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Sunday, April 15, 2012

The Cabin in the Woods Review

The Cabin in the Woods Review
2012, 95 minutes
Rated R for strong bloody horror violence and gore, language, drug use, and some sexuality/nudity

The Cabin in the Woods is a very clever horror film by first-time director Drew Goddard.  The film was written by Goddard and Joss Wheadon (Serenity, The Avengers).  It is about a group of people that go into a cabin in the woods, and then the movie goes out of control bonkers after that.  But, to tell you what happens next would blow the fun.

Goddard gets very good performances out of his cast and it is obvious that they all had a blast making this film.  What truly sets this movie apart from all of the millions of by-the-numbers horror films out there is its unpredictability and its inventiveness.  I have seen multiple horror films that are satires on the genre, but none quite go as far and as crazy as this one.  What this movie does is it deconstructs every aspect of a "cabin-in-the-woods" horror movie (like The Evil Dead) and offers an explanation as to why everything happens (i.e. the rise of the dead, the smoke and fog in the woods).  Director Goddard has a very tight grip over the first two-thirds of the film, then lets it go crazy, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.  The insanity at the end is incredibly fun.

Overall, Goddard and Wheadon succeed in creating an original and entertaining film well-worth viewing. It delivers the chills, thrills, and the laughs in equal numbers.  I guarantee that you will have a good time.

3.5/4
-Joshua Handler

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