Good news for gorehounds: the trailer for You're Next, the fourth feature-length film from horror director Adam Wingard (2012's horror anthology V/H/S) has hit the web - and it's a good sell. After spending the last couple of years in a holding pattern, possibly due to Lionsgate's acquisition of Summit Entertainment earlier this decade, the highly-touted home invasion flick is finally arriving in theaters this summer - and judging by the teaser footage (featuring the musical stylings of Lou Reed), it'll be worth the wait.

Following in the sub-genre traditions set by films like The Strangers, Wait Until Dark, High Tension, and Funny Games, You're Next depicts the events that unfold when the Davidson family reunion is interrupted by a gang of masked killers wielding axes and crossbows. As the group brutally hunts down every person in attendance one by one and the body count starts stacking up, they run into opposition in the form of Erin (Sharni Vinson), the girlfriend of one of the Davidson family members who possesses a secret knack for violence herself.

If there's anything standing in the way of success for You're Next, it's the burden of hype. Wingard's film has been in release purgatory for a long time, but it's been making the festival rounds at TIFF '11 and this year's SXSW extravaganza - and received high uniform praise from audiences at both. That's encouraging, of course - clearly the film wasn't shelved for reasons of quality. But too much advance hype can be crippling for DIY indie horror movies like You're Next, so hopefully its patrons aren't undercutting the film's prospects with unreasonably high expectations.

You're-Next

That said, after observing Wingard's contribution to V/H/S - the framing wraparound device holding the entire exercise together - it seems like there's nowhere for him to go but up (read our full V/H/S review). Granted, he was burdened with the most thankless responsibility on that production, and didn't have much opportunity to establish his cinematic identity throughout its running time, but he also failed to find much of an audience with his previous standalone effort, A Horrible Way to Die - which met with an uneven reception in its 2011 theatrical run.

But with all of the positive early word of mouth You're Next is enjoying, it seems like Wingard's finally poised to break out as a bona fide voice in horror filmmaking. We'll see come August if his film is the real deal.

-

You're Next hits theaters August 23rd, 2013