Not as mind-blowing as expected, but a great twist on the Horror genre!

Rating: 8/10 (4 May 2012)

Looks like Buffy creator Joss Whedon has found a big screen playground all for himself!
*I am making this as spoiler free as possible!*
I was intrigued to see Cabin in the Woods, but not obsessed; unlike some people I didn't realise this has been in the works for some time now, and I merely knew "it does things differently". That's enough for me. I see a lot of films, an awful lot, and some times they start to look and sound the same. Cabin in the Woods is a Scream-esque homage to the horror genre, but less of a parody and more of an actual twist on the genre. Five young friends go off on a road trip to spend a weekend in a woodland cabin, but when they arrive they awaken evil and uncover the multiple layers of secrets behind it.
It is very hard to talk about this one without giving away the linchpin of its originality. So I recommend seeing this, it is a gore fest full of Joss Whedon humour (seriously, fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Serenity should probably check this out!) and has a punchy subtext about every generic horror movie ever made. If you are a fan of your horror films, I'm sure you'll pick up on this.
Some might see its deliberate clichés as exactly that, clichés, but that is in fact the point of the thing. Is that in itself uninventive? Well, that's up to the viewer, but Whedon always likes to have underlying ideas in his works, and doesn't beat you over the head with them. While I wasn't blown away by it as the hype was suggesting I should be, it was one of the more entertaining and original takes on the teen horror movie genre.
In a nutshell, watch and read as little as possible. This review cannot express what goes on, but I can say that even watching the trailer gave away too much! Perhaps when the popularity dies down, and it becomes one of many random horror rentals, it'll shine all the brighter.
Not as chilling or jump-scary as Woman in Black, but fun, gory and witty with its originality.