Don't be shocked!

Rating: 6/10 (4 September 2012)

I have to admit, the reviews I've read here about this movie surprised me a hell of a lot more than the movie itself did. It really makes me wonder what most of these folks were expecting.
Joss Whedon himself said that the movie is "an angry love/hate letter to the horror movie genre", if I quoted that right - and that's exactly what it is. It's not without its share of humor, but make no mistake - it's very bleak and cynical. It's almost like Joss and Drew Goddard are actually admitting that there's nothing new in the horror genre anymore, and coming from the guys who made "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" such a fun TV series, it's a bit of a bitter pill to swallow. But then again...given how often he's had his TV series canceled before they really get out of the gate ("Firefly", "Dollhouse"), I really can't blame the man for wanting to vent a little. I kind of wish this bit of film vitriol had been more memorable, but if it refreshes him enough to keep him creating, then I'm all for it.
There's blood. Plenty of it. There's also some boob-age. So all you gorehounds and permanent prepubescents out there that are really to blame for most horror movies in the last two decades sucking so bad, you're getting what you want. Quit complaining.
There's also a heaping helping of CGI, which both helped and detracted from the second half of the picture.
Also, for those of you who hail from outside the United States, a fair warning: there's an almost painfully Western mentality to the humor, here, which might not agree with your sensibilities. And I don't mean that as an insult; I'm just saying that the humor might not make as much sense if you're not willing to see it with an upside-down-Hollywood kind of viewpoint.
Still...if you like Joss Whedon's work at all, this is well worth a rental, at least. Any of the reviewers here that claim that it's the worst movie they've ever seen don't know what they're talking about. If they like horror movies, then they've seen MUCH worse, already. I know I have. And there's enough of the Scooby-Doo formula at work here to be almost comforting.