THE CABIN IN THE WOODS Starring Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford
and Kristen Connolly Directed by Drew Goddard Written by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard Alliance
“If you go down in the woods today,
you’re sure of a big surprise...” I appropriated that famous line from
something much more benign, but it perfectly sums up The Cabin in the Woods – and the challenges of re- viewing it. If you’re familiar with Joss Whe-
don’s oeuvre, you know that the writer/director has carved a career out of lovingly smashing genre expecta- tions, in TV shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly. And that’s exactly what this film does – in spades. So don’t let that mundane title fool you: there’s a lot more going on here than a group of stereotypical teens getting sliced and diced after hunkering down for a woodsy weekend of debauchery. Too bad that telling you about it would ruin the thrill ride. From the first twist, it’s clear that Whedon – who orig- inally hatched the concept – and co-writer/director Drew
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Goddard understand the genre, and that’s absolutely crit- ical for what they do next: comment upon those who make/consume it and then subvert that further with a healthy infusion of sci-fi. But unlike other self-referential films (e.g., Scream), Cabin does not beat audiences over the head with its commentary. The storytelling remains paramount. What I can tell you about the plot: there’s nothing ran-
dom about those teens who vamoose to the titular cabin, nor the vicious creatures that begin to stalk them shortly after they arrive. Because Whe- don had a hand in this, it’s all part of a bigger corporate con- spiracy/ancient ritual – one which the drugged and largely oblivious youths must get to the bottom of (literally!) before their numbers dwindle to none. Cabin earns its R rating, but
the gore and nudity (and even the token pothead) are integral to the narrative, rather than simply being a ploy to get asses into theatre seats. And perhaps that’s what makes it so fantastic: this is a movie by two people who honestly want
to tell a good, exciting horror story, and who are not sim- ply using the genre as a means to an end. The Cabin in the Woods comes stocked with some-
thing for every breed of horror fan – from monster lovers to devotees of Whedon’s dark sense of humour. I’d con-
clude with: Wanted: More horror films like this. But Cabin is truly one of a kind.
MONICA S. KUEBLER PLEASE, NEVERMORE
THE RAVEN Starring John Cusack, Alice Eve and Luke Evans
Directed by James McTeigue Written by Ben Livingston and Hannah Shakespeare Relativity Media
There are many reasons to be wary of a “high con-
cept” Poe film, but I was willing to sign on for a slick yet stylish version that might offend lit purists while lever- aging Poe’s themes in original ways and providing some creepiness via the author himself. This is not that film, however. To be fair, The Raven doesn’t really want to be a horror
film, despite a couple of grisly, sub-Saw moments. In- stead, it tries to make the most of Poe’s other legacy as the inventor of the detective story, putting him at the centre of a rather standard catch-the-killer-and-save- the-girl plot. Sure, the frenetic goings-on are adorned with quick quotes of Poe-inspired images, story ele- ments and biographical data… but that’s exactly what might put off the target audience – except perhaps for those who believe Poe’s work needs a dash of excite- ment via a “pulse-pounding” soundtrack and a fetching love interest (Alice Eve). A square-jawed Baltimore police detective (Luke
Evans) recruits Poe (John Cusack) as a kind of expert consultant when folks start getting dispatched in ways