Horror as a Warhol-esque Prank

Rating: 6/10 (2 January 2013)

"The Cabin in the Woods", directed by comic book geek god Joss Whedon, is the first postmodern horror movie to go mainstream. Whereas Jason was slow walking, and Leatherface was so one-dimensional about his killing, all the villains you'll meet in The Cabin in the Woods are faster, deadlier, in amazing 3D/CGI, and unfortunately for horror film purists, a whole generation removed from visceral terror.
The Cabin in the Woods opens with a two-way fourth wall premise: our protagonists are being watched and their fate is being decided upon by some master manipulator. While the story has its own sci-fi logic, keeping within mainstream continuity, the film maker's gag is clear: we, the audience, are the ones who are ultimately deciding the fates of these less than lovable characters. We control the monsters, the demons, and the deformed murderous hillbillies that bring on the bloody conflict. The tongue-in-cheek story goes well beyond traditional horror formula and satirizes its own grim machinations, as well as the entire genre.
Horror and Gore
The gore level and scare tactics are moderate at best, though it's not exactly mom-friendly. What horror fans will love about the movie is that it does poke fun at many well known horror movie icons and clichés. The best screen villains are caricatured and set loose on our fleeing protagonists building up to a ludicrous but hilarious conclusion where the entire earth "jumps the shark" so to speak. Catching all the incisive inside jokes, as they fly besides or over your head, will be a treat. However, the smarter-than-thou approach to the genre is not for all tastes, and may very well kill the suspense for you--that is if you still find the idea of one lone axe murderer scary.
How to Watch It
With friends and on a big screen TV. Talking about the movies Joss parodies is half the fun.