Bringing something “new” to the horror genre is pretty tough
these days. Everything’s been done and most of that stuff had already been done
before it was ever done in the first place.
Does that make any sense? It made sense in my head.
In any case, it’s a rare and wonderful thing when a horror film comes along that dares to break the mold, even just a teensy bit. It just so happens that The Cabin In the Woods is one of those movies. Written by Joss Whedon (Avengers, Serenity) and Drew Goddard (Cloverfield) and directed by Goddard, the movie tells the age-old story of a group of kids who head to the mountains for a weekend of relaxation, liquor, and some youthful teenage nakedness. (Which really is the best kind of nakedness.) Not long after the teens arrive they’re attacked by some creepy stuff and a lot of blood is spilled.
Wait, no…that’s not at all what it’s about.
Does that make any sense? It made sense in my head.
In any case, it’s a rare and wonderful thing when a horror film comes along that dares to break the mold, even just a teensy bit. It just so happens that The Cabin In the Woods is one of those movies. Written by Joss Whedon (Avengers, Serenity) and Drew Goddard (Cloverfield) and directed by Goddard, the movie tells the age-old story of a group of kids who head to the mountains for a weekend of relaxation, liquor, and some youthful teenage nakedness. (Which really is the best kind of nakedness.) Not long after the teens arrive they’re attacked by some creepy stuff and a lot of blood is spilled.
Wait, no…that’s not at all what it’s about.
Well, I guess it is…sort
of.
Does that make any sense? Probably not.
From the opening scene of The Cabin in the Woods it’s pretty obvious there’s a hell of a lot more going on than my standard two-sentence retelling of the synopsis of almost every American horror film of the last thirty years might suggest. The Cabin in the Woods is a deceptively smart flick. It’s fresh and it’s different, and manages to be fresh and different while remaining wholly aware of audience expectations. The movie zigs when it’s supposed to zag. Midway through the zig it does a little jig, and before it finishes the jig it does something else that rhymes with both zig and jig.
Does that make any sense? Probably not.
From the opening scene of The Cabin in the Woods it’s pretty obvious there’s a hell of a lot more going on than my standard two-sentence retelling of the synopsis of almost every American horror film of the last thirty years might suggest. The Cabin in the Woods is a deceptively smart flick. It’s fresh and it’s different, and manages to be fresh and different while remaining wholly aware of audience expectations. The movie zigs when it’s supposed to zag. Midway through the zig it does a little jig, and before it finishes the jig it does something else that rhymes with both zig and jig.
Munches on a fig?
No, it doesn’t munch on a fig. That’s stupid. It’s very lazy writing on my part. Amateur hour. I shouldn’t have typed it and I certainly shouldn’t be calling attention to it like I am. If The Cabin in the Woods did munch on a fig though, it would munch on a fig pretty awesomely.
No, it doesn’t munch on a fig. That’s stupid. It’s very lazy writing on my part. Amateur hour. I shouldn’t have typed it and I certainly shouldn’t be calling attention to it like I am. If The Cabin in the Woods did munch on a fig though, it would munch on a fig pretty awesomely.
For the most part the cast is solid. Hemsworth is good. Fran
Kranz is good. Anna Hutchison’s booty shorts and accompanying booty are, of
course, highlights. The ensemble seems completely on board with the wonderful
absurdity of it all, moving from cheeky humor to hysterical confusion with
relative ease.
As far as sophomore efforts go, this is a pretty decent outing for Goddard. While I certainly appreciated the strength of the visuals in Cloverfield the story left me mostly underwhelmed and ultimately seemed like a mish-mash of decent moments than a complete film. With The Cabin in the Woods the man has something to work with story-wise and it’s heightened his game.
As far as sophomore efforts go, this is a pretty decent outing for Goddard. While I certainly appreciated the strength of the visuals in Cloverfield the story left me mostly underwhelmed and ultimately seemed like a mish-mash of decent moments than a complete film. With The Cabin in the Woods the man has something to work with story-wise and it’s heightened his game.
The real star of the film is the script. It’s fun, and it’s
interesting, and it’s unexpected in a genre where unexpected is a rarity these
days. I know it sounds corny as hell, but it’s a breath of fresh air. I’m not
getting any younger. These eyes of mine have seen a lot of horror films over
the years. I’ve watched human beings get mangled and disfigured in just about
every way a human being can get mangled and disfigured. I’ve seen a lot of
boobs and nearly 100% of them were splattered with blood at some point. Basically
it takes an awful lot to really surprise
me.
The Cabin in the Woods surprised me.
The Cabin in the Woods surprised me.
Sure, it’s not Citizen
Kane or The 400 Blows. It’s not
going to make you take a long hard look at your life and the people around you,
or reconsider your place in the universe. It’s not exactly an art house flick,
but at the same time it sort of it. It’s art house without the curly mustache. It’ll
make you smile. In fact, if you’ve seen as many mangled bodies and
blood-splattered boobs as I have it’ll make you smile even more. You’ll get the
references, you’ll understand the jokes, and you’ll see the point of the
wonderful insanity of it all.
If you haven’t done so already, this one is worth checking out.
-STEVEN
If you haven’t done so already, this one is worth checking out.
-STEVEN
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