The Horror Show
The Cabin in the Woods
by Drew Goddard
A weekend getaway is always a must in a horror film. If you throw in a heartbroken lead actress, a sweet rebound, a weird stoned guy, a football player stud and a loose bimbo, you only need some violent murder scenes and you got yourself one of the most common type of horror films.
This is how The Cabin in the Woods introduces itself. Dana, Kristen Connolly, a heartbroken college student, who is fed up with her boring life, agrees to go away for a weekend with her naughty friend Jules, Anna Hutchison, and her boyfriend Curt, Chris Hemsworth, the football charmer. Then we have, Marty, Fran Kranz, a forever-stoned guy and the good/cute-guy Holden, Jesse Williams, who will join their company for a wild weekend in a cabin in the woods.
In the beginning of the film it is hard to understand what's going on. Some scientists talk with code names about some failed experiments while being in a high-tech lab. At first, this makes no sense at all, but it is something to keep in mind.
Let's go back to the cabin. Sex scenes, smoking pot and goofing around is the best way to ease the viewer in to what's going to happen next. While playing games and daring each other, they discover a trap door in the floor that leads to the cabin's basement. The laughter stops and all eyes are on the dark basement. Curiosity leads the characters to go down the dark stairs. In the basement they find all sorts of toys and strange objects. While they are curiously observing them, one of them will have the blame for the nightmare that will follow.
What I can say, though, is that The Cabin in the Woods is a fusion of Evil Dead, Cabin Fever and a pinch of Saw. It summarizes a lot of the clichés seen in horror films. It successfully mixes zombies, demons, horror games, blood-seeking ancient gods and set-up traps. So I suppose the creators Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard didn't bother shooting for the moon, nor reaching for the stars.
Even though all of these fall under the "cliché" category, they are all smoothly combined. However, it still amazes me why everyone made such a big deal out of this film. It is surely a fine combination of a lot of usual plots, but it still isn't the one that will make the viewer scream. In fact, one might find the end quite disappointing.
Spoiler Alert: Just sit back and wait for Sigourney Weaver.
Stevie Kopas, HMS
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