(l to r) Chris Hemsworth, Jesse Williams, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Kristen Connolly
Release date: April 13, 2012
Directed by: Drew Goddard
Written by: Joss Whedon & Drew Goddard
Cast: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, Brian White, Amy Acker
Rating: R
Running Time: 95 minutes
It’s a crying shame that the horror genre isn’t embraced by a larger demographic. Because The Cabin in the Woods, with its head screwed on backwards – enough to make Linda Blair spew out of sheer jealousy – delivers such a dazzling triple onslaught of sci-fi, comedy and horror, it’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. Even if horror films make you squirm, even if you have to filter your vision through tightly-laced fingers curtaining your eyes … it’s worth it.
While many earlier cinematic attempts have gone in for double doses of horror and comedy, the humor is usually sophomoric, drenched in proportionate vats of blood and parody. But with this added sci-fi bent, incorporated into an extraordinarily clever screenplay by Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Dollhouse and the upcoming The Avengers) and Drew Goddard (Cloverfield), there are moments when the dialogue startles us into concomitant screams of mirth and shock.
Skirting around as much of the plot to preserve its surprises, it’s safe to mention that we first meet two laboratory control room wonks (Richard Jenkins’ Sitterson and Bradley Whitford’s Hadley) complaining about the latest in baby-proofing contraptions. The scene establishes both the easy, comedic relationship between the two men, as well as tying the timeframe to today. Boom! The title suddenly slams onto the screen in huge red block letters, followed by bloody credits that drip downward into eventual oblivion. Hmmm … baby proofing may not be all that important after all.
[For the full review and Kimberly's rating, please click here]