Truly enjoyable

Rating: 7/10 (6 December 2012)

If you've ever watched a horror movie, you've seen characters headed for their doom after making an obvious mistake and asked yourself, 'how could they be so stupid?' What if your job depended on that very stupidity? Better yet, what if the world as we knew it depended on that stupidity?
Five college students, Dana (played by Kristen Connolly), Curt (played by Thor himself Chris Hemsworth), Jules (played by Anna Hutchison), Marty (played by Fran Kranz) and Holden (played by Grey's Anatomy's Jesse Williams) are all packed and ready for some much needed rest and relaxation in a remote cabin in the woods (I know, the title was no help in predicting that). Separately, two men in a corporate facility whose nature is not fully explained are gearing up for a series of operations taking place worldwide and one happening domestically that determines the future of their employment. While en route to their secluded cabin, our college students stop for gas and are more than moderately spooked by the station attendant who tells them that tragedies have befallen more than one of the previous owners. Still they press on and the attendant, Mordecai (played by Tim de Zarn) relays that to the two men in the corporate facility (played by Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford) while they laugh at the man's ghoulish demeanor which he maintains long after the collegians depart.
There's a good deal more to this story, but to reveal any more would give away too much. What I can tell you is that I enjoyed this movie immensely. The relatively unknown cast members serve their purpose and the more accomplished professionals, namely Whitford, Jenkins, and a largely unseen Sigourney Weaver add an entirely different dimension to a film that might otherwise be cookie-cutter from its inception. If you enjoy horror or enjoy a good parody, you will enjoy The Cabin the Woods.