The Cabin in the Woods

Offering a fresh, hip take on the horror movie genre, director Drew Goddard's The Cabin in the Woods (co-scripted by Joss Whedon) slyly subverts audience expectations. The five college friends who pile into an RV for a weekend party in an isolated cabin by a lake are intentional archetypes: sensible, demure Dana (Kristen Connolly); handsome black nerd Holden (Jesse Williams); sexy, ditzy, blonde sorority sister Jules (Anna Hutchison); pothead philosopher Marty (Fran Kranz); and alpha-male football jock Curt (Chris Hemsworth). While the friends face a predictable array of menacing terrors, the twist here is another unexpectedly macabre element: namely, in an underground lab, two techno-geeks (Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford) ingeniously manipulate what happens to the captive quintet. But when clichéd characters don't do what we—and the handlers—expect, things turn seriously weird. While it is certainly filled with gruesome gore and lots of allusions to previous horror films, what's most memorable here are the wry, tongue-in-cheek comedic moments, such as when the visitors examine the cabin's creepy basement. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by writer-director Drew Goddard and writer-producer Joss Whedon, a “We Are Not Who We Are” making-of featurette (29 min.), a WonderCon Q&A with Goddard and Whedon (28 min.), “The Secret Secret Stash” behind-the-scenes featurette (13 min.), the production segments “An Army of Nightmares” on makeup and animatronic effects (12 min.) and “Primal Terror” on visual effects (12 min.), trailers, and bonus digital and UltraViolet copies of the film. Exclusive to the Blu-ray version is an “It's Not What You Think” BonusView mode with picture-in-picture commentary. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a smart and winning bit of horror meta-fiction.] (S. Granger)