Must see!!!

Rating: 10/10 (27 April 2012)

Joss Whedon created my favorite television show of all time: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. Tired of seeing the helpless blonde "cheerleader" character be killed off first in so many horror films, he turned the genre on its head. Now it was the blonde cheerleader who was doing the stalking, killing and hunting, but for the good guys. With the new film THE CABIN IN THE WOODS with BUFFY alumnus Drew Goddard, Whedon once again takes an old and tired genre and injects some life into it. The best way to describe THE CABIN IN THE WOODS is to say that it is a horror movie about horror movies. This is Whedon's love/hate letter to the horror genre.
Without giving away the spoilerish parts of the plot, I'll simply say that it involves five friends who fit the horror movie stereotype (Jock, Slut, Stoner, Nerd, Virgin) who go to a – you got it – cabin in the woods. They want to party of course, get away from it all, "off the grid" as one character points out. The trouble is, it's never really a good idea to go to a cabin in the woods. If the horror genre has taught us anything, it's to stay away from these places. To be honest, the less you know about this film, the better. The trailer is all about the fact that you "think you know the story" and that's exactly what this film is about, our preconceived notions, which is where Whedon and Goddard have their fun with us.
Fans of BUFFY and ANGEL will get a real kick out of this flick. Not only do characters from the Whedonverse show up (YAY for Fred and Andrew) but the overall tone of the film feels like it could be lifted right from the show. Of course, in saying that, I feel like I'm saying too much, so let's move on shall we?
THE CABIN IN THE WOODS is one hell of a fun movie. The last time I had this much fun was with GRINDHOUSE, which was just as off the wall and entertaining as this one. That film was a hard one to sell, and I have the sad feeling that CABIN will be too. I can only hope that it does well, because the film deserves an audience and horror fans will certainly get a kick out of it. It's the best damn horror film to come out since Neil Marshall's THE DESCENT.
To say it's all horror would be an understatement because the film is hilarious. Whedon and Goddard perfectly blend horror and comedy, which is usually a tricky balance, but these two guys worked on Buffy, which was a balancing act of genres itself. Taking the clichéd aspects of every horror film and throwing it up on the screen for us in a brilliant and deconstructing manner, we have a film that isn't afraid to laugh at itself. Every stupid character mistake in horror films is used to great effect here. Whedon and Goddard give purpose to why these things happen in the genre we all love to hate sometimes.
Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford have great chemistry together and steal every scene they're in. Watching these two gave a different aspect to what we would expect from a cabin in the woods flick. The young actors on the screen all fit their roles well; we even get a chance to see a Thor-less Chris Hemsworth. In most films of this type, I'm rooting for the Freddy Kruegers or the Michael Myers of the slasher world, but here I was actually rooting for the victims. None of them are annoying, which is refreshing.
There are more hilarious moments than scary ones, if I had to pick a side of the fence to fall on. I'm dying to talk about them, but doing so would ruin the experience for those reading. Seriously, go in knowing as little as possible. The film isn't afraid to show where it grabs its inspiration. THE EVIL DEAD is heavily referenced here, as are some other notable horror flicks. That's not to say that Cabin is in the shadows of other films, it stands on its own and without a doubt makes its mark on the horror genre. It will be hard for people to watch future teen horror flicks and not have CABIN pop up in the back of their heads.
THE CABIN IN THE WOODS is one of a kind. People have been comparing it to SCREAM, in the sense that it's very self-aware and pumps life into a tiresome genre. I will agree with those statements, but don't expect people to go where this film went. It's too unique and bizarre for people to even try. From the moment the title card appears on the screen, you should know what type of movie you're about to see. I had a big grin on my face throughout the entire thing and it's safe to say that this is definitely in my top ten of the year. As a fan of the horror genre, I'm happy to say that THE CABIN IN THE WOODS has restored my faith. We have a film here that is not afraid to tell you what it thinks of horror movies, what's right with them, what's wrong with them and more importantly, why we love them.
– Matt Layden
This review first appeared in Geek Speak Magazine - www.geekspeakmagazine.com