Review of The Cabin in the Woods (2012) by Cameron F — 26 Sep 2015

If there is one thing this film definitely does well, it's that it provides a great meditation on horror cinema, though I'm not sure if that meditation leads anywhere significant. The first part of the film is definitely very interesting, though I feel Jules's death scene is a little too much, and the interplay of the experiences of the campers and the functionaries in the control room is one of the most interesting movie motifs I've seen in a while.

Most of what happens after the "purge" button is hit devolves into a gore fest and, while it must have been a blast to shoot, it does detract from the seriousness of the film, but the scene in the god chamber does do something to redeem it.

This is a film which loves classical horror, yet is also smart enough to critique it and, while it does become too gory for my tastes in parts and it doesn't necessarily go far enough with the meta-analysis, this is a movie that, if you've fallen out of love with horror due to the wave of cliched, by-the-book films which came out in the wake of "Human Centipede", then maybe this film will rekindle your faith in horror and give you a trip down memory lane.