Fine production values, loose horror/spoof/fantasy/gore proceedings

Rating: 4/10 (25 July 2016)

I most probably would have avoided The Cabin in the Woods if I had known earlier the creators were screenwriters on the Lost anything-goes-I-d-sell-my-mother-for-a-twist TV-series. Yet I admit it started out good with the challenge to create something new based on that stale horror flick canvas. The gently spoofy start with a scientific background bent was promising but I realise now that the dual storyline is just a routine screen writing device to stretch a flimsy concept in order to fill up a season or the 90-min feature length.
With all the back and forth between the two story lines you lose the tension and there remains only, on the surface, the curiosity about what it is all about. The climax is a Grand Carnival and it develops over the last third of the movie so either you'll feel that the main storyline is straight and efficient before switching to another movie or you will feel cheated of a real movie with substance while you get a bagful of popular horror culture, clichés and references all laid out as if it was a clever mix.