The
Cabin in the Woods
“The Cabin in the Woods” is the kind of movie that I would
love to discuss in detail, but can’t because it would rob the picture of it’s
element of surprise. Many of my favorite movie-going experiences are ones where
I went in not knowing much about the film and was able to enjoy everything
unfold as it happened onscreen, and “The Cabin in the Woods” is one of those
great experiences.
I’ll give a very basic plot so as to not ruin the central
conceit. Five college students go off for a weekend of partying and fun at a
cabin…in the woods. That sounds a lot like “Evil Dead” or any other generic 80s
horror movie right? Well, there is much, much more to the plot than that, but I
won’t divulge too many details. Crazy monsters are terrorizing the college
students, but it’s not as simple as that.
What I liked most about these characters is both their easy
likability and how they don’t easily fall into the clichéd stereotypes. The
innocent “virgin” isn’t much of a virgin, the arrogant jock is actually
friendly and smart, the token stoner idiot is more knowledgeable than he seems,
etc. As the plot starts kicking into high gear, the idea of always using
stereotypical characters in horror movies gets turned on its head. Ultimately, “The Cabin in the Woods” reveals itself to
transcend horror boundaries and becomes a reinvention/rejuvenation of the genre
much like “Scream” was in the 90s. It is simultaneously a love letter to horror
and a criticism of the tired tropes that get repeated dozens of times in the
genre. The final scene of the film, where one character is forced to kill
another to survive, could almost be seen as a middle finger to the “torture”
subgenre that has sprung up recently with “Saw” and “Hostel.”
Since “Cabin” is very much a horror comedy and not a
straight ahead scare fest, there are some very funny moments that poke fun at
conventions of horror movies. There is one about audiences wanting to see cheap
nudity and gratuitous violence in horror movies that had be doubling over, and
another where one character questions the idea of splitting up was great too. For it’s first hour, the movie chugs along at a speedy pace
successfully chugging out jokes, some decent scares, and surprises along the
way, but I kept asking myself where it was going and if there was more to the
story than what was revealed. Perhaps this was intentional on director Drew
Goddard and writer Joss Whedon’s (who is handling “The Avengers”) part because
around that time the final half hour goes completely bonkers in a good way. My
friend who I saw the movie with said it could be interpreted as “the ultimate
horror movie,” and in that last climax where everything but the kitchen sink is
thrown in it just about earns that title.
While I did compare “The Cabin in the Woods” to “Scream” not
too long ago, the two could not be more different. “Cabin” takes it’s meta
aspects much further than “Scream” did by not only referencing the clichés of
horror movies, but also dissecting them and integrating into the plot why they
work the way they do. That is not to say that the movie is an intellectual
exercise. On the contrary, it’s a smartly conceived thrill ride in the vein of
“Inception” where the cleverness never threatens to overcome the sheer
entertainment value. Don’t let anyone spoil it for you, and go see this
genuinely original movie.
4/4
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