THE DANMAN CAN

When I saw  You're Next (2011) in its wide theatrical release back in 2013, I thought it was merely decent. I think I remember why now—all the incessant shaky cam. There are few things in cinema that perturb me as much. It's a shame because YN  is a solid little home invasion flick, and works better when it utilizes slow motion (or the few shots that actually use a dolly) instead. While it's fun to watch obnoxious people get offed in horrific ways, and the ending is pretty amusing, director  Adam Wingard  and writer Simon Barrett  greatly improved their filmmaking technique with their follow-up,  The Guest  (2014) ( review ). I do have  YN  to thank for introducing me to this jam  though.

The Guest  (2014) successfully mashes  Halloween  (1978) (my review here ) and  The Terminator   (1984)— along with other '80s and '90s influences such as Universal Soldier (1992) and  John Woo  films—to create a fun and subversively funny action/thriller/horror hybrid. This highly stylized low budget cult favorite features charming and charismatic lead performances from Dan Stevens and Maika Monroe , eye-popping cinematography by Robby Baumgartner , a fantastic, pulsing score from  Steve Moore , and an absolutely killer goth/synthwave/industrial  soundtrack . The Guest  isn't quite a slam dunk for me—while I do appreciate the fact that there is a level of mystery to the titular character's origin, other characters and themes (such as PTSD) feel underdeveloped, and at times the lack of resources shows (particularly in the climax). But there is an undeniable charm to this indie—I appreciate its simplicity and efficiency, I lik...