The Cabin in the Woods (R)

Directed by Drew Goddard
Written by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard


Apparently, Joss Whedon has a cult following. I'm not exactly sure how though. It's not that he's bad at what he does, it's just I don't see what he's done to earn such trust within this fan base. The first I heard of this following is when a group of my friends got super excited to see this film. I was dumbfounded since the title isn't a title that makes me interested in the film and the trailer sets it up to be another teenagers getting murdered story that we've all seen a hundred times over in practically every horror film ever made. I asked why they were excited to see it and they said, "because Joss Whedon wrote it and I trust him completely to do a great job." I mean, he did the TV shows "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Firefly" which I've heard good things about I guess. But in film, he's only really so-so. He co-wrote Speed which I've heard is good and he was the writer-director for Serenity which was alright. My favorite of his film credits is Toy Story. That's right, he co-wrote Toy Story. But that isn't that well known among my Joss Whedon fan friends. Other than that, he wrote or co-wrote Alien Resurrection, Titan A.E., Atlantis - The Lost Empire, and the Buffy movie, none of which were terribly good. So I wasn't sure where the absolute faith was coming from. Then I looked at some early reviews for The Cabin in the Woods and I heard good things. So I gave it a shot when my friends went to see it on its opening weekend. And let me tell you, I'm glad I did. The trailer does not do the story justice at all. The trailer makes it seem like another teenagers getting murdered in the woods story but it is so much more than that. It pays homage to teen slasher flicks while parodying them at the same time. It is quite refreshing to see a horror film that doesn't take itself too seriously. It's fifty percent horror film and fifty percent comedy. The comedy soars and the horror holds its own. There's a second part to the plot that the trailer doesn't reveal that creates a lot of comedy and makes the horror feel fresh and unique. Because the trailer and the filmmakers don't reveal more than that, I won't either. As for the other plot, there's your typical five teen horror lineup - a whore, a jock, a stoner, a brainiac, and a good girl. They decide to take a weekend excursion to this cabin in the woods that the jock's cousin owns. A horror movie ensues. I know it sounds pretty simple without the other elements that add so much enjoyment to the film but I'm determined not to reveal anything that might spoil it for you. The ending may leave a little something to be desired for some people, but the first two acts make it bearable. The acting is nothing special, but it gets the job done. The direction is the same way. It's the story that is special here. I've been waiting for a horror movie like this my whole life. I'm not the biggest horror movie fan in the world. I'll watch them, but probably only once. If I watch a horror movie a second time, it's most likely because of the people I'd be watching it with rather than the movie itself. For me, the scares disappear after the first viewing and the scares are the only reason to watch a horror movie. This horror movie is one that I might want to watch again for the content. Maybe the scares aren't as scary as they were the first time I watched it, but the laughs are still worth watching it again for. At the end of the day, I'd recommend giving this one a try.


Scores (out of 10)
Acting: 7.5
Directing: 7
Writing: 8


Overall: 8