You’re Next (2011)
Home invasion movies are something of an institution in the horror genre. Alongside slashers and creature features, the home invasion flick dates back all the way to The Lonely Villa, a 1909 silent film, making it amongst the oldest in the horror genre. The Strangers, The Purge, and more prove how indelible the genre is.
But what if it wasn't even your house?
2011's You're Next is an interesting beast. An affluent family reunites for a dinner, something that's apparently extremely rare, only for the night to grow sour when they come under attack from a cadre of masked killers. However, that's not where this movie really wants to go. In fact, it's one of my favorite kinds of movies - a reverse horror movie.
This isn't really a genre, at least not officially, so let me explain.
You know the part at the end of every Scream movie, where Sidney flips the script on Ghostface and begins to terrorize them? That's what the reverse horror movie does; those who are the terror begin to instead FEEL the terror.
This kind of thing isn't exactly uncommon. Many movies do this sort of thing in the final hour, as the heroes finally fight back against the villains. What makes a truly great reverse horror movie is when more of the movie than expected is dedicated to that premise. This, specifically, is why You're Next is so goddamn awesome.
The Final Girl of the hour is Erin, an Aussie lass whose boyfriend is one of the sons in this prestigious family, Crispain. She, in fact, is probably the best "spanner in the works" character I've ever seen in my life. She is the absolute WORST victim - she doesn't mind taking a meat tenderizer to her assailants, and she is crafty, intelligent, and knows way too much about knife wounds.
The reason for this isn't really plot relevant, but I still will leave it for you to learn. All that you need to know is this - about halfway through the movie, one of the major plot twists is revealed with next to no fanfare. That isn't a bad thing, especially because that's when the movie changes into that ever-badass reverse horror movie.
Erin becomes an absolute BADASS in the second half. She is absolutely unstoppable, and it is absolutely cathartic to watch. She uses traps, wits, and quite honestly a healthy dose of unhinged, unrelenting violence, refusing to be part of this mess.
Just saying that much probably gives too much away, as I really like to leave a lot of that sort of thing to the reader to discover, but it's what truly makes this movie stand out amongst plenty of home invasion movies. It's not a bad genre; I actually adore The Strangers, being one of the first horror movies I ever watched. However, it's also awesome to see something different done in the genre, especially when the character in question isn't even in their own home.
Reverse home invasion? Pshaw, leave that to Don't Breathe. Time for the inverse invasion movie - the killers are walking into their own, fancy coffin.
Needless to say, I recommend this movie. I usually do. If you're into horror, though, this is a definite need.
