You’re Next on Blu-ray – The DVDfever Review

You’re Next begins with a young couple having sex… well, she’s young, while he’s old enough to be her father.

After a deeply unfulfilling time for her, he goes off for a shower while she puts on some music and fixes a drink, but he comes back to find the bloodied words “You’re Next” painted on the window… and his girlfriend is in a sorry state, lying on the floor. You know what’s coming for him before long…

Then we cut to a family reunion which is slowly building in a posh house where things go bump in the night… or, rather, early afternoon. However, as they’re out of milk, girlfriend-to-one-of-the-sons, Erin (Sharni Vinson) is tasked by mother Aubrey (Barbara Crampton) with going to borrow some more from their neighbour Erik, since the local convenience store is miles away… so, not very convenient.

Unfortunately, she can’t get any reply from Erik because music is blaring out loudly from his house. And also because, as he’s the male in this movie’s first scene, he’s also dead. She doesn’t know this yet.

What follows is the dinner with the family having their usual arguments until someone starts shooting crossbow arrows through the window…

From that point, You’re Next becomes a slasher flick where everyone’s picked off one by one. However, there is one twist in this film that I’ve not seen before, but to detail that here would be a major spoiler, so I won’t.

Overall, You’re Next is worth a look for the gory murders and the blood-squelching noises that go along with it, including the funniest ever use for a blender. Unfortunately, a lack of tension for the most part makes it far from the greatest horror film ever made.

And you’re not seeing things – the film was, indeed, made in 2011 but only got a general theatrical release in 2013 after doing well on the festival circuit. And since it’s coined in a box office of $26m against a budget of a mere $1m, I expect a sequel is on the cards.

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The film is presented in the original 2.35:1 widescreen ratio and in 1080p high defintion. As you’d expect, the print is pin-sharp, highly-detailed and allowing all the blood to spill out in all its glory.

The audio is in DTS 5.1 HD Master Audio, and this is well-used either to set the scene or with some great directional surround sound effects. There’s certainly much to enjoy in the aural department.

The extras on this disc are small in number:

• No Ordinary Home Invasion: The Making of You’re Next (HD) (11:41): A fairly standard ‘making of’ which work-in-progress footage mixed in with soundbites from key cast and crew members.

• Audio commentaries: One from director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett, and a second one with both of them plus actors Sharni Vinson and Barbara Crampton.

As you put the disc in, the menu appears with a subtly-animated image of a distinctive character from the film and a piece of the backgroung music. There are subtitles in English, but when it comes to the chaptering, I feel one should come every five minutes on average. Lions Gate, like many other distributors, go for a low 12 however long the film. I would like them to increase this number.

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FILM CONTENT PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS	6 10 9 2
OVERALL	7

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Detailed specs:

Cert:
Running time: 95 minutes
Year: 2011
Released: January 13th 2014
Chapters: 12
Cat.no: LGB95073
Picture: 1080p High Definition
Sound: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Languages: English
Subtitles: English
Widescreen: 2.35:1 (Redcode RAW (4.5K))
Disc Format: BD50

Director: Adam Wingard
Producers: Simon Barrett, Keith Calder, Kim Sherman and Jessica Wu
Screenplay: Simon Barrett
Music: Mads Heldtberg, Jasper Justice Lee and Kyle McKinnon

Cast:
Erin: Sharni Vinson
Felix: Nicholas Tucci
Zee: Wendy Glenn
Crispian: AJ Bowen
Drake: Joe Swanberg
Kelly: Sarah Myers
Aimee: Amy Seimetz
Tariq: Ti West
Paul: Rob Moran
Aubrey: Barbara Crampton
Lamb Mask: L.C. Holt
Tiger Mask: Simon Barrett
Fox Mask: Lane Hughes