By: debbie lynn elias
With THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, let’s just say, Welcome to the World of Whedon. Co-written by uber genius Joss Whedon (the brains behind Buffy the Vamire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly) and Drew Goddard (a man initiated into the Whedon World during Season 7 of Buffy and who then hung around to helm Angel, not to mention write episodes of Lost and Alias) and directed by Goddard, who makes his feature debut, in typical Whedon World fashion, we have madness, mania, mayhem and monsters, more blood than I have ever seen used in a film, the rising of ancient evil, teenagers saving the world…again… and all put together with dry, wry, self-deprecating humor that is so clever, witty and entertaining it just knocks the film out of the park, er, woods.
The story is simple. Five friends head out to a remote cabin in the woods. But once there, things aren’t quite as peaceful and serene as they appear on the surface. And we, the audience, knows why.
Calling on relative unknowns as the latest “Scooby” Gang – Chris Hemsworth (pre-Thor), Fran Franz, Kristen Connelly, Anna Hutchinson and Jess Williams are the perfect meld of traits and personalities covering the requisite horror character gamut from dumb jock to dumb blonde and super intelligent nerdy types in between. The real master casting, however, comes in the form of the adults in the film, those puppeteering the events taking place at the cabin and in the woods. With parts written specifically for them, Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford, as Sitterson and Hadley, respectively, are delicious. And longtime Whedon good luck charms Tom Lenk and Amy Acker add their own fun to the mix. A standout is Brian White who brings great stoicism and sanity to the insanity that is unfolding.
Conceptually unique with a story that unfolds through character awakenings, CABIN is genre defying with twists and turns and genre mashing that surprisingly, all fits together like a perfect little Rubix cube. There is so much genre eye-candy happening that there are times you don’t know where to look! While celebrating and championing horror (and the First Evil), the humor is clever and smart, and in true Whedon-Goddard fashion, makes heroes out of the least likely. The story is bewitchingly enthralling, blending hi-tech and character driven plot and at times, even has a Trumanesque feel.
And talk about knockout VFX and creature creation! Needless to say, there are monsters aplenty and while they initially appear one by one, we are eventually privy to the monster/demon housing which is itself a sight to behold. For you Buffy fans, think “The Initiative”.
Peter Deming’s cinematography and his use of color, contrast/shadows representing the earthiness of nature, the shadows of fire which is then contrasted by the sleek clean hi-tech stainless steel and glass of the world of monsters, is stunningly breathtaking. A perfect meld of present meeting the ancient past.
And as for that blood….while Goddard admits he was trying to take the record from Stanley Kubrick and the elevator scene in “The Shining”, he fell short because of the number of takes Kubrick made. Goddard does, however, hold the record for the most blood usage in a single room in a single scene.
Be on the lookout for some great surprises and twists both in the storyline and casting, all of which will make you jump for joy as your blood curdles with delight.
Without giving away any spoilers, may I just say, “Do I hear sequel? or, new tv series?
Chris Hemsworth – Curt
Kristen Connolly – Dana
Anna Hutchinson – Jules
Fran Kranz – Marty
Jesse Williams – Holden
Richard Jenkins – Sitterson
Bradley Whitford – Hadley
Brian White – Truman
Tom Lenk – Ronald the Intern
Amy Acker – Lin
Directed by Drew Goddard. Written by Goddard and Joss Whedon.
