You’re Next
Director: Adam Wingard
Screenwriter: Simon Barrett
Cast: Sharni Vinson, AJ Bowen, Nicholas Tucci, Wendy Glenn, Joe Swanberg, Barbara Crampton, Amy Seimetz, Ti West
Lionsgate Films
Rated R | 91 Minutes
Release Date: August 23, 2013

Coined by Carol J. Clover in her 1992 book Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film, the “Final Girl” is a popular trope in horror films that refers to the last woman alive to fight the killer.

Sally Hardesty from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre; Ellen Ripley in Alien; Halloween‘s Laurie Strode; Heather Langenkamp’s Nancy from A Nightmare on Elm Street – all of these are resilient women who are masculinized through “phallic appropriation” by taking up a weapon, like a knife or chainsaw, against their would-be killer.

The “Final Girl” convention forces the male audience to identify with a female character in a male-oriented genre associated with exploitation, voyeurism, and brutality. Think about horror movies – slasher films in particular – how many of them end with a lone male survivor?

If you haven’t read Clover’s book, I would highly recommend it, as it raises some interesting questions about the nature of horror films and their relationship to feminism. It seems that for a horror film to be successful, it’s necessary for the surviving character to be female – even if she is masculinized.

This brings us to Adam Wingard‘s latest film, You’re Next. Written by Simon Barrett, You’re Next isn’t interested in deconstructing the horror genre or mocking its tropes, but rather reinvigorating them. The “Final Girl” is resurrected in the form of Erin (Sharni Vinson), a survivalist who fights a gang of axe-wielding psychopaths in creepy animal masks.

Pop Quiz, Hotshot: There’s a bomb on a bus. Once the bus goes 50 miles an hour, the bomb is armed. If it drops below 50, it blows up. What do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO?!

Whoa. Wait. Sorry, that isn’t the question I want to ask – I just got carried away thinking about Dennis Hopper in Speed. What I really want to know is: how many movies have you seen this year?

Me? I’ve seen 89. That’s 89 movies in a little over six-and-a-half months, which means out of the 210 days of the year so far – I’ve spent 7.4 days devouring new movies. With less than six months left in 2013, I decided to do a top ten list of my favorite films of the year so far.

There are still tons of highly-anticipated films on the way – Elysium, Gravity, Ender’s Game, Anchorman: The Legend Continues, The Wolf of Wall Street – but, until then, consider checking out the films below. OK, enough talking, let’s get on with the show. Without further ado, here’s my list of the 10 best films of 2013 so far”¦

Last Time on Skull-Face Island: Faithful robotic butler Mar-10 took Adam on a magical, mysterious journey to Austin, TX, to fulfill his destiny by visiting the South by Southwest Film Festival. David, worried that he may have inadvertently killed Adam using a voodoo doll, is searching the island for his lost companion. During all of this, Tim was drunk and hallucinating after drinking two-too-many Skull-Face Island Iced Teas”¦

Today’s Episode: We find Adam safe and sound in Austin, TX, where he is attending movies at SXSW. Mar-10 left to take care of some robot business, but gave Adam a special two-way radio to communicate with Tim (who has become a raging alcoholic) and report his moviegoing experiences.

We join Adam now as he contacts Tim with mini-reviews of Adam Wingard‘s You’re Next and Josh Johnson‘s VHS documentary, Rewind This! We’ll also check-in on David’s Adventure: The Mystery of the Missing Adam…

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You’re Next
Director: Adam Wingard
Screenwriter: Simon Barrett
Cast: Sharni Vinson, Nicholas Tucci, Wendy Glenn, AJ Bowen, Joe Swanberg, Barbara Crampton, Amy Seimetz, Ti West

Synopsis: One of the smartest and most terrifying films in years, You’re Next reinvents the genre by putting a fresh twist on home-invasion horror. When a gang of masked, ax-wielding murderers descend upon the Davison family reunion, the hapless victims seem trapped… until an unlikely guest of the family proves to be the most talented killer of all. — Lionsgate

Directed by Adam Wingard (A Horrible Way to Die, V/H/S), You’re Next had its world premiere at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival only to collect dust on a shelf for two years. Luckily, after a successful screening at this year’s South by Southwest film Festival, Wingard’s home-invasion horror flick will be released by Lionsgate in August.

This year’s South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) (03/08 – 03/16) features a lineup of 109 films, including 69 world premieres, as well as 14 North American and 5 United States premieres, with 68 of those titles from first-time filmmakers. Every March, the SXSW Film Festival attracts thousands of fans, filmmakers, press, and industry leaders to Austin, TX, to revel in the celebration of cinema by enjoying a gauntlet of new, exciting movies with the best film audiences in the world.

This year I’ll be covering SXSW for Geeks of Doom and plan on seeing around 20 films during my time in Austin. I’ll be updating Geeks of Doom daily with reviews, exclusive Skull-Face Island podcasts, daily journal entries, and filmmaker interviews including director Josh Johnson of the VHS documentary, Rewind This!.