'You're Next' Review: Home Invasion Thriller Features Fresh Chills, Feisty Heroine

How is it that two of the best horror films of the past few years were sitting on the shelf for years before a studio scooped them up?

Luckily, Lionsgate picked up producer/co-writer Joss Whedon’s The Cabin in the Woods, one of my favorite films of last year and one of the most original horror films I’ve ever seen. You’re Next was shot in 2011, opened up at the Toronto Film Festival and then who knows why it sat on the shelf for two years before Lionsgate recognized its brilliance.

If you are a horror movie buff, Buffy fan, Scream franchise adorer or just really love it when the heroine can kick some butt, then You’re Next is for you.

The Davisons are celebrating their wedding anniversary with their children in a mansion that they just bought to renovate. Things take an unexpected turn when the family is attacked by a group of masked killers who want to invade the house.

It sounds like your typical home invasion thriller, but let me assure you that You’re Next is completely out of the ordinary and stands apart from films like The Purge and The Strangers. One of the victims, played by Sharni Vinson (Step Up 3), immediately goes into survival mode when she starts fighting the attackers back, surprising the hell out of them.

We’ve seen several horror movies where the heroine isn’t just the damsel in distress, but its really been a while since we saw a heroine fight back this much. Neve Campbell in Scream, Sigourney Weaver in Alien and Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween were all tough chicks when fighting evil. But I bet all three could learn a thing or two from Vinson’s Erin, a completely badass Aussie with major survival skills and the strongest will to live out of anyone in the house.

If you love horror films, seeing a strong female character beat up some masked vigilantes and enjoy some mind-blowing (literally) violence, you need to see You’re Next in theaters!

Please Hollywood … keep releasing more original and amazing films like this one. Vinson is incredible and I hope we see more things from her in the future.