Sharp, Hilarious Deconstruction of Horror Clichés

Rating: 9/10 (16 December 2012)

I suppose 2012 is just the year when Joss Whedon (SERENITY) was due to breakout as a major force in Hollywood. Not one, but two awesome movies in the same summer. One is an epic level comic book superhero team. The other is a teasingly loving satire of the modern horror/slasher movie genre. Whedon didn't direct THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, but he did produce and co-write with director Drew Goddard, frequent Whedon collaborator and writer of the (in my opinion) under-appreciated CLOVERFIELD. Let's face it: a lot of the horror movies of the past 20 years or so have utilized the same ignorant clichés. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But there are elements that we find in just about all of them. My favorite "horror" movies are the ones that poke holes in the conventions we've come to expect from the genre, even if they're more funny than scary. In 2010 we had TUCKER & DALE VS EVIL, now we have THE CABIN IN THE WOODS. Both are awesome, and Whedon/Goddard's movie is easily one of my favorites for 2012. The plot of the movie is one we've seen dozens and dozens of times, it's how the filmmakers turned it on its head that's great. The premise: five college age students pack themselves into an RV and head into the wilderness for some fun. They've gained access to a remote cabin in the woods where they're hoping to engage in a little drunken debauchery. As anyone who's familiar with horror films knows, this means certain doom but what these kids don't know is that there is someone behind the scenes pulling the strings and nothing is as it seems.
This is one of those movies where the less said, the better. You want to go into this movie knowing as little as possible, so do your best to avoid spoilers before checking it out. The fun of the movie is the ridiculous premise and how Whedon and Goddard have a blast with it. I hadn't even watched a trailer for this movie before I finally saw it. I'd heard through enough reviews that it was a "must-see" and watched it with a clean slate. I will go so far as to assure that this movie delivers on both laughs andwell, not really scares. Unless you're just terrified of gore, of which this movie has more than enough. It goes to KILL BILL levels of splatter at times. All done in good fun, of course. I'm hesitant to even call THE CABIN IN THE WOODS a horror movie. It's got some tense moments but there's nothing really scary going on here. Everything that should be considered "horror" is so familiar that I'm totally desensitized to it all. Mutilated pain-worshipping zombie rednecks? Meh, seen it. Decapitations, stabbings, disembowelmentnothing I haven't seen before. But the comedy here, freaking hilarious. The writing, the casting, and even some of the practical effects used in the movie combine into one of the funniest movies of the year.
There both familiar and unfamiliar faces here. Probably the most recognizable at this point is Chris Hemsworth even though this movie was shot before THOR and SNOW WHITE & THE HUNTSMAN. Hemsworth is great filling out the role of the alpha male athlete of the students with, of course, some differences from the usual abusive jock. The rest of the kids are great: Kristen Connolly, Anna Hutchison, and Jesse Williams. The best part of the movie, and I knew it from the moment he was introduced driving onto the scene with a giant bong that collapses into a coffee mug, is Fran Kranz as stoner Marty. He became my favorite character the moment he came on screen. Stoic, intelligent, and stoned out of his mindhe's the funniest of the group. Still, a lot of the funniest moments don't even happen in the titular cabin. The show stealers in this film are Richard Jenkins (BURN AFTER READING, THE RUM DIARY) and Bradley Whitford (who, despite being incredibly familiar, has starred in a bunch of stuff I've never seen). Jenkins and Whitford are a couple of technicians sitting at a console in a bunker at an undisclosed location with the fate of the world in their hands. And they're having a great time. I probably could've watched an entire movie based solely on these two men doing their jobs in this mysterious organization. All of these elements come together as one of the funniest movies I've seen this year and a sharp joke at the expense of the horror movies flooding theaters and home video.
So I can't recommend this movie highly enough and, whatever you do, don't touch the conch.