The marketing department for "Cabin in the Woods" was not kidding with the tagline "You think you know the story." Director and Screenwriter Drew Goddard and Assistant Screenwriter Joss Whedon have crafted a finely-tuned horror film. "Cabin the Woods" is the kind of film that can resurrect a genre that had been stale for some time.
Goddard knows a thing or two about shaking up genres. Goddard previously assisted in penning the screenplay for the 2008 film "Cloverfield." While "Cloverfield" was a gimmick of a film, "Cabin in the Woods" is more of a complete package. It marks a sensational jump to the director's chair for Goddard.
This film was actually completed in 2008, but shelved by the studio. Normally, that is a kiss of death for a movie, but "Cabin in the Woods" is a film that would work wonders in any era. The film opens in a very inauspicious way with an ambiguous conversation between two business men named Hadley and Sitterson (Bradley Whitford and Richard Jenkins, respectively). They represent an unnamed organization whose goals and endgame are unclear at first. It is not a very strong opening, but it is one that will immediately make an audience start to think.
Following the first few opening scenes, it appears as if the motivation of this organization is to get a group of college students to a cabin in the woods. Everything appears staged, but not everything is as it appears. This is where the clichés come into play. Goddard and company make great use of a cast of characters that could fit in any horror film.
The difference here is that the charismatic cast members give slightly more depth to very shallow characters. Chris Hemsworth does a fine job playing a charismatic and somewhat cocky college jock. For a change, the characters feel like real people and not cardboard cutouts.
There comes a point about two-thirds of the way through where the film takes a sharp left turn and ceases to be a typical horror film. There is a twist in the third act that is slowly teased at throughout the whole film. It is not the most shocking twist by any means, but it is incredibly effective.
It is not as if the film goes from straight-up horror film to a tongue-in-cheek, "Scary Movie" approach. Goddard and Whedon do a good job keeping a consistent tone throughout the film. There is a constant, tension-filled score with underlying scenes filled with humor, sex and small talk.
When there is violence and gore (and there is plenty of it), there is still some humor thrown in the mix. Most of the humorous moments are provided by Fran Kranz's Marty. Marty is the typical horror film stoner, but he has no problem mouthing off to someone trying to kill him.
As I have pointed out before, this film is very much meta. Therefore, it is less about the characters and their depth and more about an examination of the horror film genre. Bits of dialogue that are pointless filler in other "scary" movies play a significant role in this film. Everything in the film relates to the ultimate purpose of it all.
Suddenly, the words from a seemingly pointless character such as Marty carry weight to the story. Creepy basements and things found in the basement play a big role later in the film. The biggest credit there has to go to screenwriters Whedon and Goddard.
Whedon and Goddard managed to pull off something that has not been done since the original "Scream." In a way, "Cabin in the Woods" is also a different monster altogether. It is a little less obvious in how it points its finger at flaws in "scary movies."
That being said, the film does have a few flaws. There are also a few scenes involving other rival organizations that leave question marks. The film never goes into detail about what these organizations are. It could be that the filmmakers were attempting to set up a sequel or these could be details that slipped through the cracks.
Whedon will get his moment to shine this summer. It is clear from a story standpoint that Whedon can write and craft a tight story for the big screen. This will no doubt be good news to fans anxiously awaiting "The Avengers."For horror film fans, "Cabin in the Woods" is a breath of fresh air. It is the kind of game-changer other studios will attempt to coattail off of in the future.
Rating: 4.3/5
