The Cabin In The Woods - 10/10
Can't exactly write the greatest of reviews without tripping over one of the many spoilers, but I'll do my best.
Plot Synopsis: Five friends go to a remote cabin in the woods. Bad things happen.
Written by Joss Whedon (Firefly, Dollhouse, Buffy, The Avengers) and Drew Goddard (Cloverfield) and directed by the latter, Cabin is easily one of the most outstanding horror movies that I've seen in recent years. Not only does the movie serve as a major deconstruction for the entire horror movie genre, but it's writing and style were so well-done that there were few moments throughout the movie where I wasn't either laughing or smiling in anticipation as the plot unfolded. Even now, I'm still giggling whilst recalling some of the humerous dialogue and situations that are still fresh in mind. Also, if you pay attention there'd be parts of the movie where some gag music is added to some character's actions to emphasize the humor (some examples are listed below). Which brings me to my next topic. The plot. Don't be deceived by the trailers as this movie offers far, FAR more than they let on. Again, I can't really get into too much detail without spoiling anything, but it all becomes apparent within the first couple of minutes into the film that you're in for more than you expected.
Despite how I make the movie sound. It is still a horror movie. If I have to make a comparison, it balances horror and comedy (mostly dark humor) similar to movies like Slither or Army of Darkness. There's still some scares. But you can tell that this is one of those movies that you're not supposed to take seriously but rather sit back and enjoy. If I had to chose one movie to recommend to people this year, The Cabin In The Woods would be that movie. Please, do yourself a favor and go see this movie and have a good time.
Now allow me to gush about some of my favorite parts of the film. In spoiler tabs, of course. If you don't care for spoilers, feel free to read what I have to say. Though, it might seem out of context if you haven't seen the movie yet.
The scene where the entire staff of the organization was starting a pool on which box of horrors the group would set off had me laughing in it's entirety. Bonus points to the whiteboard that had a large number of monsters listed on it, including witches, "Sexy Witches", a "Monster Clown", "Kevin", Zombies, "Dismemberment Goblins", "Deadites" "Evil Scarecrows" "Pain-worshipping Redneck Zombies" "Fornicus, Lord of Bondage and Pain", an "Angry Molesting Tree", Mermen and a "Batdragon", among many (many) others I didn't get to read. The list is made even funnier when you get to actually see most of the damn things near the end of the movie.
Marty's bong. Effectively the Chekov's gun of the movie. First seen cleverly disguised as a coffee mug. Later seen used as an improvised cudgel against a zombie, complete with a hero anthem. And again used as a weapon when Marty comes to the rescue like the big damn hero that he is.
The Japanese Organization. First mentioned as one of the only two remaining that haven't failed the ritual, along with the American group. The Japanese attempt came in the form of the typical spooky ghost girl attacking a group of nine year old girls locked in a classroom. This is all visible via a security feed in the American organization's control room. Later in the movie, it shows that the girls actually managed to defeat the ghost by trapping it in a song circle and returning it to life as a frog. There wasn't even a single fatalaty among them. Made hilarious when the American Oganization discovers this and Sitterson angrily walks over to the monitor and yells at the little girls in the screen "Fuck you!".
The unicorn. There was not a single person in that theater who wasn't laughing at that moment. Again, made better due to the majestic, fantasy-esque music playing in the background just as it impales a man against a wall with it's horn. Repeatedly.