It starts out like countless other horror/slasher movies before it. A group of college "kids" are packing their things, getting ready to go on a weekend trip to one of the group's uncle's remote cabin way back in the boondocks. There will, of course, be no phone, internet, or neighbors. Totally off the grid.
Among the group heading our for the Weekend of all Weekends are Jules (the unusually pretty party girl), Curt (the unusually handsome jock), who are bf and gf, btw; Holden (the braniac), who has the hots for Dana (the prim and proper girl); and rounding out the unsuspecting weekend warriors is Marty (the stoner) who has the hots for all chicks, but can't get one . They all pile into a rickety old Winnebago, and head out for a weekend they'll never forget (if they can survive it). So, as you can see, everything is right on par with just about every other slasher film in existence.
Not so fast -- As they are pulling away, we see a camera mounted on their house, documenting their departure. Ah ha! Something is amiss here! Someone (or a lot of someones) is watching their every move. They are being spied on from a massive control center, which is shown as though it were any generic office. There are the horny dudes, goofy interns, the hot chicks, the not-so-hot chicks, etc. They kid around with each other, have office betting pools, etc. It's like something out of the movie "OFFICE SPACE." But they are dead serious when it comes to tracking the young weekenders. So you know something is going on. You know the kids are being watched, but you don't know what or why.
The first stop on the way into the woods is at your typical deserted middle-of-nowhere, run down gas station. Here is their first inclination that everything is not right. Finally, out of the shadows, come a creepy backwoods hick speaking in riddles with lines like, "Getting there's easy. It's gettin back that'll be a problem." You know, that sort of thing.
Well, they decide to soldier on, and soon come to the cabin, and when they do, the creepy gas station attendants whips out his cell phone and calls Mission Control. Hmmmm. . . . When they get to the cabin, it's just what you would expect - remote, run-down, no light but from candles, no TV, etc. Their first night there, they establish who is with who, who will sleep with who, etc. Then late at night, while playing Truth of Dare, one of the girls ventures into the basement (surprise! there's a basement), where they unlock the evil curses that will torment them till the end of time.. All the while having their every move watched.
I started out thinking that this would be kind of like "The Hunger Games," and that the campers were a part of some kind of reality show. But the big difference between "The Cabin In The Woods" and "The Hunger Games" is that 1) The subjects don't know they're part of any show, and 2) It's not being broadcast to the public. Just to the people in the control room. The kids are free to make their own decisions, but can be "influenced" by mission control. For example, when mission control wanted Dana and Curt to hook up, they pumped pheromones into the area.
At this point in the movie, where bad things started happening to the campers, it gets way too complicated to get into in this little review. Plus I don't want this review to be a spoiler.
Suffice to say that horrible things happen one after another after another. But what is the control center all about. We learn that there are similar control centers around the world, each hoping for the same results -that most of the subjects be killed. There is a reason why there is one jock, one slut, one stoner, etc. There is a reason al these horrible things are happening, but what is it??
I will agree with the other reviews that I heard. It is very different, not at all what you would expect, but is a horror/slasher film nevertheless. In fact, if you're squeamish over the sight of blood and gore, then this is not for you.
I combines both customary, spooky, eerie scary movie elements with a very high-tech story line. With awesome over-the-top visual effects not normally not expected from a movie in this genre. It definitely had some "Scott Pilgrim" elements in it for sure. Unveiling the reason why everything was going on took too long. In fact, the film never gives the audience the chance to figure it out on their own. All hell is breaking loose (literally) at the end, and that's when mission control's CEO appears (a surprise actor) and explains it all.
Although it didn't give us the chance to figure it out, the ride from start to finish was a good one. Full of beautiful people in horrible, scary situations, laced with tongue-in -cheek humor throughout. It came to us from the creators of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer," so if you were into any of that, you'll love this fo sho. And even if you weren't into "BTVS," it's definitely worth your time.
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