The setup is a time-honored horror classic. A group of five friends ― Dana (Kristen Connolly), the goody-goody; Curt (Chris Hemsworth), the jock; Jules (Anna Hutchinson), the slut; Marty (Fran Kranz), the pothead; and Holden (Jesse William), the nerd ― have all piled into an RV intending to spend a weekend at a lonely cabin far from civilization. But the group is unaware that something dangerous is waiting for them. Two engineers (Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford) are secretly watching their every move, observing and manipulating the night's events from a mysterious control room. To say anything more would completely ruin the surprises that lie within The Cabin in the Woods.
Wes Craven's Scream made huge waves in the horror genre when it was released in 1996. Its "seen it all" attitude helped to both deconstruct and rebuild the slasher movie style that was all the rage during the '80s. But The Cabin in the Woods takes the further step of breaking down not just slasher movies but the entire horror genre. All of horror is pulled apart and examined in some form or fashion here. The genre's collective tropes and clichés are played straight, played for laughs, and often outright subverted by this flick. And in the process, The Cabin in the Woods becomes a truly awesome love letter to a genre that has so many ups and downs in terms of quality.
But getting the movie actually released ended up being a real chore. Production was completed in 2009, but had its scheduled 2010 release date was delayed until 2011 so the movie could be converted into 3D. But before that conversion could happen, MGM announced that the movie would be shelved indefinitely due to the studio's financial troubles. The distribution rights were eventually sold off to Lions Gate Films, who finally released the film on this past Friday. It's a shame that it took so long to release the movie, because it's an immensely entertaining piece of work that any horror fan should really make a point of seeing right now.
The movie was directed by Cloverfield writer Drew Goddard, who makes his directorial debut with The Cabin in the Woods. You'd never know that Goddard had never directed a movie before, because it looks like it was made by someone with years of experience. Goddard fills the movie with a ton of visual shout-outs to many classic horror movies, showing a great level of affection and appreciation for the genre he's satirizing as well. That works to not only make the movie a better parody of horror, but a better straightforward horror movie in its own right.
Goddard's direction never lets the movie grow boring or dull, as it stays entertaining and exciting all the way through. For as good as the script and the acting are, the movie would have really been hurting had Goddard done a crappy job. But outside of a few incredibly rare instances of less-than-convincing CGI (which I'm sure was not Goddard's fault), everything is fantastic.
He also manages to get some great performances at of his cast. Everyone plays their parts with enthusiasm and are awesome at what they're doing, but there are a few standouts I want to highlight. One is Kristen Connolly, who plays the designated "final girl." Her performance is strong, smart, and quite likable. I also enjoyed Chris Hemsowrth, who is the "alpha male" among the victims. Hemsworth, perhaps the movie's biggest star thanks to his role in Thor and the upcoming Avengers, plays his character perfectly. He hits every note necessary to make his character really engaging.
And then there's Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford, the actors playing the two guys engineering this whole thing. I can' go too in depth regarding Jenkins and Whitford without spoiling parts of the movie, but both of them are hilarious. Their scenes are some of the most fun parts of the whole movie, and I'm glad they were both hired to be in front of the camera. I can also say the same thing about Amy Acker, who appears as a scientist assisting Jenkins and Whitford's characters. I was excited to see Acker in the movie because of how much I enjoyed her work on the TV show Angel, and she didn't let me down here.
But the entire cast is overshadowed by Fran Kranz, who only needed a talking dog to become the movie's equivalent of Shaggy from Scooby-Doo. The fact that the movie allowed the stoner character to be the one to figure it all out was awesome enough, but Kranz's performance made it even better. He plays the role as him being the only sane man in an insane setting, and he's very funny all the way through. Kranz puts forth what I'd call the best performance among the whole cast, though Jenkins and Whitford do come very close.
What makes the whole movie, however, is the screenplay written by Goddard and Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon. The script is very much something what you'd expect from Whedon: witty dialogue combined with the toying with genre conventions and tropes. I know I compared the movie to Scream earlier, but while Wes Craven was satisfied just pointing out the "rules" of slasher movies, Goddard and Whedon choose to take their horror satire to the point of explaining why the genre's tropes and clichés are so often repeated. Without giving too much away, Goddard and Whedon have crafted what I've seen some critics and reviewers describe as a comedic blend of Scream and Wes Craven's New Nightmare.
Goddard and Whedon have no qualms taking every recurring element of the horror genre and twisting them around to defy our expectations. Things we think will probably happen actually don't, or either take a detour on the way there or happen in away that you weren't anticipating. And the way they play with these enough that it simultaneously shows how tired and overused some of these tropes are while reinforcing why horror movies are so much fun to begin with. And as someone who's loved the genre since his youth, I'm happy there's a movie out there to remind me why I enjoy them.
The Cabin in the Woods is not the only horror movie to satirize the genre with a meta-fictional slant. But I most certainly will call it one of the best. It's an amazingly entertaining movie all the way through, with great directing, a fine cast, and outstanding writing. It also boasts a very cool concept and a brave ending that you'd never see coming unless you had it spoiled for you before seeing the movie. If you're even remotely a fan of fan of the genre, you owe it to yourself to see The Cabin in the Woods. I'd also advise seeing it with as little knowledge about the plot as possible. I've already said too much in this review. But go see it. It's a movie that is well worth the time and effort to see theatrically. I'm actually glad I'm a fan of horror movies, because if I weren't, I'd have missed out on something awesome.
Final Rating: ****
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