THE
CABIN IN THE WOODS is one of the more bizarre genre offerings of the last few
years. Filmed in 2009, the film was originally supposed to be released by MGM
which, unfortunately, had to file for bankruptcy, leaving CABIN in limbo for
the past three years. Only now, as a result of new distributor Lionsgate, has
the film seen the light of day. I honestly wish that the same fate would befall
ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANDY LANE, a 2005-lensed teen horror offering that is still
not released Stateside. While MANDY LANE
offers up horny high schoolers at a house in the wilderness, that film has a
nice twist ending that the audience does not really see coming (plus, it has
Amber Heard!). CABIN, on the other hand,
offers no such surprise because the audience is in on the plot twist from the
get-go. While we are kept in the dark as to why things happen the way they do
in CABIN, by the end of the movie we've been on a roller coaster ride that,
while running the expected hour and-a-half-length, the film feels a lot longer.
Part
TRUMAN SHOW and part "Twilight Zone" episode, CABIN, reviewed here
on Blu-ray by our very own Dave Dreher, does what horror films have been doing
for a good long time: giving us horny, attractive young adults in the form of
The Jock, The Slut, The Intellectual, The Pothead, and the Virgin, archetypes
befitting of a Peter Greenaway outing.
However, the filmmakers are in on it and they want us to be in on it,
too. This is an over-the-top wink at the audience. For a while anyway, it's a fun ride. Parts of
CABIN even remind me of 1981's HELL NIGHT.
From
the start, all of the action is controlled by some sort of government-like
agency, for reasons that become apparent by the film's end. The lead characters are led into a basement
within the titular dwelling and find all sorts of knickknacks and anecdotes
supposedly containing a maniacal history of horrific events that occurred on
the first floor. This sequence is actually beautifully lit. In reality, of course, all of this has been
scripted by the government-like agency in an effort to get the aforementioned
characters to sink further into their trap for nefarious purposes.
If
all of this sounds confusing, it really isn't. It just isn't particularly
interesting. Some who have never seen this type of scenario in a film before
will no doubt be wowed by it, and that's fine. I don't want to sound like I'm poo-pooing
the whole affair, but going into this movie on the basis of word-of-mouth of a
few trusted confederates, I suppose I was anticipating more than the filmmakers
were willing to give us. There is a great deal of bloodshed in the film for
those with a taste for such fare, as well as a good deal of computer-generated
imagery. By the end of the film, I was taken aback by the appearance of
Sigourney Weaver, the last person I would have expected to appear in the film
such as this.
The film is available on DVD, on Blu-ray, and in a
digital copy, but it's not the sort of thing I could see myself watching more
than once. THE CABIN IN THE WOODS comes off more as an interesting curiosity
than as the groundbreaking horror film I was led to believe it was. I can honestly say that I share Dave Dreher's
sentiments on this one.
The extras consist of:
Audio
commentary with writer/director Drew Goddard and writer/producer Joss Whedon
"We
Are Not Who We Are: Making The Cabin in the Woods" featurette
"The
Secret Secret Stash" featurette
Marty's
Stash
Hi,
my name is Joss and I'll be your guide
Wonder-Con
Q&A with Joss and Drew
"An
Army of Nightmares: Make-Up & Animatronic Effects" featurette
"Primal
Terror: Visual Effects" featurette
Definitely
worth a look for no other reason than to hold your own and admit familiarity
with the film while in mixed company discussing the genre.
