Film Review : Cabin in the Woods
Apr 13, 2012 06:37PM ● By Justin Buettner
To write what Cabin in the Woods is about would be ruining the purpose of even seeing it. It’s a horror movie that involves college kids travelling to a remote cabin in the woods and that is all I can safely say about the plot of this movie. I would suggest that you stop reading this review now until after you see the movie.
Now that everyone who doesn’t want the surprises ruined for them are gone I will try to explain my opinions on this movie while not giving away too much. This is a strange combination of horror, comedy, spoof, and science fiction. Ultimately it’s closer to horror than anything else, but the surprises, twists and turns come at such a rapid rate that it leaves you laughing while scratching your head trying to figure out exactly what on earth is happening. The movie becomes a fun mystery, almost like a horror comedy version of Oceans Eleven.
Joss Whedon, has a varied and highly prolific background as being the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a writer on the original Toy Story, and the writer and director of the highly anticipated Avengers movie opening in less than a month. His style of dialog and his ability to write strong characters in a group setting are virtually unmatched in my opinion. He showcases those skills to great effect in this movie. Every character has so much personality, even the small characters with bit parts. It’s easy to follow the story no matter how crazy it gets, and trust me this movie gets crazy. I think Whedon took twelve of his favorite Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes, packaged them together. Drew Goddard who co-wrote and directed the film did an excellent job himself, especially considering this is his directorial debut.
What is funny is that Cabin in the Woods was completed years ago, but just received a release after the original production company MGM dissolved. In a bit of luck the movie features Chris Hemsworth before his career advancing role of Thor happened. The rest of the cast is strong but commercially unknown actors.
That is essentially all I can really write about on this film without ruining it. I think it’s safe to say if you are a fan of the horror genre you will definitely like this movie. People who like comedy with their horror movies (think Evil Dead 2 or even Shaun of the Dead) you will love this movie. If you don’t like horror movies then steer clear as this movie won’t be for you. Cabin in the Woods is certainly a surprising movie and a lot of fun.
Movies like Cabin in the Woods : Evil Dead 2, Scream, and House 2
Justin Buettner is Style's resident movie dude! How did he get this role? Well, he graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a Bachelor of Arts in film Production and a duel minor in Animation and Business with an emphasis in the entertainment field. He later went on to work on several independent films in various key roles including writer and later worked in the special effects field as a motion capture artist. He has since relocated to the Sacramento area with his family and continues writing for small independent films in addition to his movie reviews for Style Magazine.