 A rambunctious group of five college friends steal away for a weekend of debauchery in an isolated country cabin, only to be attacked by horrific supernatural creatures in a night of endless terror and bloodshed. Sound familiar? Just wait. As the teens begin to exhibit standard horror movie behavior, a group of technicians in a control room are scrutinizing, and sometimes even controlling, every move the terrified kids make! With their efforts continually thwarted by the all powerful eye in the sky, do they have any chance of escape? Storyline: Five teenagers head off for a weekend at a secluded cabin in the woods. They arrive to find they are quite isolated with no means of communicating with the outside world. When the cellar door flings itself open, they of course go down to investigate. They find an odd assortment of relics and curios but when one of the women, Dana, reads from a book she awakens a family of deadly zombie killers. There's far more going on however than meets the eye as the five campers are all under observation. Written by garykmcd Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, September 7, 2012 -- As the Scream franchise so brilliantly explained, the horror film genre is cobbled together out of building blocks of certain conventions, and those conventions are tried, true and largely immutable. If Scream took a long, hard look at those conventions and gave a considerable wink, The Cabin in the Woods leaves the viewer wondering if the very conventions of the horror genre, conventions which many fans know as if they had been imprinted into their collective DNA, are in fact really what's going on in the film. Brilliantly written by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, The Cabin in the Woods doesn't even start out like a traditional horror movie. Instead of a conventional setup giving us some sort of dreaded psycho killer or some such villain, we find ourselves in a high tech laboratory of some sort, with two science nerds having a water cooler discussion about baby proofing around the house. It's almost like a little moment out of The Office, replete with people not really listening to each other and throwaway lines that verge on being non sequiturs. And then just as unexpectedly the hammer blow of a blood curdling music cue underscoring the main title sequence just comes out of nowhere, literally in what seems like the middle of this scene. What exactly is going on here? Note: It's next to impossible to discuss The Cabin in the Woods coherently without at least dancing around some major potential spoilers. Those who haven't seen the film and don't want to know something about the plot should skip down to the technical aspects of the review, below. The first question confronting viewers of The Cabin in the Woods is what exactly do the two nerdy lab workers, Sitterson (Richard Jenkins) and Hadley (Bradley Whitford), have to do with the five young adults we meet both during and after the credits sequence. This quintet includes Dana (Kristen Connolly), a college student who is rebounding from an unfortunate affair with one of her professors; Curt (Chris Hemsworth), a genial jock who is the boyfriend of beautiful new blonde (courtesy of some hair dye) Jules (Anna Hutchison); Holden (Jesse Williams), a football buddy of Curt's whom Curt is hoping will hook up with Dana; and Marty (Fran Kranz), a serial pot smoker who walks around in his own private ecosystem generated by the copious smoke surrounding his head. Curt's cousin has just purchased a scenic little cabin in the woods, and these five are off to enjoy a weekend there. But what immediately becomes apparent is the five are being watched by some sort of high tech operation, and that their trip is not exactly one generated purely by chance. If the five kids sound like cliché ridden types, that's one of the film's riskiest gambits, but it's also one with a reasonably plausible explanation (at least within the always shaky realism of the horror genre). Suffice it to say that the five are part of something (to quote some famous metaphysician somewhere) bigger than themselves, although in this case it's not a touchy-feely universal force promising health and happiness for everyone, but instead something distinctly more sinister. And that's where the lab rats come into play: they are orchestrating the devastation leveled upon the quintet once they arrive at the cabin, in a sort of horror tinged version of The Hunger Games. The lab has pumped their "puppets" full of mind altering drugs which make them more easily suggestible, and the lab is also able to control things like the weather, lighting and even the scent of pheromones if they want some of the "participants" to get a little frisky. Without spoiling too much more of what The Cabin in the Woods has in store, let's just say that Whedon and Goddard reference any number of iconic literary efforts, from Shirley Jackson's The Lottery to several famous H.P. Lovecraft outings that feature nefarious gods of yore erupting into our present day world. Lest anyone think this is a heavy handed homage to other horror fests, nothing could be further from the truth. As Whedon and Goddard proved so admirably on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, they are able to almost effortlessly combine sheer terror with laugh out loud lunacy, and that proclivity is well on display throughout The Cabin in the Woods. The Cabin in the Woods has elements that are considerably more gruesome than the Scream franchise, but it also has Scream's knowing sense of humor about this genre. It may in fact not be the self-referential wink-fest that the Kevin Williamson films are, but there is still ample hearty humor served up with equal parts menace and hilarity. Anyone who isn't laughing after an especially gruesome moment that sees the remnant of a zombie arm stroking the body of a would be law enforcement official is obviously not part of the target demographic for this film. Now truth be told there are some logical inconsistencies on display, especially with regard to how these five, who were obviously already friends, so perfectly fit the requirements of "the game" that is being played. But little niggling qualms like this give way under the furious assault of nonstop gore and guts, not to mention a lot of lunatic humor. Given the apocalyptic denouement of The Cabin in the Woods, it will be surprising (but not impossible) if Whedon and Goddard can (pardon the term) carve out a new franchise from this very promising film. Whedon can be a little too "precious" for his own good at times (witness Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog), but here, working with longtime collaborator Drew Goddard, he manages a near perfect tightrope act balanced between horror and comedy. The film really doesn't make a lot of sense if you think about it too much, but the good news is, the gore and guffaws come with such regularity that any lapses in logic end up not really mattering all that much. This Blu-ray offers great video and superior sound and comes with some nice supplementary features. Highly recommended. Cast Notes: Kristen Connolly (Dana), Chris Hemsworth (Curt), Anna Hutchison (Jules), Fran Kranz (Marty), Jesse Williams (Holden), Richard Jenkins (Sitterson), Bradley Whitford (Hadley), Brian White (Truman), Amy Acker (Lin), Tim De Zarn (Mordecai [as Tim DeZarn]), Tom Lenk (Ronald The Intern), Dan Payne (Mathew Buckner), Jodelle Ferland (Patience Buckner), Dan Shea (Father Buckner), Maya Massar (Mother Buckner). User Comment: Matt_Layden from Canada, 15 March 2012 • The Cabin in the Woods is a spin on the horror genre from writer's Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, without giving away the spoilerish parts of the plot, I'll simply say that it involves 5 friends who fit the horror movie stereotypes (Jock, Slut, Party-Guy, Nerd, Virgin) who go to a cabin in the woods to party and get away from it all. Trouble is, it's never really safe to go to a cabin in the woods is it? To be honest, the less you know about this film, the more awesome it will be. I felt that the trailer gave away a bit too much of the twists and turns one can expect from the film, but at the same time the image of a bird flying into a giant forcefield is what will set this film apart from the generic horror films that hit the theatres today. The Cabin In The Woods tells you upfront "You think you know the story..." but of course you don't. This is Joss Whedon after all. Fans of Buffy and Angel will get a kick out of this, as actors from that universe make their way into this film. It's been a long time since I've had a lot of fun at the movies and the Cabin in the Woods was a lot of fun. It's an odd movie to sell, because a lot of it has to be kept secret to make the second half of the movie exciting and fresh. It blends a few genres together, the two main ones being horror and comedy and it works perfectly. Both Whedon and Goddard worked on Buffy and Angel, which was a balancing act of genres, so they knew the right tone to get here and they nailed it. They take the clichéd aspects of every horror film and put it in here, to brilliant use. We actually get to see reasons for stupid character mistakes, which made that whole aspect of the film fun. Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford have great chemistry together and stole every scene they're in. I would love to see these two character actors work together again, they made this film really fun and they are a joy to watch on the screen. The young actors, including Thor himself Chris Hemsworth, sell the clichéd horror characters very well. In most horror flicks I can't stand any of the characters, here I was rooting for all of them. There are some truly hilarious moments, I am dying to talk about them, but doing so would ruin the surprises. All I can say is that I was laughing throughout the entire film, I cheered, I clapped and I enjoyed myself. There are a lot of horror references, most notably The Evil Dead, so it's fun to spot things here and there. Horror fans I think will really get a kick of of this flick and I pray it does well, cause it's the most fun I've had in a long time. Drew Goddard's first directorial gig, he had a lot on his plate and he managed to pull off one hell of a film. It helps when you have someone like Joss Whedon in your corner, but I applaud him for being able to pull off the tone perfectly, I imagine the script to screen process was identical. This is a very clever script, with laughs, gore and surprises at every corner. When you have Goddard, whose worked on Buffy, Angel, Lost and wrote Cloverfield, teamed up with partner Joss Whedon who is one of the best writers working today, then you know you're walking into something special. I can't recommend this flick enough. When it comes out, you must go see it. Just makes sure you don't know much about it beforehand, or it might ruin the awesome factor. Summary: I FREAKING LOVED this movie!!!! User Comment: *** This review may contain spoilers *** bischof-alexander from United Kingdom, 16 April 2012 • I went to the premiere of The Cabin In The Woods last Friday. Not having read any of the reviews going around prior to watching it I must say it is one of the worst films I have seen in a long time. The thing is, am I missing something? I get the fact that it is a parody or an anti-horror film or perhaps even a nod (whether positive or negative) to horror films generally, but I still don't like it. It was predictable from the start (why did that eagle have to hit the invisible boundary to the cabin? It made the later scene with the motor bike jump completely redundant). The acting was poor and even though the film may be satirical it is still painful to watch. The only thing I do like is perhaps the idea of an ode to all horror films and horror characters, but if it is a parody than that wouldn't make sense. I am just so surprised that this film currently has 7.9 / 10. Am I missing something here??? Summary: Am I missing something? User Comment: KidDrehmann from United States, 13 April 2012 • There are no words to express how amazing this movie was. What one would assume would be a typical horror cliché is actually treated to one of the most creative movies I've ever seen. Although most people could expect what the movie contained from the previews, as I did, they will still be blow away by this movie. Not from the acting or directing or anything like that, but from the pure originality of the movie. The last horror movie I remember seeing that was this original, inventive, and down right badass was Scream, and with a equally satisfying deliverance of it's gritty, gory, grisly, and tongue in cheek attitude. Anyone who goes to see this movie will surely get their money's worth and then some. Summary: Absolutely Outstanding. User Comment: *** This review may contain spoilers *** Josh C. Isitemiz from Thailand, 13 May 2012 • Is this some kind of a joke? Are there cameras that filming people's reactions and laughing at them or what? It was AFWUL! It was neither scary nor funny. I hated myself that I didn't leave the theater after the first 15 minutes. The only scary and the best scene of the movie was the guy appeared suddenly at the old gas station. The movie is that bad... Too bad I can't rate it less than 1. Unless you are from the new generation who loves nonsense bloody scenes and finds them funny and somehow scary; STAW AWAY FROM THIS MOVIE! My rating : -10/10 Summary: This movie shows that I can't rely on the user ratings on IMDb anymore!. [CSW] -4.1- As you can see from the user reviews above some really liked it and some didn't. I liked it. One of the main reasons that I liked it is because of it uses of a totally new premise that includes the unique "user interaction" that mimics some of the modern socially connected interactions. Not to spoil it, the premise is so unique that you will just have to see it for yourself. [V4.5-A5.0] MPEG-4 AVC - D-Box 10/10. IMDb Rating (10/23/14): 7.1/10 from 216,455 users IMDb Rating (08/20/12): 7.6/10 from 48,903 users
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