Usually, when a film interests me, I go out of my way to read up on the story or cast or even read a few reviews from trust-worthy, non-spoilery places. This was not the case for The Cabin in the Woods, but only due to the urging of just about every shtick of information I read. There are a few things I feel comfortable going into with this review and some that I don't to preserve some of the charm. Just know this: this is one of the best horror movies recently mostly because it copies so shamelessly from all the rest.
If you've seen the trailer, you already know the gist of it. This is also the case if you've seen a Jason Voorhees romp or any of its derivatives. The set up is simple: five kids from various social norms converge to have a fun weekend at a secluded location not knowing of said location's history. After an unsettling encounter with a exposition-y local and an evening of drunken merriment, the young adults find themselves up against a hideous and deadly force, whether that be a bunch of mutant hillbilly zombies, a lone and crazed serial killer, or a bloodthirsty unicorn. With some notable exceptions, the first half or so of this film is exactly like what you'd expect if you crossed Evil Dead with a random, low-budget 80s horror film.
As soon as the "kids" reach the cabin, they engage in activities that you or I would find questionable in a movie like this such as drinking, having sex, and of course perusing around in a creepy basement. Little do they know that they are stuck in a 'Choose Your Adventure' horror movie complete with many different directions and villains lurking around the proverbial corner. That's all I am going to say about that.
While none of the actors attempt anything groundbreaking in their portrayals of their respective stereotypes, they excel simply because they uphold their assumed character traits with little variances here and there. Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth, plays the jock but one who is surprisingly smart and non-dickish for a change. Anna Hutchison is his ditzy girlfriend, but only because she just dyed her hair blonde: she's actually premed. Jesse Williams is, I suppose at least, the super attractive brainiac with social skills. And Kristen Connolly is the sweet, innocent final girl who may or may not be a virgin. Only Fran Kranz as the stoner Marty plays along with conventions the majority of the time as the addle-minded stoner. Unsurprisingly then, I liked him the least.
While the actors are great set-dressing on the stale and worn-out thread, co-writer and director Drew Goddard takes all of the genre conventions and embraces them all the while casually disregarding them as he introduces another side of the story that hopefully has not been completely spoiled by now. For the traditional horror-esque portion, Goddard is a master at recreating horror cheese in an effective and beautiful way. While this is his first time in the director's chair, Goddard shows his years working with J.J. Abrams and (also co-writer) Joss Whedon were well-spent with not only playful and genuine dialogue but an impressive visual sense as well. Goddard and DP Peter Deming deserve accolades for their use of 2.35:1 widescreen and filling it with so much visual information that helps the film stand out among the various low-rent ideas it cribs from.
When the big reveal is finally made, the film stands up not only as a largely effective horror film featuring overwrought genre tropes and as a spoof of those straightforward films as well. There are many reviews around that draw parallels from this film to the horror movie community as a whole but honestly I didn't catch onto any of that while watching. I was far too entertained by how this film, which initially seems creatively bankrupt of ideas, melds the examples of previous horror films to the expectations of modern-day viewers with a dash of humor and facetiousness abound. The final reel or so of the film may strike some as odd and completely out of place, but I was loving the over-the-top antics that hearken back to the times when gobs of blood and crazy monsters was all that was required to love a film.
If at all possible, I implore you to see The Cabin in the Woods theatrically. It not only will put money back into the hands of people who respect horror films but it will save you the trouble of having it spoiled. If you can't, just don't read anything else about this film until you watch it.
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