Movie Week – Cabin in the Woods

Image via Reelizer

Last week, for some unknown reason, I decided that I was going to watch at least a movie a day for seven days.  Wait, I know why; it’s because Letterman and Fallon were repeats all week, which frees up two hours of viewing time for me. 

So I figured that I’d catch up on some movies that I’d wanted to see or heard good things about (though mostly the former.)  So on Saturday I tried out Cabin in the Woods.

First things first; I’m not really horror movie guy.  I really don’t have an appreciation for them.  I watched the first Saw and enjoyed it as much anyone can really enjoy torture porn.  I did like the twist, though I wasn’t completely caught off guard. 

I really just don’t get the allure of watching characters get killed for reasons that don’t really further a plot.  It’s not my scene. 

But Cabin in the Woods intrigued me for a couple of reasons.  The main one was that I’d read EW raving about it back when it was originally due to be released.  They had nothing but praise for it. 

Another reason I was interested in watching it was because of the story of how was held up due to MGM’s bankruptcy.  It gave Cabin in the Woods a mythic type quality (though not as mythic as that of Thursday.) 

Right off the bat I dug the meta moment where Sitterson and Hadley talk about how things are with the teams in Sweden and Japan.  It was a clever moment that immediately won my trust.  From that point on I was really paying attention. 

And I wasn’t disappointed.  I liked how it toyed with the conventions of slasher flicks while it tried to explain them.  The fact that it even tried and made a reasonable amount of sense was a huge plus for me.  The reasoning for the tradition was something that I bought hands down. 

Easter egg characters were dope.  The payoff of the Merman was thoroughly enjoyable.  The “facility” world was so very entertaining, I wish there could be a prequel set there.  That mundane existence just caught my attention. 

Clearly Cabin in the Woods is a horror movie for people who don’t like horror movies, which is why I loved it.