The Cabin In The Woods (2011)

From NetFlix:

In this twisted thriller from Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, five friends arrive at a secluded cabin with clear instructions for their anticipated mountain getaway. But when the rigid rules are broken, punishment is swift — and everyone will pay. Kristen Connolly, Jesse Williams, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Chris Hemsworth and Brian J. White star with Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford in this surprising spin on a classic horror setup.

At some point while watching this acceptable piece of horror trash you will probably wake up and say “This is really stupid”. But hold on … Granted that I do not watch many horror films, as in “seen one, seen all of them”, this almost-stinker is probably one of the most original horror flicks I have seen. Following the usual script of “a bunch of friends travel together to a secluded location when all of a sudden …” in fact ALL OF A SUDDEN the film takes an unexpected turn which caused me to say “Wait a minute: is this really a horror film or some sort of a satiric prank?” Lo and behold there stand Richard Jenkins (the father ghost in “Six Feet Under”) and Bradley Whitford (Josh Lyman in “The West Wing”) in a different setting. You will spend the rest of the film trying to figure out what is happening. Along the way you get to see the usual assemblage of zombies, slashers, creepy monsters, nightmares come to life, etc. That part (the ghoul parade) is the ho-hum part. Rather the interesting part is the juxtaposition of two seemingly disparate story threads. In addition, the dialog is tongue-in-cheek and sometimes funny.

Sigourney Weaver must really need the money. Her walk-on towards the end of the story is ludicrous. In fact, the hypothesis of the entire film is ludicrous. Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford must also be desperate for acting work. Chris Hemsworth plays Chris Hemsworth.

Because I am retired, I can waste the time watching this silly but somehow intriguing farce. Can you afford to waste your time?

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