Movie Magic

Rating: 10/10 (23 August 2012)

Remember when Scream came out? People loved it - and not because it was the most horrifying and controversial scary flick ever released. It was a huge success because it gave fans of the horror genre something new. It made them laugh because it lovingly poked fun at a genre the fans knew by heart. Cabin in the woods takes a slightly different approach. Where Scream chose to laugh about dumb things people do in horror movies, Cabin decides instead to respectfully explain...well, everything - and making you laugh/scream while it does.
I absolutely loved this film. If you've looked at a few reviews, you'll see this film has three acts. I like to compare them to the three acts of a magic trick - something I learned from The Prestige:
1) The Pledge - Something ordinary is introduced to the audience. Five average college students go to a remote cabin in the woods where they'll spend the weekend partying it up! This is where we say to ourselves that because this is a horror movie, everyone will die, and thus we already know the ending. Am I right?
2) The Turn - There's something else happening here. It's not what we thought. This is the part where we scratch our head and say "Wait a sec...what's going on?" This story isn't keeping to the rails we set it on. It's taking a weird turn and only getting weirder. This is also the part where people give up and decide they hate it because it's different. It's also the part where your standard horror flick ends...but wait!
3) The Prestige - The resolution. The end. The explanation to everything that's been going on, and also possibly the greatest 20 minutes ever shown in horror movie history. This is the part where the audience is silent and speechless as every die-hard horror fan's dream is realized on screen. All your dedication, love, and sacrifice for this genre is justified. The credits roll, you walk out of the theater saying to yourself, "Did that just happen?" - and then you buy another ticket and watch it again.
I'm trying not to reveal anything too big, and I think everyone else will tell you the same; you want to know as little as possible about it before you watch. The movie is funny, scary, and unbelievably entertaining. If you don't like it, you're one of the people that took a turn in act two and stopped following along. I feel so sorry for those guys. Have a good time at the theater!