Regal Union Square, April
sometime, 2012
Movie #18 for 2012
Cabin in the Woods does for horror films what Sam Raimi’s 1981 film Evil Dead did for, well, horror
films. Which is to say that it loves
the genre so very, very much that it ends up redefining it.
In what has always been the stupidest of genres, The Cabin in the Woods has both a brain
and a nuanced story. Honestly,
Joss Whedon should write everything. Can that happen, please? Can Joss Whedon write everything? Then everything would be better. He and co-writer (and also director Drew Goddard) use humor
and big brains to develop characters and a clever plot to undermine and break
down the horror genre, rebuilding it slightly different to make a better,
stronger film.
There are a bunch of great established (RICHARD JENKINS, BRADLEY
WHITFORD) and emerging (KRISTEN
CONNOLLY pictured second from left, FRAN KRANZ, pictured right) character actors giving great performances; the horror
appropriately yucky and the layers of plotting appeal very very much to my
brain. The CG is pretty budget,
but maybe that’s okay since the sets, costume and makeup, performances and
above all the writing were so very solid.
