You're Next

You're Next (shot 2011, released 2013) starts with a family reunion turning into a siege. Three people in animal masks attack the house and a wealthy couple's anniversary dinner falls apart fast. The trick is that one of the intended victims turns out to be far better prepared than the attackers. It was shot over four weeks at a mansion in Columbia, Missouri, almost entirely at night, roughly seven in the evening to seven in the morning. It premiered at Toronto in September 2011, Lionsgate bought it four days later, and then sat on it for close to two years. Nobody could see it until August 2013. The cast comes from inside American indie horror: Ti West, Joe Swanberg and the film's own screenwriter Simon Barrett all appear on screen. Barrett plays one of the masked killers. It cost a million dollars and grossed 26.9 million worldwide. It runs 94 minutes. Good for: home invasion tension, black comedy, and a protagonist who inverts the usual role. Less good for: the violence is bloody and improvised out of household objects. The first half hour of character setup is thin and some choices are absurd; the film knows it, but not everyone finds that fun.