The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

 

How they wrongly promoted this film is an absolute atrocity. See, they made everyone believe this was a run-of-the-mill, teenagers-in-the-woods type flick, with goodlooking kids getting offed and that was it. Reality is, that way of presenting this one couldn't be further from the truth.

Oh, it has goodlooking people getting offed, but there is so much more to this one. 

On the surface, this starts off with a couple of students heading off into the hills to a cabin (hence the title) for a fun weekend. Purely visually, you have all the tropes: a jock, a blonde bimbo, the coloured guy, the shy girl and the stoner. But actually, they are all intelligent people just out for some fun with friends, nothing more. However, it turns out that unbeknownst to them, some secret organisation is pulling the strings and playing them every second of their stay. The cabin is rigged with microphones and cameras and these students were in fact selected to be put together in this situation. Heck, their actions are guided by the use of chemicals and subliminal messages. But the stoner already feels like something is amiss, but the others dismiss it as he is a fan of conspiracy theories anyway. 

See, the organisation behind all this is responsible for appeasing elder gods deep in the Earth. In order to do this, they have to sacrifice classic tropes, which is why these kids are manipulated in this way. In order to do this, they have a plethora of monsters at their disposal, but the students have to select these themselves. This is why they are sent into the basement where there is a lot of stuff. They finally select a diary that summons a bunch of redneck zombies. So it seems as though everything is going according to plan, but is it, though? 

See, this film is a wonderful mix of horror, satire and comedy and it is all the better for it. Heck, this is such a well-constructed film, you'd be surprised if you expect just another slasher. Yes, Joss Whedon and Darren Goddard wrote a clever script full of fun winks and nods to pretty much the entirety of horrorfilms past and present. 

But of course, a clever idea does not necessarily a good film make, but in this case it all works. The actors are having fun and they often act against type, which is nice. I'm pretty sure every one will especially like Marty the stoner, as he is by far the best character in this film. Well, maybe right after the two older guys responsible for the entire ritual. These guys are fan-fuckin'-tastic. They are so funny, it is almost illegal. 

It's tough to fault this one, even if you can argue that some of the effects feel a bit dated, but that is when some of the CG hasn't aged that well. But the practical stuff is great, and because most people involved with this seem to be having this much fun, it rubs off on everyone who watches it. I can't praise this film enough, really. Try watching it without having a good time, that's almost impossible.