TIFF Day 2

Film Recommendation / You’re Next (2011)

Horror is a genre I’ve never found to be worth much time. Standards are consistently low, narratives badly constructed, and stories lazily told. ‘You’re Next‘ is different.

Well-paced and solidly built, ‘You’re Next,‘ is an independent genre film outstanding in its terse simplicity. The film delivers a story anchored in a set of awkward emotional family dynamics before launching into motion, showering the movie’s subtext with blood.

It’s only briefly touched upon, but the patriarch is a retired executive for a defense contractor. His family is victim of a brutal home invasion. That facet is elevated, in its brevity, to a kind of poetry.

Structure is the touchstone here. ‘You’re Next‘ is conventional in its rhythms while consistently managing to keep ahead of the viewer. (Also, I’m a sucker for a badass female protagonist.)