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The Cabin in the Woods

You know the drill, Five stereotypical teens, One dark and scary closed of forest with a creepy cabin... Oh, well you think you know the drill as while this may be how the film begins but things soon take a bizarre new route through the genre. So the group head to the charmingly rustic old cabin and get up to the usual promiscuous things young teens do, however miles under the floorboards the cabin has even more than the eye can see. Two hapless office workers meanwhile go about their daily business, hanging around the water cooler, chatting about their marriages and keeping an ancient god at bay through torturing and manipulating innocent groups of teens to their deaths, see how things start to intertwine? Will the teens find their way out of the predicament they face and obtain salvation or more importantly what will salvation cost if they do find it?

Kristen Connolly heads up the teens as Dana, the cute and innocent gal of the group who eventually turns out to be a bit more of a damsel in distress however Connolly holds up brilliantly if being chased by zombies or just being shy and coy. Taking a break from Asgard, Chris Hemsworth is the supposed(watch and you'll find out why) Jock of the group, the beacon of masculinity, a high sex drive and an ego to match he may not be the leading lad as time goes by but Hemsworth owns his screen time well. Franz Kranz is Marty who is probably too high to realize if he even exits let alone the supernatural beings hanging about outside, Kranz excels as both the stoned loser/joker and the would be hero of the film with ease and at times steals the show from his co-stars. Elsewhere the one fueling Hemsworth and co's sex drive would most likely to be Anna Hutchison as Jules who with as much well meaning nature as possible makes an amazing cheerleader type with the busty blonde characteristics and at the same time making the perfect damsel in distress. Last but not least is Jesse Williams as the more gentlemanly and charismatic figure Holden, he offers a witty and humors aspect while being the meek and mild character which is essentially building on the sterotype which really makes you like him so kudos. That's the teens, but the real show stealers are the two men behind the cabin's rotten panels, pushing the buttons and putting the kids through hell with as much whimsical, jovial and fanatic behavior as possible. The dynamic duo, Richard Jenkins as Sitterson and Bradley Whitford as Hadley, these two lunatics not only bring the insane humour but offer as much zealous charm as two middle aged brilliant actors amongst a crowd of kids can manage superbly.

You may go into this expecting you're average generic yet mildly charming teen horror flick, but as the film builds which it does slowly and keeping a steady pace, it'll hit you with the force of hurricane in it's level of mix and mashing the horror with the humour. The films brilliance in timing and charm is most likely to come from writer Joss Whedon whose evident use of sustained and incredibly well placed amusement brings the film it's unique take on the genre and gives something that feels like Evil Dead 2 if it was brought and highly budgeted into the 21st century with the same wit and grandeur it had built in cult status back when it was released. This isn't a film aiming to re-invent a well trampled genre, it's about bringing a fresh and obscure yet damn entertaining horror ride which cinemas seem to have forgotten these days (haven't we had enough jump-scare films now?) and while doing so taking out all the dull and serious nature, it's an easy flick which doesn't force you to ponder a hidden meaning while in no way does it leave you brain dead from an overly exaggerated use of explosions and tediously dull plots. It's smart, it's extremely funny and the brilliance behind the writing shines through Joss Whedon's god like charm making this horror/comedy one to watch unlike the several thousand you should avoid, it will leave you a happily and extremely entertained cinema goer for once which these days feels like a rarity more and more.

9  /  10

FIN.

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