A film for anyone who has ever complained that they don't make good, original horror films anymore.

Rating: 10/10 (14 April 2012)

I would normally be leery of giving out a perfect 10 rating, but if ever there was a modern horror movie that was worthy of a 10, it's this one. "Cabin in the Woods" has done what I no longer thought was possible for a horror movie, it blew my mind and showed me something I never expected. When I first saw a trailer for this on television I thought "Oh great, another recycled, clichéd horror flick. Can't they think of anything other than putting a group of young people in a stale setting and kill them off one by one?" Well it would appear that they can. This is a film that is nearly impossible to market effectively without giving anything away. Some of the more recent trailers have included much more footage that gives a glimpse into what this movie REALLY is about. Word of mouth should be the biggest factor that helps make this movie popular. I just hope for your sake that no one spoils this brilliant gem for you. It's best to go into it with as little information as possible. I really enjoyed the pacing of this movie. They could've taken this in an entirely different direction if they simply wanted to shock you at the end. Instead, they treat the film like a slow, steady reveal. In fact, the opening scene does not even feature the group of kids that we follow on their horrific trip to the cabin. Instead, it opens with the "other" side of this story and the characters who get about as much screen time as our heroine and her pals. The result is a cinematic experience like none other. The audience is fed bits of information little by little throughout the entire film, so you're always hot on the trail of this story's secrets. You won't know exactly what's going on but you'll feel like you have a pretty good grasp on things the further you advance into it. In reality, every time this plot reveals a twist, it also introduces more brand new questions into your mind. So the twists don't just come completely out of left field and shock you, but they guide you through a very intriguing story that manages to keep expanding into something bigger and bigger. I'm so glad they wrote the script this way. I feel like 9 times out of 10 the writers of today would be too tempted to create a story that hides everything behind the curtain and focuses solely on the kids at this cabin. That way they can build up to a final payoff that no one would ever see coming. This payoff is too big to simply catch you off guard with. They got this right, a movie that isn't only original for the end of the third act, but a refreshing journey from start to finish. Go experience this film before you overhear people talking about it at the water cooler.