Oh yes, we all love a
good cabin movie. Teenage stereotypes,
alcohol, drugs, orgies… and a lovely array of supernatural goodies. Think zombies, flesh-eating viruses, rapist
trees. You know, the usual
run-of-the-mill kind of things. My love
of cabin-themed movies, plus an irrational obsession with ‘Buffy the Vampire
Slayer’, has led me to a very simple conclusion: I had to watch ‘The Cabin in
the Woods’.
The incredible Joss
Whedon and occasional Buffy contributor Drew Goddard conjured up this amazing
idea, which, on paper, sounds like a trip to Disneyland (well, for me,
anyway). Goddard took the reins and
directed, but you can practically see Whedon breathing down his neck for the
entire duration of the film. I don’t
know how much detail of the storyline that I really need to go into, but for
those who have been living under a rock, five friends take a holiday to a
remote cabin (in the woods – fancy that!) where fun and games ensue. Of course, in true Whedon fashion, nothing is
ever as it seems.
The film is…
good. Well, I didn’t hate it – let’s put
it that way. The acting is quirky and
exaggerated (on purpose) and the movie itself is paced well to prevent those
horrible, sluggish ‘character development’ minutes common in these types of
flicks. Everything about it is right,
yet for some reason I feel like they kind of got it wrong. Even the blood and guts weren’t enough to
entice me here.
When the film was
cancelled from a theatre release in Australia, I, along with zillions of other
Buffy nerds, cried hysteria and felt completely and utterly ripped off. Now, after seeing it… I don’t know, perhaps
they didn’t consider it ‘hardcore’ enough for the Paranormal Activity fans out
there? (Yes, my tongue is very firmly
planted in my cheek). Even Thor himself
and a killer cameo at the end cannot seem to save this one.
