The Cabin in the Woods (2012) Movie Review

Director: Drew Goddard

Writers: Drew Goddard, Joss Whedon

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Kristen Connolly, Richard Jenkins

I’ll start this review by saying that I have very little experience with the horror genre. I have never watched: Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream, Saw, Final Destination or Texas Chainsaw Massacre to name a few. I have not seen any films in any of these franchises. At this point I am pretty much an oddity because you have to go pretty far to find someone who is so poorly versed in an entire genre. This being said, I really love this film.

A group of college students goes on a weekend trip to a cabin in the woods but things may not be as they originally seemed.

I have this weird thing with Joss Whedon in that I just love everything he does. It is seemingly impossible to dislike the Avengers (and while I haven’t yet watched Buffy) I have a strange affinity with his work. Don’t even get me started about Drew Goddard. Cloverfield is easily one of my favourite films and Lost is something that I will never forget binging for no apparent reason. To say that this film has pedigree behind it is an understatement. The great thing about the writing in this film is that it makes you empathise with both sides. There is such a blurred line between morally good and morally bad. The characters could all be placed on either side. The third act is such a fantastic payoff as well.

The way the narrative unfolds is really unique. In the DVD commentary, Goddard and Whedon mentioned how the first scene (which reveals the unique ‘big brother’ premise) was placed at the start whereas in another, less ambitious movie it would have been the midpoint of the film so as to keep the interest of the viewer. I was captivated throughout the entire thing. Everything was so inventive and new. If you are able to predict where the movie will go after the second scene, (like a lot of current horror films (or so I’ve heard)) then you are some sort of clairvoyant mastermind because it’s narrative direction reminds me of nothing that I have seen before.

One thing that speaks to the performances in the film is that Chris Hemsworth was given the role of Thor just because of some of the shots that people were being watched over. The characters are subtly complex (explaining why would somewhat ruin the twist). I would not like to be the one tasked with portraying any of these characters. Every performance in the film is great. Especially the operators [Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford] in the institute, they really keep the story moving and are scarily captivating at all times.

For me, this film epitomises an unmissable movie. I am not the most prolific horror fan but the writing is just so endearing that it is hard not to love it. The film also doesn’t rely on jump cuts. Sometimes, the tension builds and then there isn’t even a scare despite the fact that you expected one. I can easily recommend the film to any human that exists. The film has effortlessly propelled itself into the upper bounds of my favourite films.

The Cabin in the Woods receives an: 8/10

Please feel free to leave a comment on either the movie or the review. Say if you liked or disliked the movie. I'm interested to find out what you think!