The Cabin in the Woods

Everyone's pretty familiar with the good ol' fashioned "cabin in the woods" formula, one of the most tried and true set-ups known to horror cinema. Mainly because, from a film-making point of view, it's one of the easiest formulas you could use: Dark, dingy cabin. Dumb, partied-up young people. Unspeakable bloodthirsty terror. Cue much carnage. From the seventies onwards, it's a formula that's been served up time and again, sometimes with a dash of variation, but usually the same gory outcome that we all know.

Co-writers Joss Whedon and Matt Goddard know that we know that, and have decided to mess with us for all it's worth. The result is one of the most gleefully-fiendish, elaborately-constructed horror films to come along in years. Oh, and it's also bitchingly funny.

Revered Buffy, Firefly and Dollhouse creator Whedon - currently cresting the wave by adding "esteemed director of The Avengers" to that handle - and Cloverfield writer Goddard (here making his directorial debut) have created a film that both subverts the genre it's in, whilst also being an effective, visceral addition to it as well. There is a knowing wink, yes, but it's also swiftly followed by a fear-inducing "boo!" straight afterward.

Many reviews for this film - which saw its Stateside release a couple of weeks ago, but which we in Oz won't get until June - have all stated that it's best going into Cabin knowing as little as possible, and just allowing the action to unfold. I agree with this, up to a point; the much-vaunted 'twist' on the genre that's been spoken of, isn't a big spoiler twist, but a fundamental part of the storyline right from the get-go. It's okay to know about this going in, and I would actually highly advise it, in light of reports about audiences in the U.S. not responding to the film purely because they didn't know and simply assumed it did exactly what it said on the tin. People bemoan the lack of originality all of the time, but if they're surprised with it, they're often equally hostile.

So, in the interest of trying to give you an informed opinion about The Cabin in the Woods, I will talk about the so-called 'twist' - if you truly don't want to know anymore, stop reading NOW.

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Everyone else's gone? Good. Then let's get on with it.

So we have the standard set-up for your basic 'cabin' movie: there's a cast of beautiful young things (and one dweeb), a decrepit cabin, and a rapidly-unfolding bloodbath. What's different? Every element - from the creepy old guy warning them away, to the circumstances forcing them into making certain choices, to the faceless horrors coming for them in the night - are carefully being controlled and engineered by a team in a high-tech facility, running a psuedo-Truman Show scenario. Like I said, it isn't a spoiler to know this, as we're shown right from the start. Why are they doing it? Well, for that, you will have to watch and find out for yourself.

The main cast are fairly solid, playing archetypes that also start out fairly against type. There's the brainy heroine, Dana (Kristen Connolly), nursing a wounded heart; her best friend, Jules (Anna Hutchison); Jules's hunky boyfriend, Curt (future Avenger Chris Hemsworth, pre-Thor); Curt's old friend Holden (Jesse Williams); and conspiracy-spouting stoner Marty (Fran Kranz). Despite their standard typing, there's some nice realistic nuances - for example, Curt's actually really smart, whilst the somewhat bookish Holden is also a football whizz - that marks them out differently. The group take a trip to Curt's cousin's lakeside cabin, and play right into the scenario created by a shadowy organization, represented through two controllers, Sitterson (Richard Jenkins) and Hadley (Bradley Whitford), simply two white-collar workers with a job to do, which in this case, involves orchestrating the deaths of the newly-arrived group.

The film does a great back and forth between the two sets of characters, giving us ringside seats to the macabre show, and things really get exciting once characters start figuring things out, and roadblocks are introduced to the grand plan. The sense of humour - and it's a really strong one, coming from Whedon - helps drive the quieter moments, until the horror elements are allowed to overtake and turn things violently upside-down. Despite the deliberate formulaic-ness of the horror scenes, there's still some highly creepy and effective stuff, and a great sense of tension throughout, that manages to wonderfully spread to the control room. Whedon and Goddard take the greatest delight in throwing up many established horror tropes, just so they can tear them down, resulting in a real feast for hardcore horror buffs and enough for casual fans to appreciate too.

The third act does manage to get a bit ridiculous and gloriously over the top, but the sense of breathless, terrifying energy that keeps it moving also kicks up a notch, leaving us at a point of needing to know just where they're going with this. And whilst it could have gone somewhere truly brilliant, the film-makers opt instead for an ending that's satisfying, whilst also being ultimately straight-forward and basic, prompting a slight twinge of disappointment (although not so much that it undoes all the good work that came before it).

In spite of the slight problems, The Cabin in the Woods manages to easily be one of the best, most effective horror films of recent years, although many people will likely regard it as more of an interesting experiment than anything else. It's greatest strength - sheer 'WTF?' originality - will also be it's biggest weakness to many audiences, but for those who love a great, different ride, strap in - this one's definitely worth it.