The Cabin in the Woods – review

Meta-horror: The Cabin in the Woods

From the title and trailer alone, many cinemagoers would be understandably cautious about this new scare-fest from writer/director Drew Goddard (best known for his TV work on Lost and Alias). It looks and sounds like a whole host of American scary movies churned out over the past few years and unless you have an insatiable thirst for formulaic horror soaked in the gore of hapless youthful protagonists, it is likely that you would naturally swerve this latest release.

I would urge the sceptics to reconsider, if only to spread the word that The Cabin in the Woods is NOT the standard Hollywood horror movie blueprint and that it does in fact have something new to offer – even if what it offers is utterly ludicrous!

The ultimate storyline – which cannot be explained without giving the game away – is outrageous to the say the least and it is as if the humour Goddard injects into the film is his way of justifying the outlandish plot. Co-writer and producer Joss (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) Whedon’s prints are all over this film in terms of style and tone, especially in the crazy finale.

The initial premise is as predictable as it gets; a bunch of college students taking a trip to a cabin in the middle of nowhere to put studies to one side and get back to nature; translated as getting drunk in the woods for the weekend. The characters are intentionally stereotypical (for reasons that come to light at the end of the film), as you have the jock (Chris Hemsworth), the blonde (Anna Hutchison), the stoner (Fran Kranz), the nice guy (Jesse Williams) and the cautious bookworm (Kristen Connolly).

As these doomed youngsters head into the mountains, they encounter a “you’re not from round here”-type local man working at a decrepit gas station (Tim de Zarn), who portends that this blissful and secluded cabin spot that they are heading towards is not all it seems and will be more difficult getting home from than finding it.

Once they settle in at the cabin and its surroundings, unsurprisingly enough, something is awry. After a cellar door pops open and the youths foolishly investigate, things get weird and the friends begin acting strangely. The deep-thinking stoner, Marty (Fran Kranz), turns prophet as he realises that they are being watched and lead down a dark path by puppet masters with a shady agenda.

This puppetry comes as no surprise to the viewer, as a sub plot has been running alongside our cabin campers’ scenario, in which we see a highly technological hub, with numerous workers watching numerous screens, which are showing our protagonists’ every move. The reason why this facility has been set up and why these voyeurs are preying on this group slowly unravels throughout the course of the film, but once our chosen ones enter the cellar, things rapidly get nasty and brutal.

Soon the main and the subplot merge and whilst the comedic moments keep arising, especially from a couple of wise-cracking technicians (brilliantly played by Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford), the shocks in store for the students come thick and fast and the terror becomes truly gripping and gruesome.

You won’t believe the way the storyline goes and as the action enters the last phase you won’t much care. You will just be pinned back in your seat whilst wave upon wave of intense horror is unleashed, as if the majority of the film’s budget was saved for the final 20 minutes.

You’ll laugh and you’ll wince and you’ll shake your head at the ridiculousness of it all, but The Cabin in the Woods is anything but a regulation scary movie. It is an exhausting 95-minute rollercoaster (or ghost train) steering you through the nightmarish incarnations of evil from the troubled minds of Goddard and Whedon, which is highly entertaining, albeit totally bonkers.

The Cabin in the Woods (15)
Directed by Drew Goddard
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Kristen Connolly, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, Tim de Zarn and Sigourney Weaver.
Running time: 95 minutes

The Cabin in the Woods is showing at the Hackney Picturehouse until 3 May.