The appeal of horror

Rating: 9/10 (30 October 2012)

The horror genre lost its originality years ago. With the exception of few refreshing movies ("The Descent", "Rec", "Amer", original "Saw"), it's comprised of remakes, sequels, and multiple reiterations of the same themes done in the same way. Yet people still watch horrors. It's like there's some kind of need for brutality and gruesomeness. Can it be that getting scared and seeing other people die makes us feel more alive? "The Cabin in the Woods", a new horror directed by Drew Goddard from a script by himself and Joss Whedon, seems to think so and takes that premise to the extreme.
Five friends are going on a trip to some cabin deep in the woods to spend a fun weekend far from all kinds of commitment, people, and civilization in general. That sounds like a standard horror plot, but what neither they nor we know is that it's also as far from truth as it can be. The movie opens with two guys in some kind of office building going about their daily routine and seeming pretty indifferent about their jobs. It will turn out their job is much more serious than it looks in the beginning. From there we go to the friends packing for the trip and as we're watching them connections between the two are gradually revealed. Since the movie can't be properly discussed without an abundance of spoilers anyway, I'll just briefly explain the plot. In the earth beneath us live ancient gods who demand sacrifice or they'll destroy us all. So the rituals are created all over the world to appease the gods. What we see in the movie is basically one such ritual, with five people being killed to save us all. But as in any ritual there's a procedure that must be followed, and here comes the fantastic homage to horror genre. The characters are given a chance of survival, but that chance is only illusory as there is a whole crew modifying their surroundings, just like in a horror movie. So it's like watching a movie and behind-the-scenes simultaneously. There are also specific roles for each character: the whore, the athlete, the scholar, the fool, and the virgin. And, of course, they must all be young. They also must choose the weapon of their destruction by themselves, so in the cellar of the cabin they are introduced to a whole bunch of creepy and mysterious objects each representing one kind of monster the crew from the "office building" has at their disposal. Another parallel with the movie-making business.
But the movie goes far beyond the homage to horror genre. It actually speaks about the end of humanity and what would we do to stop it. One of the most horrifying things is the easiness with which the crew responsible for the ritual does their job. And yet it is one that is so human. We as a species survive by adapting to circumstances (if we can't change them) and excluding emotions. At the same time we want to differentiate ourselves from other animals and have notions like fairness, nobility or friendship. All of those instincts and notions come together in this bizarre fight between the two groups of people. One being immoral and cruel for sacrificing people and the other being selfish for putting themselves before the whole world. Sort of collectivism vs. individualism battle with no definite answer.
On top of all that layers "The Cabin in the Woods" functions as a great horror, creating suspense and scaring us with more than just cheap tricks, and also as a great comedy in its behind-the-scenes segment. The credit for that goes to all the cast and crew. The acting is simply fantastic. From Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth and Fran Kranz as part of the five friends to brilliant performances by Bradley Whitford and Richard Jenkins as those pulling the strings. All the other elements like cinematography, editing, music and production design are flawless and brought together by Goddard's assured debut direction. But the thing that rises above all else is the screenplay. What Goddard and Whedon have written is simply amazing. The originality of the idea, the beauty of the dialogue, the perfect balance between the two sides of the story, it just makes you want to watch it again and again. At least it did that for me.
"The Cabin in the Woods" is a movie about horrors, a horror about movies, a comedy about human sacrifice, a thriller about five people in the woods, a story about the end of the world, and above all an excellent piece of work that gets even better with each subsequent viewing. So be sure to watch it more than once. Who knows, maybe next time they will finally choose the merman.
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