Cabin in the Woods [Blu-ray]

Kept some teenagers entertained but given talents involved should have been so much better

The Cabin In The Woods.Certificate:15/RGenre: Horror.Running Time 95 Minutes.Synopsis.Five friends embark on a short break at a remote cabin, where they get more than they bargained for as they soon fight for survival against cannabilist zombies, but what is the facility below the cabin & what's it's connection to the mysterious goings on surrounding the cabin in the woods?Timelord Thoughts.How do I even begin to describe 'The Cabin In The Woods?' Well "different" is probably the best way to sum up this horror movie because writer Joss Whedon & Drew Goddard who also directs the movie play upon the concept that we horror fans know all those typical horror movie clichés & then this duo only go & pull the rug from out under us & give us a movie that is so fresh, unique & dare I say original.The group of victims.... i mean adolescents consists of Kristen Connolly (Dana), Anne Hutchison (Jules), Chris (Thor) Hemsworth (Curt), Jesse Williams (Holden) & Fran Kranz (Marty) & for those who don't know the rules of horror here's a basic guide to some of those typical horror movie cliches.1)The opening, five friends decide to take a short break in a abandoned cold creaky cabin in the woods because hotels are just so clean & warm & being cosy is so boring (check).2)The five characters must include a nerd, a jock, a virgin, a stoner & popular girl (check).3)A creepy old man at a run down petrol station who will be ignored when he waffles on about not going to the mysterious cabin because it's cursed (check).4)Upon discovering a secret basement in the cabin the five adolescents decide to explore only to find a vast array of strange relics & artifacts where one member of the group will randomly read a ancient scripture & in doing so reawaken bloodthirsty zombies (check).5)Facility below ground under the cabin were the workers take bets on what the group will choose to prey upon & slaughter them (Erm, hang on, what?).6)Cabin is actually part of a facility that actually house's a vast array of creatures, monsters, vampires, werewolves, mutated snakes, a merman etc (what is this nonsense?, this ain't part of the horror cliché rules?).Exactly, so you think you know your typical horror clichés then think again because 'The Cabin In The Woods' throws that rulebook out the window & catches audiences off guard because were then left clueless as to what is going on & instead we have to try & figure out this movie's unique mystery for ourselves.The plot is basically 'The Dark Gods' who once ruled the Earth & a ancient ritual run by the facility of luring various groups of people which must include a virgin into the cabin in the woods to be slaughtered by whatever monster the group unwittingly choose from the various relics in the cabins basement but it's is up to the Gods to decide whether the virgin who in this case is (Dana) lives or dies but if the sacrifice is not completed, the old Gods will come to the surface & thus destroy mankind.Writer's Joss Whedon & Drew Goddard have come up with a cleverly twisted original concept & crafted a suspenseful chilling horror movie which is well acted by the young cast that includes Thor himself actor Chris Hemsworth in one of his earlier movie roles & it's easy to see why he's gone on to bigger things because Hemsworth has that leading man charisma factor to carry a movie.Director Drew Goddard tightly paces this movie keeping the pace moving quickly while slowly building tension by allowing the audience to piece together the clues as to what's happening which is a engaging clever idea, the movie's final pay off makes perfect sense & doesn't disappoint (good luck Hollywood in trying to pitch a sequel) while the kills are old school horror & gory, so none of that PG-13 diluted rubbish here.'The Cabin In The Woods' is a marmite horror movie that some like myself will love while other's won't get the premise & loathe it as a silly pointless movie but with the current spate of Hollywood remakes, reboots & cheaply made found footage tripe 'The Cabin In The Woods' is a cleverly crafted masterpiece which takes a tired old well worn formula & injects something new & refreshing into the mix with the end result being a entertaining, unique suspenseful horror movie.

This is an excellent feature part homage to and part parody of myriad horror feature films, as a result it is easy to see how it could polarise opinion. Viewers will either see it as an unoriginal cobbling together of other features, a heaping up of cliches which fails to be as good as the original source material and is just another teen slasher film or it will seem like the ultimate horror homage which invites fans of the genre to spot different features, movies and themes expertly plotted in a single feature.I thought this movie was excellent, and I definitely do fall into the second category of viewer, from the outset, even simply the title of the movie (which was the original concept title for the movie Evil Dead) I was hooked and very pleased to find a feature which at last achieves something which horror films have not for a long time by presenting a group of believeably real adn sympathetic characters who as a viewer I could care less whether they live to the end of the feature. The movies which are featured range from the obvious to the obscure, it was brilliant to see them all referenced and to be able to chat about them with friends afterwards, thinly disguised Cinobites from Hellraiser rub shoulders with classic werewolves, the spectres of asian cinema with mythical beasts such as unicorns.The distinctions which are made in movie by the characters themselves are great about different monsters, how rarely choosen are some monsters as opposed to others as a source of curiosity or pain worshipping hill billy undead versus zombis (which reminded me of a reference to a film which Stephen King praised in  Danse Macabre  about saw killers while trying to make the difficult distinction between a worthy gory horror and less worthy, revolting splatter movie). Some of the humour is definitely self parodying of the genre and themes there in. The over arching story I felt played some excellet tricks with the audience who it would not take too much thought to see as fufilling a role in the film itself, that of voyeuristic watcher and onlooker, the movie does mess with perspective like that in a way which I thought was satisfying.It is also a great movie for containing some genuinely smart twists which are not easily anticipated, even when what exactly is happening is revealled, the viewer is kept guessing about what will happen next. Including surprise cameos by more famous actresses, with reversals of fortune and with humour the characters being portrayed as able to choose to do the right or courageous or virtuous thing once all other options have ran out. A touch which I personally enjoyed was the recognition that horror flicks are full of archetypes and none so popular as the fool who prevails through dumb luck in almost slapstick fashion, its Evil Dead and a lot of other features, particular those of a more B-Movie variety, besides.Love it or hate it this is a feature which is doing something different to the mass of reboots, sequels and more formulaic productions, it is original, and I consider it consequently worth a watch. Recommended.