The Cabin in the Woods, has been long overdue and awaited by many a geek and horror film lover (including myself). It's your basic idea, five average American college students travel to a remote cabin in the woods for good times. Things quickly take an interesting and very bad turn.
It stars Australian favourite Chris Hemsworth (The Avengers, Thor, Star Trek), along with fan favourites Kristen Connolly, Bradley Whitford, Richard Jenkins and Amy Acker.
The Cabin in the Woods' release has been long delayed due to its financial difficulties with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's bankruptcy. Filming was completed in 2009, and but it's only now that fans have finally been able to see the movie. Many would worry that after such a wait the film would be a let-down, but happily this is not the case.
The Cabin in the Woods is a joint project of two Hollywood favourites. Joss Whedon (think Buffy the Teenage Vampire Slayer, Serenity, and The Avengers) and Drew Goddard (writer of Lost and Cloverfield). Whedon and Goddard both felt the horror genre had recently devolved significantly, and so set out to critique everything that they loved and hated in horror films. As he says, "I love being scared. I love that mixture thrill, of horror… The things I don't like are kids acting like idiots, the devolution of the horror movie into torture porn…"
Anybody who feels likewise will mostly likely automatically fall in love with The Cabin in the Woods. The film is a mind-blowing combination of horror and suspense that turns both genres inside out like no film you've ever seen before. It's smart and self-aware, and is full of sly winks and nudges to the classic horror clichés. Rest assured, no part of this film is clichéd or unoriginal.