Co-written by both director Drew Goddard and seemingly 'man of the moment' Joss Whedon (Serenity, Avengers Assemble), Cabin in the Woods is an ambitious mishmash of ideas that works up to a point before becoming lost within the different levels it operates from. Like the revelation that was Scream (1996), CITW is an observational satire on the horror genre, but while the former film's self referential approach never forgot to bring the scares and never lost any sense of clarity over its insights, CITW does neither and ends up pale in comparison. Against the backdrop of modern horror however, CITW stands out for actually having ideas. Despite not being as smart as it thinks it is, the film is clearly in the hands of passionate knowledgable creators who never forget to entertain, making it more enjoyable than interesting when the balance could have so easily tipped the other way - for better or for worse.
For fans of: The Hills Have Eyes (1977), Friday the 13th (1980), The Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead II (1987), Scream (1996) , The Truman Show (1998), Cabin Fever (2002)
