The Cabin in the Woods

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Year:	2011
Country of origin:	USA
Director:	Drew Goddard
Genre:	Horror pastiche excellence
Starring:	Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins
Rating:	5/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1259521/
Tagline:	If you hear a strange sound outside... have sex.
Favourite line:	"Yes, you had "Zombies." But this is "Zombie Redneck Torture Family." Entirely separate thing."

The producer of Lost and the creator of Buffy meet minds in this brain-melting horror pastiche.

The plot:
Five young lovelies head off into the middle of nowhere to spend the weekend at a cabin owned by one of their relatives.
Meantime, a team of boffins watch on from a control room; before them, a dizzying array of monitors and controls.
Back in the cabin, the party is underway.
Then, the cellar door opens of its own accord……

And that’s all it is possible to relay without utterly shattering the main sell of this movie: the unexpected.
Joss Whedon, mastermind behind such quality genre fare as Buffy, Dollhouse and Firefly is on a hot streak that has gone on for some fifteen years now. Sure, Angel wasn’t as good as Buffy and, yes, Alien: Resurrection isn’t as good as the previous three movies, but even they weren’t in any way bad.
Stepping full-fledged into the horror field this time, with the assistance of debutant director Drew Goddard – he of Lost producer renown – between them they have served up a genuine smorgasbord of horror tropes, stereotypes and well-trodden paths. They proceed to lure you into a comfort zone, sure that you know the way from here - after all, you’ve seen it all before, right? – before ripping the rug from clean under your feet.
Seldom do you watch a movie and, even one hour in, have absolutely no idea in which way it’s headed, and that’s just what we have here as, every time you think you’ve got a handle on it, they nail you with another side-swipe.
Funny when it needs to be, well delivered and with more knowing horror references than you can wave a blood-drenched shovel at, as an experience this is akin to riding a truly world class rollercoaster.
For the reference nerds, there’s Texas Chain Saw, The Hills Have Eyes, Hellraiser, The Evil Dead, Phantasm, Cube, Jaws, Zombie Flesh Eaters, Friday the 13th.
And they’re just the ones I can remember off the top of my still reeling head.
A tour de force of entertainment that will have your brain in a spin and your face in a grin.
Deliciously demented.
Fucking loved it.