Cabin in the Woods (B or 3/4 stars)
It's difficult to talk about 'The Cabin in the Woods' without giving away big spoilers. But I'll try to steer clear from them. And I urge audiences to go into the film knowing as little as possible. The setup is lovingly familiar for horror fans. There's a log cabin in the woods. A group of college-aged friends are on their way there to spend a weekend drinking, having sex, & exploring places they shouldn't (like a dark basement). One girl, Dana (Kristen Connolly), is virginal. The other, Jules (Anna Hutchison), eventually shows us her boobies {haha}. One of the guys, Curt (Chris Hemsworth, of Thor), is a macho jock. And the other guy, Marty (Fran Kranz), is always high on weed & provides comedic relief. They decide to play Truth or Dare one night ... and that's when the killers show up.
Think this is your typical co-ed camp side massacre? Well, think again. Director Drew Goddard & his co-writer, Joss Whedon, are playing with us; creating more than what seems to be a horror/comedy hybrid. This is hinted at during the 1st scene, which features 'engineers' Hadley & Sitterson (Bradley Whitford, Richard Jenkins) discussing a secret project they're working on.
This is not your standard peeps-die-one-by-one-in-cosmic-fashion horror flick. There's a little Sam Raimi in there. A little Friday the 13th. A bit of Scream. I felt the influence of Zombieland. I felt some of Buffy & Angel (both of which my mother inflicted upon me for yrs., haha). But then, there are also some strong elements from The Truman Show & Cube (of a few yrs. ago). And the filmmakers build on small revelations that come together like an elaborate puzzle. All the while, there are plenty of funny one-liners & individual scenes where I was either glued to the screen or cowering in fear (hiding under my sweater).
Director Goddard exhibits a strong understanding of horror-movie expectations. i.e., homages to other countries (like Japan) & how their typical horror films unfold/conclude. Although I wouldn't classify 'The Cabin in the Woods' as pure satire, there are satirical elements at play, throughout. I didn't love everything; eye-rolling various plot decisions (WHY rest on the window sill when you know a killer could be right outside said window?). But then ... that's kinda the point that the filmmakers are trying to make. The movie stuffs in the most overused/predictable elements of horror, then turns them 'about face' on us.
With so much effort being put into assembling a coherent puzzle from a series of seemingly unrelated narrative pieces, and executing the BATSH*T crazy final 20 minutes (where I was thinking "this is creative, fun, yet completely nuts!") ... one of the cool things about this film is that the characters genuinely seem to like each other (unlike many horror films where "friends" try to make it out alive). Their humanity is one of the reasons the movie works as well as it does. Their struggles provide a strong counterpoint to the cynical characters, Sitterson & Hadley - who maneuver situations for their benefit from their seemingly safe control room.
'The Cabin …' offers jolts, gore, but lacks some genuine thrills. That said, the film works in so many other ways that it must be forgiven for some of it's less effective spurts & the love it-or-hate it ending. It's a film full of clever moments that may seem cheeky early on, but ends up with a sly, inspiring 3rd act that pokes fun at horror movie standards while also delivering metaphysical mayhem. It's what Drag Me To Hell wanted to accomplish in 2009, yet fell short (in my opinion). The stellar execution of this sci-fi/dark comedy/satire/gore fest hybrid is a pretty rare & welcomed thing, I must say.
Think this is your typical co-ed camp side massacre? Well, think again. Director Drew Goddard & his co-writer, Joss Whedon, are playing with us; creating more than what seems to be a horror/comedy hybrid. This is hinted at during the 1st scene, which features 'engineers' Hadley & Sitterson (Bradley Whitford, Richard Jenkins) discussing a secret project they're working on.
This is not your standard peeps-die-one-by-one-in-cosmic-fashion horror flick. There's a little Sam Raimi in there. A little Friday the 13th. A bit of Scream. I felt the influence of Zombieland. I felt some of Buffy & Angel (both of which my mother inflicted upon me for yrs., haha). But then, there are also some strong elements from The Truman Show & Cube (of a few yrs. ago). And the filmmakers build on small revelations that come together like an elaborate puzzle. All the while, there are plenty of funny one-liners & individual scenes where I was either glued to the screen or cowering in fear (hiding under my sweater).
Director Goddard exhibits a strong understanding of horror-movie expectations. i.e., homages to other countries (like Japan) & how their typical horror films unfold/conclude. Although I wouldn't classify 'The Cabin in the Woods' as pure satire, there are satirical elements at play, throughout. I didn't love everything; eye-rolling various plot decisions (WHY rest on the window sill when you know a killer could be right outside said window?). But then ... that's kinda the point that the filmmakers are trying to make. The movie stuffs in the most overused/predictable elements of horror, then turns them 'about face' on us.
With so much effort being put into assembling a coherent puzzle from a series of seemingly unrelated narrative pieces, and executing the BATSH*T crazy final 20 minutes (where I was thinking "this is creative, fun, yet completely nuts!") ... one of the cool things about this film is that the characters genuinely seem to like each other (unlike many horror films where "friends" try to make it out alive). Their humanity is one of the reasons the movie works as well as it does. Their struggles provide a strong counterpoint to the cynical characters, Sitterson & Hadley - who maneuver situations for their benefit from their seemingly safe control room.
'The Cabin …' offers jolts, gore, but lacks some genuine thrills. That said, the film works in so many other ways that it must be forgiven for some of it's less effective spurts & the love it-or-hate it ending. It's a film full of clever moments that may seem cheeky early on, but ends up with a sly, inspiring 3rd act that pokes fun at horror movie standards while also delivering metaphysical mayhem. It's what Drag Me To Hell wanted to accomplish in 2009, yet fell short (in my opinion). The stellar execution of this sci-fi/dark comedy/satire/gore fest hybrid is a pretty rare & welcomed thing, I must say.