Cube Meets Evil Dead

Rating: 7/10 (26 December 2012)

People are weary of the same tired formula that's propelled horror movies since the slasher renaissance of the early '80s. With this in mind, writers Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard set out to pen something unique—something that would utterly shock audiences and absolutely lambaste the conventions of the modern horror film. With The Cabin in the Woods, the ably accomplish this task. The otherwise mundane title nicely hides the fact that moviegoers are in for an experience so unorthodox—and, at times, so downright bizarre—that they'll likely stagger out of the theater scratching their heads in an attempt to make sense of what essentially boils down to one hour and thirty-five minutes of unadulterated chaos.
The Cabin in the Woods is a tricky little number to review in that I can't really discuss the plot in much dept because of the very great risk of ruining some of the more shocking revelations that define its second half. Still, right from the opening credits the movie doesn't hide the fact that it's trying something new. Viewers are thrust into a sterile setting that finds two lab technicians chattering about trifles that don't mesh with what anyone setting into their seats would expect. This is a good thing, as it sets the tone from the beginning: "I'm going to be straightforward with you, dear viewer," the flick suggests, "but don't think I won't pull any punches along the way."
After the initial confusion tapers, the standard horror routine plays out: a group of college-age supermodels descends on a rickety cabin in the middle of nowhere. They're primed and ready for a weekend filled with booze, drugs, unprotected sex, so on and so forth. They also exhibit the personas one would expect in just this sort of offering: there's a jock, a slutty vixen, a stoner, a goodie-two shoes who's hesitant to do anything remotely dangerous, etc. The usual hijinks occur for the next several scenes, and then we're catapulted back into the lab environment and given a deeper understanding of what's really happening. From this point on, all hell breaks loose (almost literally).
While the charm of the movie's originality is undeniable—and it's penchant for juvenile humor is greatly appreciated—there's something a little forced about the whole thing that (in my mind, at least) doesn't elevate it to the echelons of cinematic gold that movies like Tucker & Dale vs. Evil are able to obtain. As stated earlier, Cabin is meant to vaporize all notions of the modern horror movie, and it mostly succeeds. Surprisingly, the complex nature of the plot eventually begins to backfire. You'll find yourself trying to connect dots that are much too difficult—or, even worse, can't—be connected, and there's the sense that a crucial narrative element is absent.
In fact, I'm still trying to pin down what this is, exactly, and this is problematic.
This can be forgiven, though, when the comedic-gratuitousness of the third act hits the fan. It's unrestrained brutality, our worst nightmares made tangible in the form of a brew-ha-ha that will leave you speechless. If ever there were a slam-bang ending, what we get with the finale of Cabin is just that.
So, in that regard, the movie is a success. Still, there's the sense that it could have been put together just a little more effectively, and that might be what ultimately defines this fine exercise in reworking a genre that's suffered from tedium for far