You're Next: Yet another home invasion horror movie... or is it?

This is probably one of the most falsely-marketed films of the year, and I loved nearly every minute of it.

You're Next:
During a family gathering at their large country vacation home, the wealthy Davison clan are attacked by a mysterious trio of skilled killers in white animal masks, and must survive the night. Unbeknownst to them, one of the party guests has uncanny survival skills, and may single-handedly get them through the night alive. This movie, although marketed as a chilling and traumatizing horror-thriller, is actually a mix of a slasher film and dark comedy. In fact, actor A.J. Bowen, who appears in this film, played a lead character in The Signal, a 2009 film known for balancing dark comedy with scenes of brutal violence and horror. The movie actually proves to be pretty funny at many points, and reminds me of films like Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, the previous mentioned The Signal, and last year's cult hit The Cabin in the Woods. But don't get me wrong, it is the darkest that black comedy gets, so people who don't like that stuff aren't gonna really like this movie. The movie has a great cast, including Bowen, Australian actress Sharni Vinson (who's pretty bad-ass in this movie), and Joe Swanberg (a film director known for making improvised, extremely low-budget dramas), who plays Bowen's dickhead brother in the film. The movie has some pretty brutal and inventive kills, so it works as an effective slasher film, too. The soundtrack is pretty cool, it features "Perfect Day" by Lou Reed (in the trailer), among other soft rock tunes. The villains, for the first half, are creepy and threatening, the second half, they seem like The Three Stooges, they fumble about and are easily outsmarted by the main characters, but they do work well. The film, despite these good elements, has it's fault. The film is a bit disappointing if you were looking for a straightforward horror movie, and the comedy sometimes outweighs the horror elements, which can make the film feel a bit uneven at times. But I did really enjoy the movie, it's a good time, and it's perfect for a scary movie night or something to watch around Halloween. You're Next may not be perfect, in fact, it's far from it, but it's got a good cast, it's well-written and clever, it's funny (in a fucked-up sort of way) and gory and even scary at times and I love it for that. 3.5/5 stars.

 (Image: Wikipedia)