¡Qué horror! 2012
Candidate # 30
THE CABIN IN THE WOODS
(December 2011)
Though I was
never particularly a Joss Whedon fan*, when news of The Cabin in the Woods first broke, I was hopeful because of Drew
Goddard’s presence on the title.
And when the
casting news began to trickle in (Richard Jenkins! Bradley Whitford!), my
curiosity only intensified.
But, like the Red Dawn remake (incidentally enough,
also starring a pre-Thor Chris
Hemsworth), an already-completed Cabin
got stuck in the morass of the whole MGM bankruptcy thing, which also delayed
the production of The Hobbit and the
latest James Bond installment.**
A couple of
years passed, until Lionsgate came to the eventual rescue, and Cabin finally got released, and, I must
say, it’s been well worth the wait.
Honestly, I
would have loved to have gone into Cabin completely cold, and I would have,
if not for that damned trailer.
Still, Goddard
and Whedon have more up their collective sleeve, even if you’ve had the
misfortune of seeing that damned trailer.
Whether or not
you’ve seen that damned trailer
though, any self-respecting horror head will know this cabin, will know
the conventions and the tropes that accompany that blasted, isolated cabin in
the middle of those godforsaken woods, but Goddard and Whedon take that familiar
scenario and those familiar characters that populate it, and have a grand old
time with them, and with the film’s audience.
There’s quite a
lot going on in The Cabin in the Woods,
and all concerned manage to deliver a crackingly entertaining horror film for
those who love their horror substantial enough to bite into, with pulpy and
juicy bits fit for dissection, and subsequent reflective chewing and
rumination.
Plus, there are some
priceless cinematic moments, like Jenkins shouting, “F*ck you!” six times in
quick succession, and Whitford exclaiming, “Aw, come on!” and a whole bunch of
nods (and faces) that should be nostalgically (and, in some cases, oddly) familiar
to all you horror heads out there.
Like the tagline
on the Lionsgate one sheet goes, “You think you know the story…”
Come on in, this
Cabin’s waiting for you…
* I guess the
closest I came to being a fan before this, was Dollhouse, which was a very good and intriguing show, although I
did have some issues with it… (For the record, I've yet to see The Avengers.)
** You’ll note
the original trio of one sheets (which I still love), sporting the United
Artists and MGM logos on the bottom corners.
(The Cabin in the Woods OS’ courtesy of aintitcool.com,
twitchfilm.com, & impawards.com.)
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