Room For Rent...Cheap! "The Cabin in the Woods"

A secluded cabin in the woods... what could possibly go wrong?


The Story:

5 twentysomethings head off to a cousin's cabin located in the woods.  You've got your typical horror movie stereotypes:  jock (Chris Hemsworth), slut (Anna Hutchison), nerd (Jesse Williams), stoner (Fran Kranz) and virgin (Kristen Connolly).  They arrive in the middle of nowhere and are enjoying their stay, when suddenly the cellar door blows open... and they all decide to go down and see what might be going bump in the night.  They find a veritable treasure-trove of toys and old things and as they rifle through the collection, one of the group reads an ancient incantation from a journal.  Suddenly, the dead are rising, and they are coming for vengeance.

If only that were truly the scary part of their ordeal...


Okay, I did not see THAT coming.

Credit of course must go to the writing team of Drew Goddard (also first time director) and some guy by the name of Joss Whedon.

Well, apparently along with Red Dawn, a pre-Thor Chris Hemsworth starred in this film, and was released after the Marvel franchise was up and running.  Smart on the part of both movies to capitalize on their fortunes of getting something before it was hot, but it really didn't matter as both films are able to stand on their own.  Whereas I liked the Red Dawn remake more than the original, I have to chalk this up as the best horror movie I've seen so far this year.

It's funny, scary, surprising, exciting and engaging.

Plus, unlike many of the horror movies of the last decade that really seem to dwell on the kills and letting you watch every slice and dice, this film goes old school and lets your imagination do a lot of the work, or throw gallons of red goo at the screen.

Thank you.

While not gathering the kids around to watch with me, I prefer my splatterfests to be less intimate and descriptively gruesome. 


Plus, there is a whole different layer to this movie than I've discussed here.  Those that have seen it know what I'm talking about, but I really don't want to ruin it for those that haven't seen it.

Good stuff...

Shame there won't be a sequel!!!

: )

Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: A-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Again, due to the non-family friendly nature of this film, it's an outside chance, but I could definitely watch it again.