As much as I like horror films I do have to admit that they
are growing a little stale. They all follow the same basic formula be it a
slasher, monster movie or thriller. I’ve been waiting for something creative to
come along for a while now, and even though there are some clever throwback
movies floating around out there like the Hatchet
films or Behind the Mask: The Rise of
Leslie Vernon, nothing of note has come down the pike… until now.
SPOILER WARNING: If you have not seen this movie do not
read any further!
The story of a group of five college friends who go on a
vacation in the woods together and discover that they are unwilling
participants in a sacrificial ritual to appease an ancient God who threatens to
destroy the world.
The Cabin in the Woods
is the wake-up call to the modern day horror genre that Scream was back in the mid-90s. Writers Joss Whedon and Drew
Goddard, who also directs, take all the clichés associated with movies of this
type, mixes them up and satirizes as well as puts a new spin on them.
Why do characters in horror movies do such stupid things
like split up during a crisis, have sex for no apparent reason or feel the need
to explore dark basements after being warned of their dangers? Well, in the
universe in which this flick takes place their every move is being controlled
by drugs that are being pumped into the cabin to influence their decisions.
Before getting to the cabin we see that each one of the characters is a smart,
well-adjusted human being. Well, maybe not the pothead. But once they reach the
cabin each is exposed to a drug to bring out a certain stereotype the audience
associates with the slasher genre. One becomes the alpha male jock, one a
whore, one the sweet guy and one a prissy little virgin. Every time they make a
decision that isn’t acceptable they are given a drug to get the appropriate
response.
But who is administering these drugs? That’s the crowning
achievement of the film. We not only get to see the students as they are put
through this surreal ordeal, but those who are controlling the situation from
afar. Bradley Whitford and Richard Jenkins play two employees of the unnamed
corporation who are in charge of making sure these characters do exactly what
is required for the ritual to be successful. We also see that this is a global
operation and the same thing is taking place in multiple countries. But these
people aren’t written as conniving evildoers, but as regular everyday people
doing the same job they’re done for years (and bickering about it too). At one
point we see that they run an office pool to bet on what horrible cliché the
cabin folk will choose to be the instrument of their deaths (all about the
merman). These scenes are filled with Whedon’s trademark humor and clever
winking to the audience, because basically Whitford and Jenkins are playing
film versions of Whedon and Goddard who comment on all the stupid shit they cause
in the cabin.
The different scenarios that the cabin folk can unleash upon
themselves are another sly little nod to the horror genre. The characters
unknowingly choose a redneck zombie family to be their means of slaughter, but
we later see that some of the other choices available were Evil Dead rape trees, a giant bat, huge spiders, a Cenobite rip-off
called Fornicus, a demonic sugarplum fairy, goblins, robots and… a unicorn.
There were about 50 or so they could have chosen and we get to see the majority
of them strut their stuff in the epic finale.
Another thing that makes the film work is the fantastic
acting on display. Whitford and Jenkins are phenomenally entertaining as the
goofy controllers of the ritual, and their co-stars in the office (Brian White
and Whedon alums Tom Lenk and Amy Acker) are just as fun, but without the
victims we would have no one to associate with. Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth, plays Curt the jock and does a damn
fine job of it. Even before his character switches to the head guy mentality he
oozes a charm that goes to show why he’s become leading man material in such a
short space of time. The dude just has it. The same goes for Kristen Connolly
as the (sort of) virginal Dana. She is so natural and laid back in her role,
yet completely convincing, that you forget you’re watching an actor playing a
part. Their co-stars Anna Hutchison, Jesse Williams and especially Fran Kranz
as the perpetually stoned Marty are all great as well. Franz, of course, gets
all the good lines (“Yeah, uh, I had to dismember that guy with a trowel. What
have you been up to?”) and is the avatar for the audience due to his cloud of
bong smoke allowing him to see what’s really going on around him.
Drew Goddard, who as far as I know has never directed a film
before (he’s a writer by trade), shows a confidence that you don’t usually see
in someone’s first movie. Everything is balanced perfectly, from the comedy to
the horror elements, and he gets his stable of actors to turn in fine
performances regardless of how big or small their parts are. He also has a very
solid visual style that works wonders for the material. My only advice is for
him to tell his cinematographer to light the exterior nighttime scenes a little
better since it was hard to make out what was going on a lot of the time. He
knows what works, and he had to walk a fine line to keep this story on track so
that twists aren’t given away too soon, the cheese is never laid on too thick
and that it never takes itself too seriously. If not balanced correctly the
whole effect he and Whedon were going for would have come crashing down.
Thankfully he pulls it off in grand fashion.
Clever, intelligent and most of all FUN, The Cabin in the Woods is a movie no
horror fan, or film fan, should miss. Every aspect of it worked for me on
multiple levels and I keep going back to watch it and am surprised each time I
find some awesome new detail I had previously missed. Sure it ends up going to
a dark place in the end, but I’ve never been this entertained by the end of the
world.
I enjoy this flick so much I’ve named it my favorite film of
2012.
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