An entertaining, thrilling and titillating bloodbath.

Rating: 8/10 (17 June 2012)

It's not easy to write a review about The Cabin in the Woods without giving away a fairly important plot point so stop reading after the next paragraph if you don't want to know too much. For that matter, don't watch the trailer either because that definitely gives away the game! The initial impression is that it'll be another standard teen romp that we've all seen a million times: Group of good looking teenagers go away together for a weekend of adventure, arguments and innocent(ish) sex, meet and insult a very obviously 'if I had an IQ two points higher I'd be a daffodil and I'm definitely unhinged' local man and it all goes belly up from there. However, this is co-written by Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dollhouse, and 'standard' doesn't enter into it. If you like twists, darkness, a little bit of horror and the odd belly laugh and enjoyed the likes of Zombieland and The Cube, you'll probably enjoy this.
******* SIGNIFICANT PLOT SPOILER ALERT ******* The five friends (two girls, two boys and one male geek) head off for a break to a cousin's cabin that none has visited before. Meanwhile, in a control room somewhere, a large production team places bets on an outcome, exchanges banter and launches a new, well, what is it? Game? Broadcast? Event? All will be revealed but what is very evident early on is that money and technology are absolutely no object when it comes to providing an entertaining, thrilling and titillating bloodbath in the cabin that is not quite the simple, decrepit wooden structure it appears.
The younger, beautiful cast members are adequate but unremarkable cannon fodder, headed by the hunk of Thor, Chris Hemsworth. The real casting delight comes in the form of a 'surprise' character late on and, particularly, the ever-brilliant Richard Jenkins (Burn After Reading, The Rum Diary, Eat Pray Love) and Bradley Whitford (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, West Wing) who are both effortlessly entertaining and add the weight of real talent and experience to the humour and panic they inject into the control room. Without Jenkins and Whitford, The Cabin in the Woods would still be fun but their presence, for me, makes it a must-see for non-puritans.
From a deliberately predictable start, it rattles through to the suspenseful arrival at the cabin and then, shall we say 'when the doors open', all hell breaks loose in a mess of Nope. I can't give it away. Just watch it! And more than once. Suffice to say, it's superbly written with nary a duff scene, a few genuine surprises (sometimes because the action has rattled along so swiftly you'll have forgotten about the set-up) and some laugh-out-loud dialogue.
On a second viewing, you'll spot more clues in the opening titles and you'll want to revisit it for the reveal of all the possible directions it could have taken. The second viewing is no less entertaining but is a different experience and it's heartening to know that the Hollywood money grabbers are leaving The Cabin in the Woods well alone. When director Drew Goddard was asked at a preview screening Q&A "Will there be a sequel?" he sardonically replied "Have you seen the ending to my movie?" Is it good? Hell yes! What's not to like about a film with thrills, blood, bodies and lines like "Good work, zombie arm." Another film review from The Squiss. For more reviews from The Squiss subscribe to my blog at www.thesquiss.co.uk