Title:
The cabin in the woods
Year:
2012
Genre:
Horror, Thriller
Director:
Drew Goddard
Writer:
Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard
Runtime:
95min
Cast:
Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams,
Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, Brian White
Produc.:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Mutant Enemy, United Artist
Budget:
$30 million approx.
In
The cabin in the woods, five friends
who gather for a weekend, end up finding much more than the typical dangers of
the dark woods.
The audiences were asking out loud, to be
listened to. Were asking to stop making so many remakes and sequels, fed up of always
seeing the same story. But the thing is that in Hollywood, box office successes
are intended to be exploited till the end. Studios prefer to hire people
willing to negotiate a good contract, to resume an idea, already, more than
squeezed, and to say no to more rewarding projects, though less lucrative.
The audiences were claiming, given the lack of
originality. And just as The Avengers
(2012) would come to save us from the invasion, Joss Whedon itself (who
adapted Stan Lee) would come to give us a break, in this other gender.
Co-written by him and Drew Goddard, and
directed by Goddard, its release had been scheduled for February 5, 2010.
However, given MGM´s intention of converting it to 3D, plus its subsequent
announcement of being in bankruptcy, the wait would last. Finally, both Whedon
and Goddard would oppose to the conversion and after serious financial problems,
the distribution of the film would be sold to the Lions Gates Entertainment
Corporation, for reaching the theatres on April 13, 2012.
Regarding Whedon, he would give a brief definition
of what horror films meant to him, and of that, in which, according to him,
they had ended up becoming. He would also say which was the goal been chased by
him and his co-writer, and that he would partly describe as: "...an
attempt to revitalize the genre ...", etc., etc.
I got to read a lot of reviews that highlighted
how good it was the result, in addition to, how twisted. A friend told me, via
Facebook, that beyond its originality and above all, the fuss was due to its so
much postponed premiere. He also told to me to see it anyway, but beeing
patient, because at first, it was going to seem silly.
I ended up realizing that, certainly, it was
not for such a fuss.
Dana (Kristen Connolly), Curt (Chris
Hemsworth), Jules (Anna Hutchison), Marty (Fran Kranz) and Holden (Jesse
Williams) are the typical characters, unmistakable in any horror movie,
concerning youth and isolated cabins. Can be recalled, for example, the classic
The evil dead (1981) or Cabin Fever (2009).
Furthermore, Sitterson (Richard Jenkins) and
Hadley (Bradley Whitford) are two technicians from a company, whose job is to
simultaneously handle several scenarios, by which are constantly wreaking havoc
in different parts of the world and in different ways.
What comes up next in the cabin, is a summation
of clichés, that although may be boring, it is understood that it does not pursues the
same goals we already know. There is in fact, a twist.
We have the romantic young couple (Curt and
Jules), which has the ridiculous idea of having sex in the woods, instead of in
a bed, as rational people. They end up getting in trouble, as it is evident. Or we
have the group´s clown (Marty), who, being on his own, at the moment of his
attack, manages to save himself.
Such situations are unleashed when the kids
have the bright idea of going down the basement (formerly opened by Sitterson),
were they should never have walked in. Down there, Dana takes a book with latin
texts, and although Marty warns her, afraid, she reads a spell that awakens
the zombies.
Once we have seen a bit of struggle, blood and
death, one would want such patience to have its reward, but the movie twists are
not anywhere near the remarkable and surprising that, as a spectator, one was
expecting.
I do have to say, however, that what has occured
to Whedon is that so much suffering was due to theoretically necessary
procedures and for the sake of most of us. Something that later, it is made
clear.
We can not deny that it is something new.
Except that, once the first big surprise has been revealed, and when three of
the kids have already died, the film relies on showing us a massacre, with monsters
sweeping against the sadistic responsibles of the project, in what seems, was a
punishment. Thus, it has gone from the originality to the easy joke.
It plays a lot with the, obviously fictional
concept, of that we were young fools, always inclined to open the doors of fear
(ie to get into where we are not called), and where, according to Sitterson,
that has to be paid. That is actually an excuse to justify himself.
Already, when much of the argument has been
revealed and the intrigue has given way to the hunting, is that the film begins
to lose its charm, only sustained by the final appearance of the head of the
company.
But in short, is this, ultimately, a great
movie? I sincerely, doubt it. More, I tend to think that, with its script they
have been able to tell a different story, exploiting the most common codes in a
way never seen before. Although, with a conclusion that was for me, too far
fetched. I doubt that to be enough as to say this is the best in horror movies
of this year. It is, indeed, entertaining, different and to pass the time.
My
rating: 6/10
