Genre: Sci-Fi | Horror

Director: Drew Goddard

Writers: Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard

Cast: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams

MPAA Rating: R

Synopsis: A group of friends at a cabin retreat scratch the surface of something so massive and horrific that they can only begin to fathom it as time quickly runs out.

Runtime: 95 min.

 

View the trailer HERE.

Let me preface this review by saying that I went into the theatre to see The Cabin in the Woods with equal parts of extreme hope and extreme trepidation – extreme hope because I am a loyal Whedonite and extreme trepidation because I am not at all a fan of slasher/ torture porn films. After peeking through my fingers for a good half of the movie, I am happy to report that The Cabin in the Woods is a pure genius mix horror, sci-fi, fantasy and humor all rolled into one glorious thrill ride that is all sorts of awesome.

Even the opening scenes of the film make it known that this will not be your ordinary slasher horror flick. We are greeted by office banter between two lab workers intersected by Amy Acker’s lab character in a curious research facility. Whatever they are doing here, it’s organized, established, and has interns.

Ding!

The story begins to unfold from there on like you’d expect with the introduction to a happy gang of five young people who we know are about to embark on the last woodland retreat of their lives. Casting is spot on with Kristen Connolly (As the World Turns) as the good girl, Chris Hemsworth (Thor 2, Snow White and the Huntsman) as the jock, Anna Hutchison (Go Girls) as the pretty, loose girl, Fran Kranz (Much Ado About Nothing, Dollhouse) as the stoner conspiracy theorist, and Jesse Williams (Grey’s Anatomy) as the nice guy.

I have to say that Fran Kranz stole the movie. Well, his loveable, completely high but insightful character ruled the screen with his $5,000 bong! Yes, supposedly it cost that much to develop this telescoping coffee travel mug that expands into a three-foot bong prop via Kickstarter.com. Kranz who most memorably was Topher in Dollhouse and is quite believable as a stoner who happens to be brilliant.

The timing of the release of The Cabin in the Woods is quite opportune to capitalize on Hemsworth’s exploding popularity and hype of his reprisal of his role as Thor in the Whedon helmed film The Avengers coming up next month. The long wait for this film was well worth it.

Ding!

The strength of The Cabin in the Woods lies in the pacing and twist in the horror storyline. The orchestration of character development and punctuations of horrific violence relieved by humorous dialogue carry the movie to a fantastic reveal at the end. I was screaming in joy by the end from the total awesomeness that was unleashed.

Joss Whedon’s influence can clearly be felt throughout every aspect of the film. Goddard, who has collaborated with Whedon since Buffy and Angel, did a bang up job executing this film that features Joss’ trademark storytelling elements including strong female characters, shots of female feet (though River’s feet are still the most graceful), zany characters, clever, quick-quipped dialogue, and the Whedon brand of humor in a horror context. There are several notable cameos sprinkled in the film including the aforementioned Amy Acker (Dollhouse, Angel) and Tom Lenk (Angel, Buffy) but I won’t spoil the best of them for you.

On the violence o’ meter, this film hits all the high points of my personal checklist of fun deaths: decapitation, dismemberment, and impalement. Hey, I said I didn’t like slasher / torture porn flicks, but I have a healthy appetite for violence!

When you see The Cabin in the Woods, look out for these things that will inspire much horror and hilarity:

• the board,
• the best speaker phone joke,
• nods to horror genre staples,
• and most happily, things that you don’t expect in a horror film.

Bottom line, Whedon fans will be ecstatically happy. Horror fans’ appetite for torture porn will be satiated. Cabin in the Woods makes good on its tag line of “You think you know the story” with this unique back story to twist the slasher formula.

Ding! (I swear, you’ll know by the end what comes whenever you hear this sound!)

I give The Cabin in the Woods Four out of Five Stars.