Film

Cabin in the woods review

Joss Wheddon’s critically acclaimed horror movie Cabin in the woods got its DVD release this week and its one we should all be rushing out to buy.

Originally slated for release in 2010 Cabin in the woods faced problems with its distributors that knocked the films release back a whole two years, was it worth the wait? I certainly think so.

Despite being advertised as your run of the mill horror film this is far from what Cabin in the woods really is. A brilliantly constructed movie that combines fear, humour and satire all in perfect measure, its ambiguous plot is a thing of beauty and one that will baffle horror fans for years to come. Is the film itself an act of criticism? Tearing apart a genre that has long grown stale and repetitive? I’d say so.

The film starts off with four american teenagers taking a trip to a mysterious cabin, which happens to be in the middle of some woods… who’d have thought it. After a night of heavy drinking the gang naively decide to go and look in a basement, one which doors magically open up for them. Some people never learn…

It’s hard to talk about this film without revealing too much about the plot but all I can say is you certainly won’t expect the twists and turns that this movie takes, often with hilarious outcomes.

Joss Wheddon has made a big name for himself in cinema this year and on this showing it’s easy to see why.  Along with director Drew Goddard he has created one of the most original horror scripts in years and one that will no doubt have a huge impact on the genre.

The film’s self aware ‘meta-horror’ style could easily have gone wrong and been seen as a pretentious dig at horror movies yet Wheddon and Goddard have got it perfect, subtle in its criticism’s and beautifully crafted, this is a fantastic achievement.

That aside the movie is just fun to watch, enjoyable from start to finish, packed with surprising twists and turns and peppered with some real laugh out loud moments, I’ve not had this much fun watching a movie in a long while.

Overall the film sends out a message out to horror directors, showing them that originality in the genre is not yet lost. This is a real game changer and one of the best horror movies in a long time. Rating: **** and a half

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