The Cabin in the Woods

THE CABIN IN THE WOODS (2012) - April 13, 2012
Awesomeness.  A seriously amazing movie about a group of teens who head out for some fun in a secluded cabin in the woods, only to find some sinister shenanigans afoot; meanwhile, in an underground bunker, their every move is monitored and controled.  This film essentially takes the "partying teens getting picked off one by one" subgenre, cuts it open and lays its innards bare for all to see.  It's a smart film that's also super entertaining and a lot of fun; it sets up a premise that allows it to comment on genre tropes in a way that feels completely organic.  It's exceptionally self-aware, without ever feeling smug.  It's also hilarious at times, and in that way might even supplant Shaun of the Dead as the best self-aware horror comedy.  It's kind of brilliant, actually.  Then there's the absolutely balls-out, mesmerizingly insane finale, which has to be one of the better things I've ever seen.  The whole movie is perfectly directed by Drew Goddard, who does a pretty great job of pacing the film and cutting back and forth between the teens and the control room without it ever feeling disjointed or jarring.  Another thing that's so great about the film is that it works just as well as a horror film as it does as a comment on horror films in general; it would have been easy for such a self-reflexive, self-aware film to feel more clever than exciting, but the movie is very tense and outright thrilling when it needs to be.  Oh, and all the performances were quite good, though special mention must be paid to Bradley Whitford and Richard Jenkins, who are pretty much perfect.  If I had one complaint, it is that it feels like slightly less time could have been spent with the teens -- all that stuff feels a bit stale (by design, of course).  But that is such a minor complaint for what is otherwise such a superlative, memorable film.  Seriously -- how can you not love a film that tries (and succeeds!) at doing something so different?  In a genre that tends to be as cookie-cutter as horror, a film like this is a rare treat.  ****