REVIEW: The Cabin in the Woods

How much research do you do into films before you go and see them? Are you someone who just needs to see the poster in the local cinema to judge whether you want to see it? Or are you someone who likes to watch the trailer and research sites such as imdb.com to see what other people are saying about it (and risk spoilers) before you go and see a film?

Countless films have said to have been spoiled too much by it's marketing campaign, and The Cabin in the Woods is no exception to this. The trailer arguably reveals a bit too much than it should - a few too many of the 'money shots' that make this film worthwhile - but what I can say without spoiling it is that the trailer shows very little from the third act, which is where the film really kicks it up a gear.

Basically, The Cabin in the Woods is the kind of film that is best viewed if you go into the cinema without knowing anything about the film at all. It's not a film full of twists and turns to keep you guessing (the basic premise is revealed in the very first scenes) but it would just feel like a more fresher premise if you were to go in thinking you would be seeing yet another teen horror set in a creep cabin in the woods.

The film follows a group of five college students who fit completely into the stereotype moulds of horror film characters that have been used in many horror films from the 80s, 90s and most recently in the new millennium. There is Dana "The Virgin" (Kristen Connolly), Curt "The Jock" (Chris Hemsworth), Jules "The Slut" (Anna Hutchinson), Marty "The Fool" (Fran Kanz) and Holden "The Geek" (Jesse Williams) and they all decide to go spend a weekend in the woods at Curt's cousin's cabin. It's all very cliche so far, but without giving anything away, they must try and band together to discover what the secret is behind the cabin in the woods...

Ooooh, is that mysterious enough for you without giving anything away?!

Basically, The Cabin in the Woods is every horror fans dream of a film. It's what horror should really be for those of us who love it - a deconstruction of what has been built up over the past and the subverted and turned completely back on it's head before it shocks us as the knowing audience. Not many other genres do this - romantic comedies stick completely within their boundaries, action films always deliver a strong, ass-kicking hero to defeat the baddies and dramas always introduce us to struggling relationships with sympathetic characters. So why does horror do this? It's always been at the bottom of the heap with respectable genres - how many horror films have the Oscars andBAFTAs recognised? You could probably count them all on one hand. So, it seems like it's the horror genres way of proving itself as a worthy genre. It's an interesting concept, as The Cabin in the Woods is definitely a spoof of the horror genre and has also been done before (Scream being the most obvious example), but it's not a stupid spoof film like Scary Movie. One of the main issues I had with The Cabin in the Woods though is that I wanted at least a part of it to be scary, much like Scream was. I really enjoyed the comedic moments and the jabs at the horror genre, but the suspense was lacking - mainly through the uninspired lighting and cinematography (in my opinion). When the... things are introduced, we are just shown them... There is no build up to actually what they are or what they look like, they're just there right in front of us, and that just isn't scary! Now, I know a lot of fans will probably see this and complain, "But it wasn't meant to be scary..." I know that, I just wanted parts of it to be scary.

However, in this one flaw that I found with the film, the rest of it was practically perfect. It's just a wonder that it took so long to make it's way to the cinema - a quick IMDB search will tell you that it was actually filmed in 2009. Also, a look back at some of the original poster art will show you the exact tone that the film goes for

The acting is pretty much spot on throughout for what a horror film should be and the cast do well with what they are given. I would argue that some of the characters feel a little bit underdeveloped or underused, but that goes with the grounds of an ensemble film and could also be argued that it's what horror films usually do... (I feel like it's getting a little bit horror film subtext overload in this review, so I apologise to everyone who isn't a horror film fan, but it is what it is!)

I can't really go into much more detail without spoiling anything in the film. If you are a fan of horror, then this is almost the perfect film for you. If you aren't a fan of horror, then the cleverness of the script and premise may pass you by as nearly every scene is meant to poke fun at the genre or completely flip your expectations upside down on the 'teens go camping in the woods' sub-genre. The third act is especially where fans of horror will gawp at the screen in awe of the action taking place on the screen before them, so stick it out and just wait for the finale that packs a definite punch.

**** / *****