Movie Review - The Cabin in the Woods

The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

Starring Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Bradley Whitford, and Richard Jenkins

Directed by Drew Goddard

Five college kids head to a remote cabin in the woods for a fun weekend, but they're soon in for much more than they bargained for as their vacation turns into a hellish nightmare.  And that's the only summary I'll give you for The Cabin in the Woods because part of the fun of watching this incredibly absurd and original horror flick is watching it unfurl in front of you with the rather unique turns seemingly coming out of left field, but proving to be completely believable by the film's end. (Well, maybe not believable in the "real world," but believable in the "cinematic world" this film inhabits.) 

It should be noted that when I like a horror movie, it's generally a good bet to assume that the American public will not.  And that very well may be why Drew Goddard's film has sat on the shelf since 2009.  This is certainly not going to be a movie for everyone.  And, admittedly, it wasn't a movie for me for the first thirty minutes (which I must say felt a little interminable).  The humor wasn't clicking for me and I was quite bored as the film followed an incredibly typical horror flick arc.  However co-screenwriters Goddard and Joss Whedon twist things around and while The Cabin in the Woods remains most definitely in the "slasher flick" genre, it expands upon the boundaries we think of when we think of cinematic blood and gore.  In a sense, it echoes a bit of what Scream did back in the 90s, but Whedon and Goddard push things even further.

It helps that, for the most part, the acting is above average for your standard horror flick and Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford prove to be a real treat as a duo whose purpose would be too much of a spoiler to reveal here.  As soon as Jenkins and Whitford appeared, it was quite obvious that The Cabin in the Woods was going to be a bit different and their quirky sensibilities provide many a laugh.

While there are certainly positives, I can't help but think that there isn't a whole lot of rewatchability in this one.  Knowing the twists and turns ahead of time may very well spoil what made the film so much fun the first go-around.  And, as I mentioned, the movie takes a bit too long to get rolling.  That said, this movie provides the right amounts of humor, tension, and scares, making The Cabin in the Woods an enjoyable ninety minute ride.

The RyMickey Rating:  B