Oh, there’s something about a good cult movie. You know the type. An at-best moderate hit when it was released, it’s a movie that has since developed an often small but loyal following. Many of them are rather fun in the grand scheme of things, with a tone or style that may not have made them huge crowdpleasers but sure did work for a certain type of fan.
You’re Next is the sort of movie that would have had a cult following even if it was a mass hit.
The Davison family and their significant others are gathering for a Thanksgiving dinner at the remote cabin for wealthy parents Paul (Rob Moran) and Aubrey (80s scream queen Barbara Crampton). Among the adult kids coming back is Crispin (A.J. Bowen). Crispin has a new girlfriend named Erin (Sharni Vinson), and he warns her the family doesn’t really get along. Sure enough, once his two brothers and one sister, with their significant others, all sit down for a dinner, a fight breaks out. But then something unexpected happens, unless you saw the opening scene: crossbow bolts start shooting through the windows. Three masked men are outside looking to get in and seem to want to murder all the people inside. It doesn’t take long before it becomes clear these men can more or less come in and out as will and have set some booby traps. The family’s phones are blocked, so 911 is not an option. It sure does look like a standard home invasion movie with Erin probably being set up as a “final girl” who barely survives what happens.
That,. to my utter delight, is not what happened at all. Erin, it seems, has some secrets of her own from her childhood that she hasn’t really told anybody before, including Crispin. When things starts to go bad, she stays calm, knows what to do, and while not indestructible or anything, seems to be the one person in the house best equipped to turn the tables on the masked killers. From there, it becomes more about whether or not she can take them out before they get her as well as asking why these guys are attacking the cabin in the first place. So, really, who’s next?
Oh, this was fun. The twist with Erin was set-up well, and once the masked men attack the house, the tension goes up to where it should be. The Davisons are not the first victims for the masked men, so the aura of danger is there the whole time, but putting a competent individual that isn’t, like, some John McClane type is a welcome development. Erin doesn’t look particularly dangerous. She’s not a burnt out cop or ex-military type. She does explain why she is as good as she is, and it makes sense, but the fact that such an unassuming young woman becomes something of an unexpected action hero made the movie what it was.
And this was a pretty good movie on top of everything else. It’s smart, parcels out the information the audience needs as required, and director Adam Wingard really knows what he’s doing. This is a pulpy sort of bit of fun. I’ve seen lots of movies where the closing credits will show the main cast’s pictures with their names so you know who is who. This may be the first time I’ve seen one where that bit was done showing what the actors looked like at the end of the movie where many of the characters have died a bloody death. About the only thing I didn’t care for was the electronic score, but I’ve never been much of a fan of those. Does this make me part of a cult movie’s following? Well, perhaps, but I am curious to see more of Wingard’s work.
Grade: B+
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