Scoobless

Rating: 4/10 (25 April 2012)

**SPOILERS** I was surprised to find that 'twist' is a misnomer when applied to this movie, as the 'unconventional' concept is revealed from the outset: 5 American college students in what appears to be a traditional horror scenario turn out to have been unknowingly manipulated for the purposes of what may be a kind of extreme reality TV show. (Perhaps the real purpose of the "TV show" is meant to be the twist?)
I am a fan of the ultimate "Cabin in the Woods" movie, The Evil Dead, and unfortunately the first part of this movie is like a watered down, lukewarm version of that- call it a homage if you like. Unfortunately the "Reality TV" aspect of the movie distanced me even more from the action: because the horror was "manipulated" and "fake" I didn't care about it. I was very bored by this and waited for it to be over with so we could get to the part where the characters inevitably find out what's going on and get behind the scenes...
When we finally get there, the action-packed finale is quite amusing, but at the same time pretty cheap. Little or no attempt seemed to be made to make those "cells" realistic, and it really depends on how you view CGI creatures: for me it became cartoon time.
Finally, I'd say that it is a big mistake for any movie maker to present us with a hero who is basically a Scoobless version of "Shaggy" yet with less depth.
Yup, perhaps the buzz about the movie made me expect something with more depth, and I'd probably have been more satisfied if I'd been geared up for what it was: a silly horror-comedy-homage.