Cabin in the Woods Review

I couldn’t escape hearing about this movie, and how it was the greatest thing to ever come to cinema. I didn’t get to watch in theaters despite trying to do so on a regular basis, so I had to wait for it to come to dvd and thanks to Netflix I finally got it. I would buy more movies, but I don’t make any money on this site, so it’s difficult to do so. Anyways, this movie was supposed to be the second coming of the horror film, but nope, it certainly wasn’t, but it did have some interesting points. I am now going to rant about the movie known as Cabin in the Woods.

Not Your Average Cabin

Guess what? The beginning of this film completely throws you into another world, one that is not like anything you’ve seen in previous cabin style movies. Now, I have listed the top 10 camping movies, which usually has a rag tag group of friends in situations that should and do kill them with ease, and that genre is definitely something that comes into the spotlight every year, at least for a few romps with the same formula of death and despair and of course a sprinkling of sex.

This time around there is a spoiler right from the start of the movie, and something that doesn’t lend itself well to purists looking for that traditional romp in the woods. Sure we get a little bit of wooden fun, and even sex, but it is a puppet master’s dream because that drives every twist and turn in the film.

The cabin itself is nothing more than a location that will swallow these people whole, and the foreshadowing is evident at every moment in the first 25 minutes. If you don’t catch all the signs, that’s ok, you’ll get thrown into the fray soon enough.

Deadly Sins

The movie has a great deal of the same standard of deadly sins that will shoot you in the arm with cool. Each stereotype is seen a mile away and when the demise happens to them, the teenage horror fan in you goes nuts; I know I was happy with the way things were going down. Then things start to unravel and the hinges completely break loose.

The death scenes are cool, not too gory, but definitely enough to give you blood shed without making you throw up, even the unrated version doesn’t fill you with so much blood you want to vomit, well, at least not in the first 50 minutes.

The Disconnect

The third act and subsequently the fourth act is definitely where this movie completely blows up in your face. Like a shotgun blast sequence happening when the protagonist opens the door (see Boogie Nights or Kill Bill 2), the whole world comes to an end (literally) and all hell is unleashed on the surviving 2.

With a world of monsters chasing the final 2 idiots, we get visited from a member of science fiction past and most certainly got me cheering, even if the fight sequence that followed was unlike what I would expect from “Aliens”.

Flutter and End

The end was lame. Have you ever collaborated with someone? This movie felt like a couple of writers got together and kept 1 upping each other with ideas and they didn’t edit things out, they took that and put it all into a film that shoehorns every horror element and comedic timed joke you’d expect from a self-aware horror flick.

Is it worth your time?

Yes! However, it is going to disappoint you. The movie mixes a lot of genres to bring a fresh take on horror, far better than the hype of “Drag me to Hell”. It delivers with some great moments, but you will definitely ask more questions than just focus on the story. Check out Cabin in the Woods on Blu Ray, it’s best looking that way. I’d have to see it again.



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