October 7th, 2012: The Cabin in the Woods

I have been looking forward to seeing The Cabin in the Woods all year long.  When it hit theaters I really wanted to go but I wasn't used to going to movies by myself like I love to do now. When it had been out for awhile and I still hadn't seen it, I decided to just save it for my 31 Days of Horror this year.

Photo Credit: IMP Awards

I was really excited to see this movie because it was directed by Drew Goddard (Cloverfield), but even moreso because it was written by Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon.  For those of you who aren't familiar with Whedon, he is a science fiction/horror god.  He has written blockbusters such as Speed and X-Men, and his directing credits include The Avengers, Captain America, The Office, and even Glee!

As you can see, Whedon has a lot of experience in several different genres and knows his shit.  What I love most about his work is that he's able to take a serious topic and be able to balance it with humorous dialogue and modern popular culture, making his project a lot more entertaining.  By balancing the two he is able to tell his story, scare you, keep you on the edge of your seat and have you laughing at all the appropriate times.  I keep hoping that Whedon and Kevin Williamson (Scream movies, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Dawson's Creek) get together and do something soon.  Williamson has a similar resume and their collaboration would produce a masterpiece.  

ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: 91%

Whedon and Goddard knocked it out of the park with The Cabin in the Woods.  As excited as I was after I watched the trailer when it premiered, I made sure that I didn't read or watch anything related to the movie.  The trailer is really good at not spoiling anything about the plot.  It's set up to look like a cliche story of a bunch of college kids going to a cabin in the woods.  Well, we know that's not all Whedon has in store for us because the tagline for the poster is "You think you know the story. Think again." 

I'm not going to spoil anything because the film itself is a puzzle and I'm not about to ruin it.  I will say that it is a sci-fi/horror/college movie, and you will get a little bit of everything out of it.  You will laugh, you will jump, you will question characters and you will repeatedly yell "WTF?!" at your TV.

The Cabin in the Woods isn't just a spectacular horror movie, it's one of the best movies I've seen this year.  The screenplay is completely original, the special effects are amazing, the characters are lovable, and the acting was surprisingly really good.  Go out and buy this; you won't regret it.  It belongs in your movie collection.

-Colby.