The Cabin in the Woods- Review

A film of two halves, that tries too much and ends up being hard up to appreciate it.

It’s not often that horror films cross over successfully with other genres, its also even rarer when the film doesn’t take itself too seriously. Ones that come to mind are Shaun of the dead, and to a lesser degree Drag me to Hell.

Cabin in the Woods is one such film, it takes all of the generics of a horror film and half spoofs it, this is particularly true in the first half of the film which I didn’t enjoy.

As with many horror films, the plot is centred on a group of teenagers, the two good looking male leads Curt (Chris Hemsworth) and Holden (Jesses Williams), we have the innocent female lead (Kristen Connolly), the blonde bombshell Jules (Anna Huchison), and lastly the dopey and comic relief Marty (Fran Kranz).

As soon as the film starts it’s not long before they set off on a road trip to a cabin that a relative of one of the characters owns.

From their arrival at the cabin strange things begin to happen to their surroundings; unbeknownst to the characters is that they are taking part in a reality TV game. As things begin to go wrong the film replays old filler moments from classic horror films (zombies rising out from the ground), but because the film doesn’t take itself seriously none of it gives off any reaction, which is essential for horror films to succeed.

Another problem is that whilst the film doesn’t take itself seriously it doesn’t intend to be a comedy either, which meant that I cared very little for the characters. Until the last twenty minutes of the film much of its narrative is very predictable- same scene different film.

However it is in the last twenty minutes of the film that it really does come alive. The twists and plot devices are both surprising and original, as well as the appearance of the most blood drenched scene I have ever seen, and then throw in the fact that there is a cameo by Sigourney Weaver, for a moment you realise why you paid for a ticket in the first place.

But the conclusion doesn’t save the film from being any more than decent, for those who love horror films for what they should be will struggle to appreciate this, while those who don’t will think more highly of it.

A good popcorn flick but nothing more
3/5