The Cabin In The Woods starts off like a traditional slasher movie usual does; a group of youthful and vibrant friends (Chris Hemsworth, Kristen Connolly, Anna Hutchison, Jesse Williams and Fran Kranz) decide to vacation in a secluded, woodland cabin. You know they're going to perish in grizzly ways at the hands of some malevolent and gruesome force. That's how it usually happens in the movies. But what if the scenario was a set-up for something greater.....something....evil-er?

The screenplay penned by Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon is a spoof/homage/twist on the popular “teen slasher” motif. Even from the beginning it is clear that this will not be your average slasher flick . The film opens with two ordinary looking, institutional grunts Sitterson (Richard Jenkins) and Hadley (Bradley Whitford) chatting about their upcoming schedule for the day. Lin (Amy Acker) joins the two in mid-stroll as she warns the gentlemen about not fowling up their important yet mysterious project. As the film progresses, the link between the cabin shenanigans and the control room are gradually revealed and The Cabin In The Woods gets flipped upside-down as the familiar plot gets a wild shake-up.


Survival of the "highest" degree: Marty "The Resident Pothead" (Fran Kranz) 

Thanks to Mr. Whedon's influence the film sometimes feels like an episode of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer or Angel. Having Amy Acker (“Winifred 'Fred' Burkle / “Illyria” from Angel) and Tom Lenk (“Andrew Wells” from Buffy: TVS) on board helped to reinforce the idea that I was back in “Whedonville” and that's usually been a very pleasant and happening place for me to visit. The offbeat humor stuff is shared between the young vacationers and the blue collar workers. When the horror begins the office employees continue the amusement since the youngsters are too busy running around trying to stay alive. It's a creepy and sinister humor that plagues that control room but I had a jarring revelation about who the office workers such as Sitterson and Hadley might actually represent.

Though The Cabin In The Woods has a tongue-in-cheek air about it there is still lots of palpable horror to be had. The monsters that hunt the young adults are quite relentless and have a healthy bloodlust. The initial bloodletting is modest. A decapitated head here, a decent impaling from behind there. One of the creeps does a really crafty job of wielding a bear trap as an offensive weapon. Oh but I think “gorehounds” will get a chuckle and a warm glow in their sadistic hearts when the bloody finale takes place. I'm literally talking about wall to wall to whole floors covered in red stuff. It's a brief sequence but I got a kick out of the zany mayhem.

Well, I kind of knew what I was walking into as soon as the ticket lady told me to head for the theater down the hall to left. The theater to the left? Uh oh, ha ha ha. The Cabin In The Woods was everything I assumed it would be and a lot of more of what I did not expect. As a fan of spoofs of and homages to things that I enjoy such as horror movies I got a kick out of watching the film, even in the theater. I think what made it most rewarding was the clever script by Goddard and Whedon that transforms the film from a generic woodland slasher romp into something else that I can't reveal because it would spoil the surprise and y'all know how much I abhor spoiling surprises. I also liked that the plot twists happened naturally instead of the awkward jolts that can sometimes occur when a director or screenwriter tries to force a major shift in reality even when it breaks all forms of logic. Thankfully, I can always count on Joss Whedon to write good stuff that rarely ever insults my intelligence.


They organize the deaths of vibrant youths so you don't have to: Sitterson (Richard Jenkins), Lin (Amy Acker) and Hadley (Bradley Whitford)

I totally understand your hesitation to spend money on a movie that isn't so much about scares but more about turning a major cliché on it's head. Even if you don't want to check this out at your local cineplex I would encourage horror fans to check out The Cabin In The Woods when the film is released for the home theater market. It won't give you nightmares but the inspiration is from a good place and you'll at least get a nice series of “guffaws” out of the deal.

Rhymes With: The Strangers (2008), Vacancy (2007) Drag Me To Hell (2009), Evil Dead (1981), Dead Alive / Braindead (1992), Hatchet (2006), Scream (1996), House Of A 1000 Corpses (2003), Thirteen Ghosts (2001), Cabin Fever (2002), Trick R Treat (2007)

Coming Soon:

Chernobyl Diaries (5/25/12) – Yet another tale of another road trip gone horribly wrong. A group of young Americans decide it would be an awesome idea to tour the nuclear ravaged city of Chernobyl. When they head to the van to return to civilization the vehicle is disabled leaving the tourists at the mercy of whatever was left behind after the blast. Story crafted by Oren Peli, director/screenwriter of Paranormal Activity (2009). http://chernobyldiaries.warnerbros.com/index.html  

Looper (9/28/12) – Time travel is manipulated so that criminals from the future are sent to the past to be executed for their crimes. I guess the thinking being that if the criminal is stopped before he commits the crime then the world will be a more peaceful place. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays one of these executioners and is doing pretty well at the gig.....until his future self (Bruce Willis) is sentenced for removal from the time stream. Shocked, the agent let's future self escape and all heck breaks loose. Also starring Emily Blunt, Piper Perabo, and Jeff Daniels. http://www.loopermovie.com/