review: Cabin in the Woods (movie)

Cabin in the Woods is the newest creation from the team of Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon. Whedon is hugely popular in the nerd circles as he is responsible for a lot of TV cult classics including: Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Dollhouse. And such movies as: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Toy Story and one of my personal favorites: Titan A.E. Needless to say, Whedon's got movie/TV cred.

First scene is not exactly terrifying. Two technicians (Richard Jenkins and Steve Hadley - both acting veterans and so great for their sarcastic humor) are walking down in all white corridor in some office/factory building prepping for the night's special operation. Suddenly - flash! - evil music and dark red words: THE CABIN IN THE WOODS appears on screen. Bum bum ba!!!!! If the quick switch doesn't make you laugh, this is not the movie for you.

We switch focus now to out young heroes. They are walking cliches, well - modern versions of them. "The athlete" has become a jock; "the fool", a stoner; "the scholar", a nerd; and "the virgin".... whatever passes for virginity in this day and age. "The whore" doesn't really change - after all, it is the world's oldest profession. These five head into the woods - a cabin in the woods - for a long weekend away from school. Along the way they are warned about the woods by a creepy gas station attendant. If this sound cliche - it is. But don't worry, the clicheness it awesome. And the cliche continues: once they get to the house they notice some creepy things - a 2-way mirror in the bedroom, disturbing paintings, weird feelings but they commence with the drinking and of course: the get-to-know-you game, truth or dare. However, midway through the game a cellar door opens abruptly and in true horror movie form, they file on down. Each person is drawn to a different object: a diary, a locket, a picture, a toy, or a globe. Each object triggers a different monster.

Now this is really where the two technicians shine. They are watching everything - even triggering the cellar door to open. And when the virgin, Dana, reads some Latin our of an old diary, the technicians release "[their] zombified, pain worshiping, backwards, idiot, rednecks". Needless to say, there's lots of pain and death with lots of surprises thrown in. The twists and turns between the college kids trying to escape and the technicians trying to have the zombies kill them are hilarious and cliche. But worry not! Almost everything gets explained as the story ends but it doesn't get wrapped in a neat little bow. Which is perfect!

To make this really short - I loved everything about this movie. I don't think I've laughed this hard and so much in a movie in.... well, ever. 5 out of 5 stars. Easily. Go see it.

Check out the trailer here!