Movie Review: The Cabin in the Woods

It's always nice to find a horror movie that can be scary and entertaining, without taking itself too seriously. Sometimes horror fans don't want a deep story, sometimes we just want to have some good ol' fashioned fun -- why else would slasher flicks be so popular? No, relax, The Cabin in the Woods is certainly nothing so cliche as a slasher, but it is extremely entertaining. The first genuinely "fun" movie I've watched all year.

The movie begins with a premise all horror fans are familiar with: Five relatively good-looking friends frolic off to a remote cabin for a few days of relaxation and general merriment. And once they arrive, as you might expect, they goof off, smoke some weed, and stare lustily at one another -- I know, I know, but bear with it for a bit. Because all isn't what it seems.

The trouble starts when the group -- during a game of truth-or-dare -- wander down into the damp, dark cellar. There they find all sorts of odd, creepy little gadgets: An odd puzzle-sphere, a ratty old wedding dress, a dusty conch shell, and so on. Before they can get too good a look at the rest of the trinkets, perpetually naive sweet-girl Dana (played by Kristen Connolly) finds an ancient-looking diary and calls the others over to check it out. It is the diary of a long-dead young girl, who was apparently tortured by her sadistic, uber-religious, redneck father. She promises they will return again, when the words that follow are read aloud. . .naturally, Dana reads these words aloud. Enter, antagonist.

Creepy dark cellar? I'M THERE!

Now, I'm sure you're wondering where this starts getting interesting. . .and. . .it turns out. . .I can't tell you. If I told you, it'd spoil it. But I assure you, the film turns all the classic horror movie tropes on their heads in a somewhat playfully mocking ode to the genre. All the scares you could want from a horror movie, and surprisingly, refreshingly, none of the expected twists and turns.

Not surprisingly in a movie that mocks conventional horror movie wisdom and style, my favorite character in this film is the weird, liberal, pothead, hunching hippy, Marty. (Fran Kranz) I know. But like I said, the film surprises you. This guy wins you over by easily being the most relatable character in horror-movie history. Point-in-case, from the trailer:

Kurt: "We should split up. We can cover more ground that way."

Holden: "Good idea."

Marty: "Wait. . .really?"

Yes, thank God, a voice of reason. No, Kurt, splitting up is not a good idea.

I've got plenty of praise for this film. I honestly think it's a must-see for any superfan of the genre. But as a political conservative and a Christian, there was some stuff I didn't like about the movie. Obviously, the nudity. But also. . .while the characters are great -- people that I wouldn't mind hanging out with myself, yes, even Marty -- they're all liberals (good girl Dana is reading books on Russian economic structures for heaven's sake!) with seemingly no religious beliefs whatsoever. The result was, while I liked them well enough, they left me feeling a little isolated. Amidst all the fun and gore and scares, there was an undercurrent of loneliness for me.

Overall, I really liked this film. I didn't LOVE it, but I liked it a lot. The thinking, conservative in me wishes there was more substance to the film. Something to cling to (like guns. . .or religion). But the horror fan in me couldn't have asked for a better film.

Overall Score: 4 out of 5