Watch w/ NO pre-conceived thoughts & accept everything. It'll be fun!

Rating: 7/10 (7 February 2019)

I'll try to make this short and sweet, with NO SPOILERS. "A Cabin In The Woods" is complete fantasy, with absolutely ZERO reality to any aspect of the top-level plot and circumstances contained therein. The fantasy story is told by way of horror, with lots of blood, guts, and jump-scares - and oh...one set of boobs. In order for the viewer to feel even the slightest amount of enjoyment while watching the film, s/he must accept the fantastic nature of the story and let go of all rational thought, curiosity, and attempts for explanation. If that can be done, and you are a fan of fairly cookie cutter fantasy & horror elements containing a significant amount of blood (and a bit of gore), then this will be a fun watch. That said - and this is evident after reading many of the negative reviews - if the viewer attempts to compare the film to another, find holes in plot elements, or connect the film to reality in any way, s/he will not enjoy ACITW.
Some quick comments about the production:

The acting is solid all the way around. While not produced with a super massive mega-hit budget, this is not a 'B-movie,' per se, and contains several big(gish) name actors and character performers. There are even a couple BIG name stars who either star in or make appearances in the film. The acting is what is to be expected from such a cast and is convincing, even if (intentionally) over the top at certain points.
The special fx are good, with both live-action and CGI utilized. There are a few places the CGI is not seamless, but in my opinion this (kind of) lends itself to the fantastic nature of the film.
Production is solid, on the whole, as the cast is fairly sizeable, the sets are keen, and camera work OK. There are obvious areas for improvement, but honestly, that was not the point behind the film concept.
As for content, for those who care, there is good deal of blood and violence, a fair amount of gore, and a small amount of sexual content (ie, the token "boob shot").
The story is a bit slow in reaching the point of action. It takes about 45 minutes of set-up, all grounded in reality, before the story begins rearing its fantasy and/or horror elements. In all honesty, since the viewer must have ZERO preconceived notions or understanding of what the hell is going on, the first 1/3 of the film could have been shortened. Granted, there must be SOME explanation of who the characters are, what they're doing, and why they're doing it, but there are several scenes that could have easily been cut. That's not to say it drags, as the viewer knows that 5 young adults are going to a cabin where some stuff will happen, but...yeh.

It should be noted that I am a huge fantasy nerd - Terry Brooks was my favorite author during my teen years. The inclusion of fantasy elements made this very enjoyable, and adding the horror elements as a means for storytelling simply added to the overall appeal (for me). That said, and reiterating an early mention, in order for the viewer to truly enjoy the movie, s/he must let the movie "do its thing" and not try finding explanations and "whys" for every little nuance or scene. If that can be done, it should be an enjoyable romp.