The Cabin In The Woods - It's Not What You Think!

Posted by TD

This one starts out just like the approximately nine thousand other "Bring A Group Of Teens In The Woods And Slaughter Them One By One" films you've seen before. You have The Jock, The Slut, The Stoner, The Brain, and The Virgin all taking a trip to a creepy looking cabin that looks as though it was lifted right off the set of Evil Dead II (one of the first of many homages to classic Horror flicks, and no surprise when you have Peter "Evil Dead II" Deming as your cinematographer), and assume you know exactly how this is all going to pan out.

Until it turns everything you think you know about these kinds of films directly on its ass.

What writers Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard (Buffy The Vampire Slayer creator & screenwriter, respectively) have done here is nothing short of remarkable. They have taken a well traveled genre staple, created something completely fresh and unique with it, while still managing to give the gorehounds what they want with all of the carnage one expects from the type of film it is initially expected to be. That alone puts their efforts (as Seth Gecko would say) "in my cool book." Without giving anything away, I absolutely think they took one line from Ghostbusters and turned it into an excellent plot device. Sometimes that's all it takes!

Great performances across the board, with Fran Kranz delivering what I can say with 100% confidence is my Favorite Horror Film Stoner Of All Time. There is also a rock star cameo at the end of the flick that is sure to please every fan of the genre.

The only real criticism I have regarding the film would be the way it was marketed. I'm not really sure they knew what to do with this one. I'll fully admit it wasn't until reading about it in Fangoria, coupled with some great reviews from fellow Horror fans, that I got my butt in that theater chair. The previews certainly didn't do it. Then again they probably didn't want to spoil the film's many surprises, so I guess I can't fault them too much for that. I ruined a big one myself simply by looking at the cast list on IMDB before seeing it. *Hint* Don't do it!

I would recommend this film to all fans of the Horror genre. It is easily my early contender for Best Film Of 2012. Intriguing plot, excellent set design, creative kills, and one of the best CGI monsters I've ever seen chomping his way into my heart towards the end. I can see this one being a mainstay in our PS3 for a long time when it is released on Bluie. I for one, will be counting the days until that happens. Catch this one in the theater before it is yanked, Horror Fans. This is definitely one that is best seen for the first time on the big screen in all its genre bending glory.

Click here to see the trailer for Cabin in the Woods.

Rating - Four ½ JAWS Barrels out of five.

Format - Theatrical Screening