The Cabin in the Woods (2012) ****

                             

I’m not sure how to write this without giving anything away.  Apparently, a lot of people have said this and they’re right.

What I can say is that this is Joss Whedon (Buffy, Firefly) at his true Whedon-y self here.  Fellow fans should know what I’m speaking of – dark, twisted and very funny… in a slightly demented way.

I’ll give you the skeletal gist of it.  Five young pretty things – Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Jesse Williams (Grey’s Anatomy), Fran Kranz (Dollhouse), Kristen Connolly and Anna Hutchinson – decide to head up to a cabin in the woods for a little fun and get a lot more than what they bargained for!  And not in a fun way, well not for them anyway.  And that’s all I can say.

Ok, I could throw in the shadowy government types (Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford to name a few), lurking beneath said Cabin.  They happen to provide quite a bit of the fun as you try desperately not to like them (they are shadowy after all)!

And that’s all I can say plot-wise.  You’ll have to watch to see how it all fits in together.

Joss Whedon is a true master.  This film mocks every genre you can think of, and possibly more! No it’s not some grossly, cheesy Scary Movie type.  You could say it’s a whole new genre.  You can see all the nods from The Ring, to Hellraiser, to Stephen King’s It, to Big Brother.  Yes, reality is given a healthy dose of creepiness, as if it wasn’t creepy enough.  But essentially, it still maintains it's horror pedigree.

All of this leads to a completely ridiculous and insane – but totally relevant penultimate climax, where I sat there momentarily stunned thinking ‘oh crap’ followed swiftly by ‘what the hell?!’ followed by hysterical laughter. I can honestly say I will never look at a unicorn the same way ever again… ever.

For Serenity fans, think the Reavers scene when they come out of the clouds… now think of it on Crack.

I guess Whedon planned it this way.  His films traditionally start out quite normally, and you just snigger along.  Then there’s some form of adventure, followed some battle, followed by an intimate face-off.  What he’s done here, is not only make fun of every film out there, but also poked fun at himself.  The climax says it all… there’s even a fun cameo in there – Horror royalty if you will.

With all the Whedon flicks coming out hard and fast and with great reviews, might there be hope for another Serenity instalment?

Anyway, I digress.  Cabin in the Woods is a must for horror fans and especially Whedon fans (you’ll see quite a few Whedon alums in there).  For any one else, it’s a 50-50 chance of whether you like it or hate it.  It all depends on whether you understand and appreciate his darkly, twisted humour.