You're Next

I've wanted to see this ever since the teaser images of a guy in a wolf mask holding an axe first surfaced, and the subsequent buzz both in the press and on this site both encouraged and worried me, as often over hyped films can be a big disappointment. You're Next did not disappoint. It's a horror movie of type not seen in recent po-faced years. It is fun. It will make you jump, and wince, and laugh, and cheer, and gasp. It's not a genre reinventor, as it's been heralded by some, nor is it particularly meta, though it does credit its audience with having seen a horror movie, and all the characters act in ways that are either sensible or believably and reasonably stupid. It's not even particularly original, with elements of Severance, Agatha Christie (really), Home Alone (still really) and most of all little seen Australian thriller Fortress (not the Christopher Lambert one), with its brilliantly hardcore Aussie lead actress and animal-masked killers. But originality be damned. This is the most fun you'll have watching a man step on nails all year. (Sidebar: if you haven't seen Fortress, see Fortress. It's great. Then see this. Possibly twice.)