The problem we have with horror movies these days is that we’ve seen everything, I mean I really do feel for the horror writers of today because it must be so difficult to come up with something remotely originally, story wise. This film is something we’ve not seen before though, it’s a great horror/comedy mix but, I’d expect nothing less from the legend that is Joss Whedon.
So we have five twenty-somethings in a cabin in the woods. Oh, I’m sorry… Have you seen this before? Yes, OK but did I also mention that they’re being watched by an organisation that’s led them to this cabin and to complete a ritual? You first see the characters and think, ah alright you’ve got your jock, blonde ‘bimbo’, stoner, nerdy girl, jocks ‘normal’ best friend. However, throughout this film you learn that the characters are being manipulated to appear this way, they’re all (well apart from Marty, Marty is as he seems, a stoner) actually intelligent students.
This film is just great, there’s some dark humor and I love it, the guys behind the scenes understand their role and just want to ‘get the job done’ and you can’t help but like them even if they are trying to kill the students in the cabin. There’s a few twists in this film and they just add to the enjoyment. I really liked the basement scene because you have a character, Marty saying exactly what you’re saying when you’re at home watching, ‘don’t read the latin!’ Of course no one listens to the stoner (or the audience) and unleashes the family of redneck zombies.
The effects are great, both digitally and FX Makeup wise for all the various creatures that appear. It’s nice to see a film that doesn’t rely on just CGI alone.
The cast in this film is decent, my one issue is with Kristen Connolly who plays Dana she just wasn’t likable as a lead role which is a shame, I mean she wasn’t terrible but I could think of better actresses for this part. I don’t have any problems with the rest of the cast though, Fran Kranz is perfect as Marty the stoner and one of my favorite characters is this movie. Personal shout outs to Amy Acker and Tom Lenk, yes I’m a Buffy/Angel fan and was so happy to see these two in this film!
Overall this film is just fun to watch, like I said there’s a few twists and it’s an interesting story plot which is hard to find these days. If you’re not into gore with clever humor this film isn’t for you, it’s not creepy scary but it’s a good film to see.
Perfect Popcorn Score – The Cabin in the Woods gets an eight from me, great story, great gore and laughs but the cast could have been better – 8/10.
Perfect Popcorn 
As someone who not only isn’t a horror fan but also knew the twist, I enjoyed The Cabin in the Woods as much as you did. Like you said, it was nice to see a subversive twist added to the standard cliches, but I feel like this elevated them beyond corny movie tropes (in a way that Scream, as much as I like that movie, did not) and made them seem like archetypes. I even found myself enjoying some of the gorier kills at the end – and I actually found some of the early scenes VERY tense, especially the wolf make out during truth or dare.
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