THE CABIN IN THE WOODS
USA, 2009/2012
Director: Drew Goddard
5,5/10
What I liked:
The acting is solid and the characters are all funny, especially Fran Kranz as goofy pothead and Chris Hemsworth as sporting ace. There are loads of really hilarious scenes (Thermos-Bong, fake mirror, sex scene in the woods) and even more hilarious one-liners ("Ugh, these zombies. Remember when you could just throw a girl in a fucking volcano?." / "It was the pioneer days. People had to make their own interrogation rooms... out of cornmeal." / Ok, I'm drawing a line in the fucking sand: do NOT read the latin!").
The basic concept is cool, the settings look great, the creature overload is fun (Killer unicorn!) and the Sigourney Weaver cameo at the ending is simply awesome.
What I disliked:
The wise-cracking smartassery of the almost mumblecore-like meta-script is so pretentious and phony, it makes you wanna punch Goddard and Whedon in the face repeatedly. I hated all the nerdy inside jokes, and the constant mocking of horror clichés. Wes Craven already did this in the "Scream" movies, but way cooler and way more entertaining.
There's hardly any tension or suspense, there's nothing scary or creepy, the constant jumping between cabin and lab is incredibly annoying, the redneck zombies look just lame, the CGI is horrid, the gore is meh and the Lovecraftian ending... well, the speakerphone scene with Mordecai talking about guards and gates, it kinda spoiled the ending for me. So, when we finally get to know about the 'Ancient Ones', I was like "Oh... ok.", instead of being highly surprised.
Overall, I think this movie just wasn't made for me, mainly because it's so fuckin' Joss-Whedon-esque - and apart from "Speed" and "Captain America", I've never been intrigued by, or interested in anything from the Whedon-universe.
I'm ending this review with a great quote
from Imdb-user shakarydah:
USA, 2009/2012
Director: Drew Goddard
5,5/10
(Massive spoilers ahead)
The long-delayed, long-awaited "Cabin In The Woods" is a quite solid, but horribly overrated horror-parody. Yes, it's intelligent, yes, it's unique - but it's far from being as amazing as expected, and it's definitely no game-changer.
The long-delayed, long-awaited "Cabin In The Woods" is a quite solid, but horribly overrated horror-parody. Yes, it's intelligent, yes, it's unique - but it's far from being as amazing as expected, and it's definitely no game-changer.
What I liked:
The acting is solid and the characters are all funny, especially Fran Kranz as goofy pothead and Chris Hemsworth as sporting ace. There are loads of really hilarious scenes (Thermos-Bong, fake mirror, sex scene in the woods) and even more hilarious one-liners ("Ugh, these zombies. Remember when you could just throw a girl in a fucking volcano?." / "It was the pioneer days. People had to make their own interrogation rooms... out of cornmeal." / Ok, I'm drawing a line in the fucking sand: do NOT read the latin!").
The basic concept is cool, the settings look great, the creature overload is fun (Killer unicorn!) and the Sigourney Weaver cameo at the ending is simply awesome.
What I disliked:
The wise-cracking smartassery of the almost mumblecore-like meta-script is so pretentious and phony, it makes you wanna punch Goddard and Whedon in the face repeatedly. I hated all the nerdy inside jokes, and the constant mocking of horror clichés. Wes Craven already did this in the "Scream" movies, but way cooler and way more entertaining.
There's hardly any tension or suspense, there's nothing scary or creepy, the constant jumping between cabin and lab is incredibly annoying, the redneck zombies look just lame, the CGI is horrid, the gore is meh and the Lovecraftian ending... well, the speakerphone scene with Mordecai talking about guards and gates, it kinda spoiled the ending for me. So, when we finally get to know about the 'Ancient Ones', I was like "Oh... ok.", instead of being highly surprised.
I'm ending this review with a great quote
from Imdb-user shakarydah:
"Cabin In The Woods" is making fun of the horror genre. I get it. "Scream" did that better and still gave you a real horror movie.
"Cabin In The Woods" is smug. Patting itself on the back. It's an experiment. An exercise. It's not a movie.
Wiki ~ Imdb
Wiki ~ Imdb
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I see your point, but I still think it was much better than 5.5 out of 10. It wasn't meant for you.. obviously. :) The zombies were amazing and the gory mayhem was stunning for all the wrong reasons. :)
ReplyDeleteI liked it a lot, I just didn't think it was exceptional or anything like that.
I am 100% with your on the smugness of this film!
ReplyDeleteI am a hugh fan of Joss Whedon but I thought Cabin in the Woods was far too pleased with itself - I got what it was all about but I have no love for it at all
Amen brother. I enjoyed the film, but it seemed far too smug. Nicely reviewed.
ReplyDelete@George:
ReplyDeleteNo, it wasn't for me... which is sad because I really, really wanted to love this movie.
The zombies were amazing?? Aw c'mon George. Raimi zombies are awesome Romero zombies are awesome... but these 3 undead were just lame.
@Karina:
ReplyDeleteOmg yeah, the smugness was almost unbearable. I have no idea of Buffy or Firefly, but I'm sure this stuff is not as smug as Cabin.
@Joel:
Thanx! :) Yeah, faaaaar too smug indeed.
Oh bless you Harry! I was thinking something was wrong with me for being underwhelmed by this one. But you pegged it - and I love that quote - so true - Scream poked fun but was still really scary. This movie was okay, but not the cinematic revelation so many seem to find it. Cheers and double cheers!
ReplyDeleteIt probably wasn't your intention, but the words 'not scary or creepy' has made me want to see it all the more. And I bet you I'd find it both scary and creepy!
ReplyDeleteI'm still here and still reading lol
I am so glad that this article exists; I have been trying to decide whether to see this in the theater, or wait. I’ve read through all the comments as well, and feel like this film will be good, but not to the expectation I was hoping. I have a friend, and colleague who loves horror films as much as I do, and we both work the late shift at Dish. We do a movie night once a week and it’s either a horror, or psychological thriller flick. I don’t like to buy DVD’s for one night, so I subscribe to Blockbuster @Home letting us stream our movie to my HDTV. I think we will wait until ‘Cabin in the Woods’ comes out, and relax to the horror flick as a way to unwind after a long week of work.
ReplyDeleteHooray! Another person who doesn't like Joss Whedon!
ReplyDeleteCabin in the Woods was a good fun movie - but it does try way to hard to change the genre instead of just be a part of it like it should be.
@Craig:
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, Craig :) I really, really wanted to love it. The trailer looked great and the poster artwork is awesome - but in the end, it's just one huge disappointment.
@Annalisa:
Well, the trailer made it look pretty creepy and scary - yet, the movie was far from being creepy.
Check it out, you may like it more than me!
@Sadie:
ReplyDeleteNoo need to rufsh to the theater for seeing Cabin. Wait until it's out on DVD or VOD - and then enjoy! :)
@Alex:
Hooray, anothe rone who doesn't lke Whedon! LOL :D
Omg yeah, it tries way, WAY too hard. I stick to SCREAM.
Though you've hurt my beautiful feelings for this movie, I kinda get now that maybe the approach wasn't for everyone - i.e. non-Whedon fans. His way with writing is all over this movie and unless you know it and love it.. well, then I guess you won't love it!
ReplyDeleteAs for it not being scary, I don't think it was ever supposed to be and there's nothing wrong with that. It's a horror comedy, not just a plain old horror, and those are rarely ever really scary or creepy.
Yeah, Whedon is definitely a love him or hate him affair.
ReplyDeleteI guess you're right, it was never supposed to be scary - thanks to Lionsgate who mis-marketed it as kinda scary horror comedy (trailer).
Well said, Maynard. Whedon doesn't do it for me either!
ReplyDeleteYou love his stuff of you hate it, there's no in between.
Deletedude, the movie wasn't supposed to be scary. It's a horror flick, yes, but it's a horror comedy in a...well, I wouldn't say smart, but ..cheeky tone.
ReplyDeleteI'm no Whendon fan, in fact I have no idea who this Whendon person is, call it my limited knowledge or just my ignorance, but damn, I guess it's not for everyone!
(I was expecting this...)
Yes, it wasn't supposed to be scary because it's not a horror movie, it's a horror parody - yet, the trailer looked scary.
DeleteWhedon is responsible for stuff like Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Serenity and The Avengers.
Thank you Maynard! I agree 100% with your review. If anything you may have even enjoyed it a little bit more than I did. I can understand and appreciate why people love this horror movie. It’s something different. It isn’t PG-13 and it isn’t a remake. Nonetheless, I was left quite cold. This film attempts to be a clever horror-comedy packed with meta self awareness. Clever it is. Funny or scary? Not so much. This film is being billed as “Scream” for the next generation. That it is not. “Scream”, for all its meta self awareness was both scary and funny as hell. Everything and everyone associated with this picture appear to either be trying far too hard or not enough, I’m not exactly sure which.
ReplyDeleteI know I am in the minority here so if you have a desire to see this film by all means go out there and enjoy the hell out of it. I wanted to and didn’t. I appreciate it when any horror movie gets recognition and acclaim. I love to see horror movies that make people fall in love with genre again. If I didn’t fall in love with this one, that shouldn’t stop you.
Wow, the Anti-Cabin-crowd is getting bigger and bigger! :) Yes, it's definitely NOT the new "Scream", mainly because it's not as tense and entertaining. Clever meta-stuff alone doesn't help in creating an instant classic.
DeleteAs I said, the trailer looks a bit Scream-ish (in terms of entertainment), but the movie itself is just a letdown.
I guess my hopes were to high for this movie. I have waited eternity for it to come to the theatre. I took my buddies with me, and we went on opening night.
ReplyDeleteI agree 100 percent. No tension what soever. It was also boring, and the storyline was a complete letdown. It was very campy, and just BLAH. I wanted my money back. I would've gone a whole different way with this.
Too bad. 2-10 only for the tongue bath the blonde gave to the wolf on the wall.
Yeah, hardly any tension and lots of boring scenes. It's an over-hyped and disappointing mess of a movie. Meh...
DeleteDude, you liked the Killer Unicorn, you liked the "Ok I'm drawing a line in the fucking sand DO NOT READ THE LATIN", I can't believe you still thought it was too smug! Sure, it was classic Whedon, all meta-referential and uber-geeky, but not in a way that pissed me off. As for not being scary, yeah it wasn't a Ringu, but it was good old fashioned slasher fare. I'm just so sick of exorcism movies and torture porn at this stage, part of my love for Cabin in the Woods may just be sheer gratitude for its retro sensibility...I did my own review of it over on my site: www.spinningthereel.com. Let me know what you think ....altho its clear we're going to disagree ;)
ReplyDeleteCheers
Shan
As unique as Cabin is... it's not what I expected, it's not what I wanted. All the meta-stuff, all the over-the-top-fun... it all simply annoyed me.
ReplyDelete