertainty and confusion in the audience is Simon Barrett’s script which serves up regular vignettes of knowing, sly comedy.
Just as they tempt you into questioning exactly how seriously you’re meant to be taking things, Wingard delivers another full-force punch in the face or savage, frenzied knifing that instantly dispels the laughter.
This constant unsetting of the audience is used to great effect in masking plot twists and revelations, ensuring that even the most jaded of audiences are likely to sit in suspense as the action unfolds.
Across the UK from August 28, 2013
