YOU'RE NEXT (2013)
4K Ultra HD
Label: Second Sight Films
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Cert. 18
Duration: 94 Minutes 9 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Dolby Vision HDR10 2160p HD Widescreen (2.39:1)
Director: Adam Wingard
Cast: AJ Bowen, Sharni Vinson, Joe Swanberg, Margaret Laney, Nicholas Tucci, Wendy Glenn, Amy Seimetz, Ti West, Barbara Crampton. Rob Moran
Home-invasion/slasher You're Next (2013) comes from the creative team of director Adam Wingard (Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire) and writer Simon Barrett (The Guest), wherein wealthy family the Davidsons are reuniting at their rural vacation home in Missouri to celebrate the 35th anniversary and mom and dad. We have the pill-popping mother Aubrey (Barbara Crampton, From Beyond) and retired defense-contractor father Paul (Rob Moran, There's Something About Mary), who are joined their son nebbish college professor son Crispian and his Australian girlfriend Erin (Sharni Vinson, Bait 3D), who was also is former TA, his bullying older brother Drake (Joe Swanberg, The Sacrament) and his wife Kelly (Sarah Myers), and younger brother Felix (the late Nicholas Tucci, The Ranger) and his girlfriend Zee (Wendy Glenn, Waking Madison), plus younger sister Aimee and her underground filmmaker boyfriend Tariq (Ti West, director of X, Pearl, Maxxxine)
As they gather around the dinner table for what should be a a celebration it instead devolves into family dysfunction rather quickly as Crispian and Drake bicker over petty things. Thing turn deadly once a trio of animal-masked intruders invade the estate, and things kicked-off proper when Tariq notices something outside and while peering through a window gets a crossbow bolt to the skull, killing him. Things quickly escalate into a full-blown panic, but unlikely hero Erin emerges as a true feminine-force of nature, having some secret survival skills acquired after years of living with her paranoid doomsday-survivalist survivalist father in Australia.
As the animal-masked intruders Lamb (L.C. Holt, V/H/S/2), a Tiger (Simon Barrett, V/H/S), and a Fox (Lane Hughes, Brooklyn 45) set-in for the kill Erin spearheads a mad dash to fortify the house and arm themselves with household items, making a mad-scrabble dash for survival while also airing some dirty family laundry in the process. The invaders are armed with a machete, a crossbow, and a sledge-ax maul, and the corresponding kills are brutal but not exactly gory, but they are visceral and impactful, all of them very well-executed. There's also quite a bit of black humor, a scene of one of the family members psyching themselves up and getting ready to make a run for it out the front door is done in slow-motion, it's a comic set-up and the result is broadcast long before the garrote-wire trap slices open her neck. I appreciate the subtlety winky, but straight-faced humor of it, the red-streak of humor is never surface level, but is deliciously palpable throughout. That's not to say that its not suspenseful and tense though, the siege on the house has some real nail-biter moments, the threat and stakes of the situation are real. I also love how Erin's survival skills are quite a surprise, the intruders are totally unprepared for how deadly she turns out to be! Her use of a blender as a weapon was unexpected and appreciated, again not super gory but quite bloody, and not something you see everyday. Also, kudos for the terrific opening scene with Larry Fessenden (Habit) and Kate Lyn Sheil (TV's House of Cards) as a couple dispatched early on by one of the killers, nicely establishing the slasher tone, and the brisk pace of the film.
This was and still is a banger of a slasher, an intelligent genre-blender that brings together elements of a slasher, home invasion and survival thriller, there's plenty of violence, masked killers, great atmosphere, creative kills, booby traps, a brisk pace, and a kick-ass final girl with some black humor that put a smile on my face, and I loved how mean-spirited it could be at times.
Audio/Video: You're Next (2013) arrives on region-free 4K Ultra HD from Second Sight Films with a new 4K restoration and Dolby Vision (HDR) grade approved by Director Adam Wingard. The film looks better than ever on UHD, the 4K bump in resolution brings out a level of depth, detail and texture the previous Blu-ray lacked. The biggest benefit of the format is the WCG color-grade which has offers superior contrast, the primary colors are punched up but not overbaked, highlighting bloodshed and the warm autumnal feel of the film. Black levels also look great, and shadow detail is more nuanced than the previous Blu-ray as well. I will note that this is not a flashy looking 4K UHD, it was a low-budget siege/slasher and I wouldn't say it's a 4K showcase disc, but this is easily the best the flick has ever looked on home video.
Audio comes by way of English DTS-HS MA 5,1 surround with optional English subtitles. The uncompressed track does the job, the uncomfortable family gathering turned into an all-out home invasion/slasher gets a solid and supportive track, dialogue sounds natural, when panic sets in and people start screaming the track keeps it's fidelity without sounding harsh, and the repeated use of The Dwight Twilley Band's "Looking for the Magic" sounds great, especially during that opening scene with Larry Fessenden, as one of the first victims of the marauders.
Second Sight Films offer-up some terrific extras, both new and archival. The archival extras here I believe were included on the 2014 U.S. Blu-ray from Lionsgate carried over here include the Audio Commentary with Adam Wingard, Simon Barrett, Sharni Vinson and Barbara Crampton; the 16-min Who’s Next? The Making of Your Next; and 5-min of Animated Storyboards. Not carried over are Audio commentary with Director Adam Wingard and Writer Simon Barrett and the Theatrical Trailer.
New extras exclusive to this release include a brand-new Audio Commentary with Director Adam Wingard and Writer Simon Barrett - which makes up for not having the 2014 track; the hour-long Children of the 80s: Interview with Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett; 23-min The Most of Us: Interview with Producers Keith Calder and Jess Wu Calder; the 28-min Script as a Blueprint: Interview with Actor AJ Bowen; 17-min Down in the Basement: Interview with Actor Joe Swanberg; 15-min Be Funny and Die: Interview with Actor Amy Seimetz; 16-min Falling into Place: Interview with Production Designer Tom Hammock; and the 12-min visual essay Slashers Don’t Die: Tim Coleman on You’re Next.
This single-disc standard arrives in a black keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork with new artwork by Nick Charge. This release is also available from Second Sight as a Limited Edition 2-disc dual-format (UHD/BD) release with a Rigid Slipcase, 120-Page Book and Art Cards.
Special Features:
- New 4K restoration and HDR Dolby Vision grade approved by Director Adam Wingard
- NEW! Audio commentary with Director Adam Wingard and Writer Simon Barrett
- Audio commentary with Adam Wingard, Simon Barrett, Sharni Vinson and Barbara Crampton
- NEW! Children of the 80s: A new interview with Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett (1:00:43)
- NEW! The Most of Us: A new interview with Producers Keith Calder and Jess Wu Calder (23:24)
- NEW! Script as a Blueprint: A new interview with Actor AJ Bowen (27:31)
- NEW! Down in the Basement: A new interview with Actor Joe Swanberg (16:43)
- NEW! Be Funny and Die: A new interview with Actor Amy Seimetz (14:30)
- NEW! Falling into Place: A new interview with Production Designer Tom Hammock (15:35)
- NEW! Slashers Don’t Die: Tim Coleman on You’re Next (12:23)
- Who’s Next? The Making of Your Next (16:16)
- Animated Storyboards (5:15)
You're Next (2013) has never looked better than it does on this 4K UHD from Second Sight Films, the extras are excellent, and if you're a fan of the film or just curious, I think this should be Your Next purchase!
