You Never Saw It Coming!

The Cabin In the Woods (2012)

A Review by Ben Hunter

4½ Out of 5 Stars
April 13, 2012

Innovative! Extremely innovative! 

Talk about a movie that completely blind-sides the viewer with creativity and innovation!  I simply did not expect to have the amazing experience I received with this movie!

Drew Goddard makes his directorial debut with a bang as he and film mogul Joss Whedon collaborate once again to pen an amazing story that defies the boundaries of your traditional, classic American horror flick.  Goddard & Whedon have collaborated on such projects as the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series and the movie Cloverfield.  Though I didn’t really care for either, ESPECIALLY the latter, you have to give them an A for creativity and innovation.  They push themselves to think outside of the box and come up with something different.  This is the case in their newest and most vibrant collaboration, The Cabin In the Woods.

Set in present day, 5 friends set out to get away from everyday life and spend a little time at a friend’s “cabin in the woods” on the outskirts.  The movie sets out as your typical horror flick and it’s purposely marketed as such.  These are your stereotypical horror film perfect and pretty teenagers; the jock, the innocent/shy/virginal girl, the slut, the stoner, and the new kid that we’re all skeptical about.  Just like any horror film, things go south, but unlike any old, random horror film, it does this in a way that you COULDN’T POSSIBLY IMAGINE and simply BLOWS YOUR MIND!!  Prepare, for quite an experience!

Simply put, the less you know, the better!  Whatever is told, whatever you hear, quickly disregard it, pay no attention and see this movie as soon as sanely possible to get the best experience possible!  It’s a bad idea to go into this film with some theories of what you’ve heard.  Again, simply put, THE LESS YOU KNOW … THE BETTER! 

I just did not expect the experience that I received.  All throughout the movie, I kept wondering what was the deal with the major underlying concept and kept trying to piece the puzzle together.  This movie just keeps you wanting to know why this event is happening.  I would say it maybe kept me in the dark a little too much as opposed to leading me on.  The filmmakers go to great lengths to keep this storyline under wrap.  So there were times when I would’ve paused the action had I experienced this in home entertainment, just to make sure I comprehended what’s taken place so far.  It gets heavy and I wanted to be sure I grasped it all.  

Nonetheless, Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon are definitely onto something here.  This is a film that raises the bar for the horror genre.  Movies that push the limits and blind side the audience in amazement are what’s needed more of in Hollywood today. The Cabin In the Woods is funny, scary, thrilling, “gore-riffic”, sexy, chilling, and overall entertaining! 

A must see for adults everywhere! 

The Cabin In the Woods

Horror, 95 Minutes, R

Written by: Joss Whedon & Drew Goddard

Directed by: Drew Goddard

Cast: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchinson, and Richard Jenkins