The Cabin in the Woods Review

*Promo Poster for The Cabin in the Woods Film*

The Cabin in the Woods is one of those rare movies that comes along every so often and challenges your perception of what a film should be. In this case, the basic concept of a horror movie and what makes it scary. This film should not be a scary movie to anyone watching it unless they don't have much experience with horror films in general, and to those who are horror movie buffs, it will most likely become required viewing due to it's metafictional nature. At it's core however, The Cabin in the Woods ends up being a movie with a message perhaps more than we as viewers would like to know, and that's where things get interesting.

WARNING: This review may contain some spoilers.

Imagine this: Your going to go on vacation with a group of friends who just happen to fit into every contemporary stereotype you can think of for a horror movie, you're going to a secluded cabin deep in the middle of nowhere, and you find upon entering said cabin that everything there is not only a bit creepy, but very wrong in some way, would you stick around? Sounds like a horror movie set up to me. But The Cabin in the Woods plays off it's own self awareness by making this exactly what the film is about, *big spoiler* duping some youths into becoming sacrifices for the original evil in order to maintain the established balance and preventing the apocalypse for occurring *end big spoiler*. 

The movie has no qualms with using generic subject matter, and nothing in this film should be considered original beyond it's meta-fiction; it escapes much ridicule due to how often it pokes fun at itself. Not to mention when your producer is Joss Whedon, and anyone familiar with his work knows what they are getting into, it makes it easier to ingest. With that being said, in all honestly, aside from the ending of the film, this one isn't very bloody, and surprisingly not as campy as most other movies of it's trope. One big complaint while watching the movie itself was not having an awareness of how dark it was, literally, the TV screen's brightness needed to be adjusted or many parts would've been missed, mainly whenever anyone was outside. This may not be something that everyone needs to worry about, but just a word of caution. 

The film spends a lot of time on set ups. After setting up a brief explanation of the characters and who they are, we are then brought to the woods, where the set up for the creepy atmosphere is... well, set up. Then the group travels into the basement where they need to choose (unknown to them) the evil that will be unleashed on the cabin by choosing a tainted item to interact the correct way with. Then...finally, a few scenes later you have what makes the movie a scary movie, but the real fun doesn't even start till about three quarters of the way through, or more aptly the last twenty minutes of the film *more spoilers* when the surviving characters, thankfully the more interesting ones, find there way into the secret

underground facility where all the individuals working to sacrifice them shelter practically every horror movie creature for future rituals. This is however when things reach their most ridiculous, I mean, when a unicorn impales a staff member to death against a wall and a lovely angelic choir briefly triumphs audibly in the background, the movie clearly knows it's audience and it's own absurdity *end spoilers*. It's cheesy, it's inspired, and it's loads of fun. It makes the movie worth watching alone. This love affair will die soon however, because the ending is depressing, and unnecessary. As most horror movies go, you look towards the sequel to completely break you of any desire to continue watching, but in this films case the ending places the nail so firmly in the coffin that it's almost like it slaps all it's own inspirations in the face and says "A sequel!? Screw that! We don't need a sequel to this horror movie, it's too good for that!". Maybe it's meant to pay homage to how the classics never use to end on a good note, but this isn't necessarily a good thing. If you're not a fan of these types of endings, where everything either makes more sense choosing the sad or scary ending, or just plain don't like the vibe it leaves with you, then this movie will not leave a good taste in your mouth.

Not much can be mentioned about the actors and the acting itself since the story and character development in the film are practically non-existent besides what has been said already. Horror movies aren't known for their deep plots and character progression, so just write that necessity off and watch it for other reasons. Aside from the ending, The Cabin in the Woods is an amazing feet for a horror movie. It remains accessible, as well as being both a gateway film for non-horror fans and a perfect all encompassing experience for hardened vets of the frightful delights. Getting past the films deliberate slow build into monstrous mayhem may prove too much for some, but if you can stomach it, this is a short but sweet journey to a familiar place that has some cool surprises to offer and doesn't overstay its welcome.

Check out The Cabin in the Woods trailer provided below!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsIilFNNmkY

Review Score Card:                                                                                                                     

Storyline:            Simple, humorous, clever, but thin.

Charatcers:         It's a horror movie, don't expect much depth.

Pacing:               Tolerable, but most of the fun starts very late in the film.

Interest Level:      Hard to not be pleased by everything it does right, even at it's most ridiculous.

Overall:              8.5 out of 10 - A horror movie for horror fans, yet also accessible to those                               looking for an in.