Review: The Cabin in the Woods
The Cabin in the Woods is a movie for both the horror buff and the casual viewer. While Scream turned the slasher genre on it’s head, Cabin in the Woods does this to literally every scary movie you’ve ever seen, and intelligently to boot. While it’s been advertised and hyped as a traditional horror movie, that was a lie. Yes, five college-ish aged kids venture into the woods with a keg to have sexy times and maybe have that cute redhead show her nipples to the cold mountain air. And yes, shit starts to get creepy. But then the movie’s second act takes a hard right into Weirdville, and that’s where it starts to get really, really fun. By the third act the film truly flies off the handle, and it become as close to a carnival ride as you get without actually having to make eye contact with a carnie.
It confronts every cliché you’ve ever seen- from the dumb blonde to Chekhov’s Gun, and gives not only reasoning, but justifies all of the mistakes horror movie characters make that have us react with “WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT every time. (My personal annoyance is the basement. Never go in there, and if you do, you’re dumb.)
This is a tough movie to review without spoiling- hell, I’m already a week late- but all I can say without gushing or dropping cryptic hints is to go in blind, see it and have a great time. The film boasts a well cast group of meddlin’ kids contrasted with the Men Pulling The Strings, played by the excellent character actors Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford who are men born to read Joss Whedon scripts. The movie, directed by Drew Goddard and co written by Goddard and Whedon, is a gory, goofy takedown of a genre we love to pick apart and yet continue to consume. The only specific pieces of advice I will give you as the viewer are as follows: when the white board is shown, read as much as you can, and when the elevators open, strap in and keep your eyes peeled.
A perfect intro into what’s shaping up to a great summer for movies, Cabin in the Woods is a smart parody with genuine suspense. It’s not like that Nicholas Sparks movie looks any good. See it this weekend!
Follow the author Rachel Millman on twitter (@rachelmillman) where she tells dumb jokes, and takes requests as to which movies you’d like to see reviewed next.
