The Cabin in the Woods

Apparently there is some sort of embargo on posting spoilers of the new horror movie The Cabin in the Woods. The director (Drew Goddard) and producer (Joss Whedon) have begged critics to keep quiet about the twists and turns in the film, so that audiences can have a pure movie going experience. I respect their intentions, and will not spoil the film. However, I will say that The Cabin in the Woods is not nearly a good enough film to warrant all this secrecy. It's almost like the writers wrote three-quarters of a good movie and then had a conversation that went something like this:

"Well, the first two acts of this movie ROCK. It's creative and interesting and fun. But how do we end it?"
"Who even cares? All you need is a good hook and a good start. No one cares about the ending."
"Really? Does that mean we can think of the STUPIDEST ENDING OF ALL TIME and just randomly tack it on to the end and turn this movie into a super hot mess?"
"Hell, yeah. Let's just think of the dumbest idea of all time and then that will be our ending!"
"Totally!"

And that is what they proceeded to do.

The Cabin in the Woods starts off strongly enough. It has probably the best pre-opening credits scene of the movie going year (so far). It sets up its premise which is five college kids decide to spend a relaxing weekend at a family members secluded cabin so they could drink and have sex and do drugs and not be bothered by anyone at all. So the group (including such horror movie stereo types as the hottie, the stoner and the jock) get in an RV and drive past the cliche that is a creepy redneck at a gas station in the middle of nowhere and through a mountain pass to a creepy secluded cabin. And, without ruining the movie, that's about all I can tell you.

Like I said, The Cabin in the Woods starts off strong. It's funny, like the original Scream movies intent on paying homage and making jokes at the expense of classic horror movies while still following all the rules created by them. It's a fresh, creative take on the horror genre, with the omnipresence of Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford as two suits in a steel door enclosed room watching their every move. The movie builds a lot of intensity (although no real scares) and the cast of young hot actors is pretty damn good. Even when it starts to get a little ridiculous, you still want to stay with it because it has such an interesting premise and such a great, creepy, fun build up. But then, like I said, everything just turns into a huge mess. I guess they think they are being clever with the ending, but in all reality, I can't imagine any true horror movie fans who could be satisfied with a third act like that. I just found myself constantly rolling my eyes and looking at my watch. So, when it's all said and done, Fran Kranz tries his hardest to make this movie an enjoyable experience but even his go-for-broke performance can't save the inevitable mess. A solid beginning and middle are completely ruined by a terrible, terrible, terrible ending.

Grade: D+