***WARNING*** Review contains some minor spoilers -- don't read if you have not seen the film and are planning on doing so
A CABIN IN THE WOODSWritten by: Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard
Directed by: Drew Goddard
Ok, am I the only person in American that didn't like this film? I obviously LOVE horror films, and was super excited to see this film, and awaited in eager anticipation until I had a free night to go see it. Well, I got to go this past Monday night and I have to say that this was probably one of my biggest "horror movie" disappointments I have had in a long time! Notice I put "horror movie" in quotes. This was not a horror movie by any means....it had some horror elements to it...lots of them actually, but yet the movie still managed to be nothing but a science fiction/comedy hybrid.
Here is the (very misleading) plot synopsis courtesy of imdb.com:
Five friends go for a break at a remote cabin in the woods, where they get more than they bargained for. Together, they must discover the truth behind the cabin in the woods.
Ok, that synopsis sounds simple enough. And if they would have left it at that, it might have been a great horror movie, but there is so much more going on here that the film gets cluttered and tries to do too much in its 1:45 time length.
Now don't get me wrong, the horror elements all throughout the film are excellent....the Buckners, the zombie family that makes several appearances, were great, and the scenes of the guy with the bear trap on a chain were great...unfortunately this only made up about probably 20 minutes of total screen time. The rest of the film was filled with the secret agency that never really gets explained.
An example of an awful scene was the scene where 2 kids infiltrate the secret agency that houses all these creatures and monsters. At one point the monsters all get loose and end up destroying everyone around. These monsters included a werewolf, a merman, a giant cobra like snake, and....a unicorn. Yes, you read that right, a unicorn. Since when is a unicorn a monster? Just one more thing that didn't make sense to me and made me roll my eyes.
Another thing I didn't care for in this film was the bad acting, and even bad dialog. The film was filled with cheesy attempts at humor that just never seemed to work. The stoner character was extremely annoying to me, making me not care about his character at all. And don't even get me started on Sigourney Weaver's cameo at the end as the director of whatever the heck this agency was. The dialog written for her was atrocious and I actually felt embarrassed for here for having to deliver such awful lines.
I just don't get it. The movie is getting rave reviews from everyone I know. I can understand someone that isn't real big into horror thinking this is a great movie, but I can't explain why huge fans of horror, such as other horror bloggers like myself, are thinking this movie is so great. I have heard people say it is "just what the horror genre needs" and they "hope more horror films are made like this". I don't understand this at all.
Now, in the movie's defense, I will say that I went to the 9:50 pm showing, so maybe I was tired and groggy and just not in the mood for what this film was. Also, with all the glowing reviews I read with everyone saying how good this movie was, maybe I was just expecting too much out of it. When it comes out on DVD, maybe I will give it another chance and see if I still feel the same. Until then, I will take my horror films with less attempts at dumb humor, more zombies, and no unicorns!
THE CABIN IN THE WOODS is in theaters now. I look forward to the comments I am going to get on this post. I really think I am the only horror movie fan that didn't like this film. Is there anyone else out there that felt like I did about this movie? Leave a comment below and let me know!
CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
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