The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

Director(s): Drew Goddard

Writer(s): Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard

MPAA rating: R

Runtime: 1h 35m

Format: Live-Action

STARRING

Kristen Connolly, Fran Kranz, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Jesse Williams

PREMISE

There's very little I can say about this movie without spoiling the plot, and this film far more than many relies on surprise. So, having said that, all I can say about the premise is this:

It's a typical sexy, bloody slasher movie for Halloween, except it's not typical. The filmmakers had some fun and the movie isn't shy about it.

H.P. Lovecraft fans unite!

THEMES

No deliberate themes, except perhaps that maybe humanity's time should be over, and that marijuana is our greatest weapon against evil.

LIKES

Neat twist. Kinda funny actually, in a horrifying sort of way. I also didn't mind that you can guess it long before the end of the movie. The hints are rather liberal in number.

Not as scary as I thought it would be. The filmmakers were clearly going less for terror and more for having fun with their special twist.

Dark humor.

DISLIKES

Dark humor.

Pornography. I'm as red-blooded as the next guy and have a fully functioning sex drive, and the "fleshly" man in me very much loves the ladies, but the godly man in me doesn't want to see porn. Anything that brings sexual enticement outside the bedroom is pornographic, and is not sexually healthy.

Watching young people be young and stupid. In college I just hid in my dorm room. (But even I, of all people, didn't manage to get through college without at least one topless woman in my dorm room, as well as a fight in which I did not take part that covered my bed and posters with blood. And my poor Dreamcast… all that beer spilled on it… *sniff*)

I should feel sorry for people when they die, especially in a gruesome fashion. And I should be horrified watching a movie like this. Oh well. Yay for desensitization?

The ubiquitous depiction in modern society of nothing being wrong with premarital sex.

S-L-V CONTENT

This one isn't for the kids. The movie very much earns its "R" rating in profanity and violence. There are lots of f-bombs, and it's a horror movie. As for sex, there is indeed a lot of sexiness, and there's one topless scene that's drawn out long enough to get a very good view. (It's the only nudity, though.)

ROB'S FINAL OPINION

2.5 out of 4 stars - Between "I liked it" and "meh."

The atypical plot was a refreshing spin on a tired sub-genre of horror, but it wasn't enough for me to give out a full three stars.