Review of The Cabin in the Woods (2012) by Mike_M — 26 Sep 2013

I don't think that this is a great movie, by any means. Nor do I love [or hate] Whedon. But I do think that the users giving this movie scores in the red are why we can't have nice things. Specifically, I think that they're the kind of movie fans who prevent American filmmakers [as a whole] from trying crazy stuff. Sure, some crazy stuff is going to fall flat on its face. So what? This movie isn't a normal horror movie. So what? That means it deserves a zero?

This movie messes around with the horror movie genre and its clichés in a way that's far, far more interesting than the Scream movies. If more movies like this were appreciated, even when they're modest successes like this one, then we would have more risks taken by American filmmakers and studios. And as a consequence of that, we'd have more playing around with story types, and less of Hollywood making the same crap over and over and over.

What really makes me shudder is the idea that some users who gave this a 0 or 1 may also complain about Hollywood recycling ideas. We need movies that tear apart genres in thoughtful ways, even if they're 'popcorn movies'.