The Cabin in the Woods
Starring: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchinson, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams
Directed by: Drew Goddard
Reviewed by Danielle Muir

[rating:4.5/5]

You know the story.  A bunch of clueless, oversexed teens take a trip into some abandoned woods, where they proceed to drink beer, get naked and endure a good stabbing.  Blood, guts and gore ensue.  The culprit?  A redneck, generally speaking.  With some sort of axe/knife/shotgun at his murderous disposal.

Now I’m not saying The Cabin in the Woods doesn’t have all this.  It does – in spades.  Spades I say!  But this is a miniscule dot on the face of a film that stretches far beyond what you or I could have ever imagined.  Remember – this is birthed from the brains of Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard.  So you know you’re in for something not-quite-conventional.

Please don’t feel I’m being stingy on details, everything I do, I’m doing for you.  The less you know about this film, the better.  Actually, try to convince yourselves that this IS a simple sexy slasher – that would be best.

The cast are charismatic and the staple stereotypes all emerge…once those cabin doors creak apart.  The jock, the stoner, the innocent one, the – ahem – sexually confident blonde female and the attractive new guy with glasses are all there.  And the actors are spot on – especially a less Thor-y Chris Hemsworth.  Kristen Connolly carries the film well as the – ahem ahem – ‘virginial’ red-head, with the right balance of doe-eyes and common sense for you to warm to her.  And the stoner dude (Kranz) provides the chuckles – I think we’ll be seeing him in a few more R-rated raunchy comedies before he fades into obscurity.

This is a tense one.  Fans of good-old-fashioned grip-that-armrest-tighter thrills will receive all they desire.  (However, this is coming from me – the ultimate wimp, so interpret accordingly).  That’s one of the things I loved most about The Cabin in the Woods.  It obviously and shamelessly takes those horror movie clichés (character personalities, evil rednecks and the…er…cabin in the woods) and puts its own spin on how things end up like that in the first place.  Which is also where the bulk of its comedy comes from.  Oh by the way, this movie is HILARIOUS.  Did I forget to mention that?  It’s not all teeth chattering and knuckle clenching, and ludicrousness will make even the sternest crack a smile.

So I’ve tried to tell you about the movie without telling you about the movie.  You now know that there is in fact a cabin in the woods, housing a group of teens, it’s both horrific and hilarious and Joss Whedon’s involved.  For your sake, please don’t find out anything else before you head on down the cinema way.  Expect the unexpected, anticipate the ambiguous and, well, prepare your mind to be blown by just how far down the rabbit hole you’ll go.

P.S. Watch out for the titles.  That’s all.