Emily Dabbs
Staff Writer
“The Cabin in the Woods,” written and produced by Joss Whedon and starring Chris Hemsworth, Kristen Connolly, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, and Anna Hutchison, opened in theaters everywhere Friday, April 13.
The film follows five friends who are just looking for a relaxing weekend “off the grid.” Each of these friends fit snuggly into a different stereotype; there is Curt (Hemsworth) the jock and his sexually-driven blonde girlfriend Jules (Hutchison); the stoner Marty (Kranz); the intellectual gentleman, Holden (Williams); and goody two-shoes Dana. Little does this group know, their quiet weekend in the woods has been painstakingly planned out to a T by a mysterious company.
When I saw the trailer, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to see the movie, at least not in theaters. As a huge fan of the horror genre, I don’t usually see the point in paying the $10+ to go see the same old things being done on screen again. When I saw that Joss Whedon, writer of the hit shows “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” and “Dollhouse,” as well as several movies such as “Toy Story,” “Serenity,” and “The Avengers,” was responsible for this film, that hesitation almost completely disappeared. And boy, am I glad it did.
Whedon, with the help of his co-writer Drew Goddard, have successfully created a new genre: comedic horror. I have never laughed so much in horror movies because it was written to get laughs – I am usually the one snickering in the theater at everyone else’s terror.
Critics seem to agree that this movie is definitely one to watch, scoring a 92% on the popular review site, rottentomatoes.com.
“‘The Cabin in the Woods’ has a number of amusing twists,” said Lisa Kennedy of the “Denver Post.” “Goddard and Whedon are crazy about the horror genre, to be sure. They’re even more compelled to use their bag of tricks to tell a dark tale about the bonds of friendship and the demands of humanity, about sacrifice and manipulation, about good and evil.”
“A horror movie embedded in a conspiracy flick embedded in another horror movie-the most inventive cabin-in-the-woods picture since ‘The Evil Dead’ and the canniest genre deconstruction since ‘Scream,’” said Christopher Orr, film critic for “The Atlantic.” “It is by turns moderately horrifying and wickedly funny, offering more nods and winks than a narcoleptic on jury duty.”
So if you find yourself with a couple hours to spare this weekend in between Relay for Life and studying for the ever dreaded finals, head on over to Valley View or Salem Valley 8 and check out “The Cabin in the Woods.”
