A somewhat horror but overall semi-satirical

Rating: 7/10 (27 April 2012)

The Cabin in the Woods is a difficult film to review with regards to spoilers but I'll give it a shot trying to encapsulate what I think the film-makers are trying to put across. The Cabin in the Woods is clearly a satire from the outset, in 2012, bar remakes, reboots and the like horror tends to always attempt a new turn and while watching this film I found it most welcoming. The semi-satirical aspect comes as I saw it as a film that seemed to celebrate (or make fun of) the stock characters that make up the horror films that you would consider this a part of and for the most part it is decent at doing so. The characters in this film don't seem nearly as annoying as they tend to be in these films. Maybe that is just my perception but it seemed to be a deliberate act on the part of the film-makers.
The film does manage to produce some genuine scares though mostly in earlier parts of the film. A positive is that the film does get more interesting as it progresses. None of the actors tended to stand out and just seemed to do just enough to make for a decent cast. Without trying to go into too much detail, it does provide plenty of aspects that would please horror fans and does seem to be a celebration of the genre without being too meta. I will say it is not for the faint hearted and if you don't like films which try to be many things in a short amount of time this may not be the film for you. Again without moving into spoiler territory that is where I believe the film has its flaws where it does try to do too much. Overall it is a decent film and if you like horror with some satire thrown in then you should give it a go.