The Cabin in the Woods

The hardest people in the world to please are horror nerds. When a new horror film comes out, horror nerds will pounce and rip it apart. If it's a remake or a sequel, it is immediately tossed aside. If it's original, people will scrutinize every aspect of it. What does it rip off? Is it memorable or lame? Does it do something new, or just rehash? Does it do anything well? Is it scary? The list goes on. The Cabin in the Woods was clearly made from the perspective of a horror nerd, and it answers most questions positively. But is it the messiah horror nerds want? Not quite, but it's still fun. Our story starts as most horror ones do: with a group of stereotypes. We have the slut (Anna Hutchison), the jock (Chris Hemsworth), the nerd (Jesse Williams), the nice girl (Kristen Connolly), and the comic relief (Fran Kranz). These five are our students du jour being offered up to the titular cabin. Quite literally, because the situation is being manipulated with horror cliches and tropes by mysterious lab technicians. The equally mysterious lab that the technicians inhabit is full of buttons that do everything from raise zombies to unleashing masked killers. However, something more sinister is afoot, and our beleaguered teens are just getting started. The Cabin in the Woods is damn well made. The story is cool, the acting isn't half bad, the special effects are great, and it's kinda scary occasionally. Also, the way Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard's screenplay breaks down horror films and their fans is really insightful and smart. Never does the film take itself too seriously or preach down to its viewers. This is the horror nerd's horror film, and for most of it I really didn't have any problems. However, it was sadly not meant to be. I have decided that I just don't like twist endings. One hundred percent of them are trying to copy The Sixth Sense and almost one hundred percent of them don't work. Most of these twists and big reveals come completely out of left field and usually ruin the movie for me. This thankfully didn't happen to me in The Cabin in the Woods, but the ludicrous twist at the end was a big damper. The film tries to be something that has nothing to do with the tone of the rest of the story and makes the whole thing kinda silly. What I mean is it bites off a bit more than it can chew. For a while I was convinced I had to eviscerate this film. Luckily I gave myself the opportunity to think about it and now I've decided to cut it some slack. The Cabin in the Woods is like Insidious; a refreshing, well done, and modern take on American horror. It's a message to Hollywood that shows that new ideas are worthwhile and work. This is a really good movie that I enjoyed, and I think anybody can do the same. Trust me, you don't have to be a fanatic to get lost in the Woods.