A typically clever Whedon twist on a very tired genre

Rating: 8/10 (12 March 2013)

Big fan of Joss' work, took me a long time to get around to watching this but I'm glad I did. Very interesting film taking the great clichés of the horror genre and turning them around in a typically clever Joss Whedon fashion. We now understand why all theses nasty things keep happening to people in horror films (and why the Whore always gets it first and the Virgin sometimes survives), they're all set up in order to appease the ancient hellgods. One thing that did strike me is that the group very much remind me of the characters from Scooby-Doo, the Athlete (Fred/Curt), the Whore (Daphne/Jules), the hungry Fool (Marty/Shaggy), the Scholar (Velma/Holden) and the Virgin (Velma again). And just like Scooby-Doo they drive a camper van, encounter a creepy old man with dire warnings and it's all a set up with someone manipulating everything from behind the scenes. If only they'd brought their Great Dane with them everything would have been OK.
Standout scenes, well Sigourney as good as ever. The Cabin itself is a dead ringer for that in Evil Dead 2. The array of objects in the cellar is very clever, did everyone notice Drusilla's doll Miss Edith from Buffy? Jules making out with the wolf's head is masterful, you keep expecting it to come to life and bite her but Joss defies our expectations. Love the 9 year old Japanese schoolgirls defeating the evil spirits, they're so sweet, what chance do mere hellgods have against them? It's a film that stands rewatching as you understand a lot more next time around, why does Jules, a pre-med student suddenly dye her hair blonde and start acting like a bimbo? Why does Curt, an intelligent guy suddenly start acting like some dumb jock stereotype? The merman gag is both funny AND disgusting, I'm sure Marty's flask is bound to become a collector's item. Your heart bleeds for Patience Buckner and you're a little concerned for the actress playing her when she gets knocked flying by Curt running back into the cabin, I hope that was perspective gag?
So who's right? That's a tough one, we understand why the organisation seek to appease the hellgods, sacrificing the few to protect the millions but at the same time we feel for the sacrifices. But now the sacrifices have triumphed over the evil all over the world. Perhaps humanity no longer has to make sacrifices to placate the gods, perhaps the six billion of us armed with nukes have advanced to the degree that we can wipe them out without really working up a sweat? In the camper van Marty says that society needs to crumble and then begin anew and that's what happens at the end, his remark of letting someone else survive at the end is prescient, he's plunged mankind into a war but saved any future sacrifices.
I'd love to see a sequel, Joss always wanted to make a post-apocalyptic series and this could be his chance. Ronald the Intern helps Marty and Dana into the Directors escape pod and they all survive to see the Hellgods blasted by a massive military attack. Cut to a year later with a much changed world which now believes in the reality of the supernatural. Ronald is in front of a congressional inquiry explaining the organisation's actions Ollie North style, werewolf Dana is now head of the supernatural faction which wants to make peace with humanity whilst the now zombie Director heads the evil faction which wishes to destroy us. But whatever happened to Marty? And why is everyone so desperate to find The Fool?
Great movie with a great potential for more stories.