a horror film that doesn't shy away, but rather plays up its conventions for maximum entertainment

Rating: 9/10 (14 April 2012)

Over the past ten or so years, horror cinema has taken a very interesting turn. While there was a long period of time where horror film was composed of the classic monsters and slashers like Jason, Freddy, Michael Myers, or any number of monsters such as zombies, vampires, werewolves (the list goes on and on), horror cinema has had a series of films that work quite differently. Two major changes that can be seen now: the use of technology in horror films and the acknowledgment of the horror conventions in these films.
"The Cabin in the Woods" does both.
Much like Sam Rami's 2009 "Drag Me to Hell," and even more obviously in films such as "Scream" or "Shaun of the Dead," "The Cabin in the Woods" is a horror film that does not shy away from reminding its audience of it. Just like "Drag Me to Hell," "Cabin" constantly overplays and exaggerates the conventions of horror cinema, from the obvious setting (uha vacant cabin in the middle of the woods) to the cast of characters we follow (the pretty girl, the jockey boys, the druggy/party guy, and the not very promiscuous girl).
Now, before I continue on, I will warn you that there are some details I am about to talk about that may leak a little of the underlying story of the film. I'm not going to reveal major twists or even exactly everything about the underlying story (you probably won't even be surprised if you watched the trailer for the film and you will find out about this part of the film in the first minute), but I want to make sure I give this warning to people who don't want to be spoiled at all.
So, the second change in horror film, technology, is an extremely large portion of this film. The film begins with Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford playing two execs in a strange company in a deep underground base. We slowly learn that these two guys, along with everyone else in the company, have video surveillance and control of every one of the characters at this cabin. Starting with this video surveillance, the film delves even deeper into technology as the film progresses, but we'll leave that alone for each viewers surprise.
To read the rest of the review (does not fit in the short IMDb form) visit: http://custodianfilmcritic.com/the-cabin-in-the-woods/