OK, time for something a little different, subject-wise.
This weekend, I managed to make it out, venture into the cinema, and watch Cabin In The Woods. At 10.45am. This was something of an achievement for me, for several reasons:
1. I love movies. I once worked as a cinema manager – happiest time of my life.
2. I now live out in the middle of nowhere, with no cinema anywhere near, and no car to travel to one with.
3. My girlfriend is not so good at the horror films, which means we rarely watch them together. Although she did enjoy Evil Dead 2.
4. We have a little ‘un. Which means that if we do ever go to the cinema, we must watch something age appropriate.
5. I’m a huge Joss Whedon fan.
6. I’m a fan of this kind of horror movie. I love the Friday 13th series, Evil Dead series, etc. Not so interested in the gorno genre, but was intrigued by this one.
So, I made it out. I sat in the dark with six other geeky-types who had ventured out at this time, and settled back to enjoy a film in relative peace and quiet. And enjoy it I did! Very much.
To address some of the things being said about it:
1. It redefines the genre. No, it doesn’t. It takes a nice little spin on it, but it’s not groundbreaking.
2. It’s too complicated to follow. No, it’s not. If you find this film too difficult to follow, you probably shouldn’t be in the cinema on your own.
3. You can’t post a review without spoiling it. Hmm. Given that the plot behind it all is revealed fairly quickly, I’m not too sure I agree with this.
In my own opinion (and seeing as this is my blog, mine is the opinion that counts), the film scores big on several parts:
1. Realistic, believable characters who you don’t want to personally disembowel. And when they do something stereotypical, annoying or stupid, there’s a good reason behind it.
2. Joss Whedon excells at ensemble pieces. He does well with this.
3. The comedy plays along nicely with the horror, but there’s some lovely little bits in there as well.
4. The script has some wonderfully quotable lines in there (“I’m drawing a line in the fucking sand. Don’t read the Latin!”)
5. It riffs nicely on the genre, taking it apart and playing with it.
6. Some wonderful set pieces.
7. Rather than gamble everything on one last minute twist which is great for a single viewing only, there’s enough there to warrant and reward repeat viewing.
Well done to all involved. A definite thumbs-up from me.
