The dysfunctional Davison family reunite for a get-together in their country home to celebrate a wedding anniversary. With tensions high amongst the siblings, things inevitably get messy around the dinner table, but when a crossbow bolt smashes through the window killing one of the party guests things get much worse.
Adam Wingard’s highly anticipated You’re Next is a horror movie brimming with talent and arriving with a high level of expectation: Wingard is a burgeoning directing talent and the film boasts an exceptional cast of actors and writer/directors (including Jo Swanberg and a bit part from Ti West).
While it isn’t exactly the horror second coming, You’re Next is a brutal and bloody movie, merging witty family melodrama with fast-paced slasher shocks. Mixing up droll one-liners with messy murders is what keeps the film’s momentum going, and the highlights arrive when the relatives squabble and compete in ill-timed one-upmanship amid a shower of arrow bolts or in the presence of a dying relative.
Ultimately though, You’re Next is nothing new. Replacing the usual gaggle of grating teens with a family of eccentrics provides a refreshing take on the slasher movie, but the home invasion antics of You’re Next is nothing we’ve not seen before and it habitually ticks the boxes like the best of them.
Overall Verdict: A fresh take on the slasher but ultimately it’s nothing new.
Reviewer: Lee Griffiths