Watch the first few seconds of the trailer for the Joss Whedon/Drew Goddard scribed The Cabin in the Woods, and you’ll get a major case of déjà vu. A group of 20-somethings, most likely on vacation or celebrating graduation from college, decide to take a relaxing retreat off the beaten path. On their way, they are given ominous warnings by an old-coot gas station attendant. Once they arrive, their idyllic destination inevitably turns horrific. We’ve seen this set up plenty of time: The Hills Have Eyes, Cabin Fever, Pennydreadful, Wrong Turn, The Evil Dead, Dawning, Don’t Go in the Woods, (just off the top of my head).
Even the trailer knows it’s laying some familiar groundwork, but titillates: “You think you know the story… Think again”.
See for yourself after the jump…
Much like Cloverfield, which Goddard scripted, the Cabin story line provides a new twist on a classic scenario — in this case the young-people-stranded-in-the-woods horror trope. A group of friends at a cabin retreat scratch the surface of something so massive and horrific that they can only begin to fathom it as time quickly runs out. If you think you know this story, think again. The Cabin in the Woods is a mind-blowing horror film that turns the genre inside out.
I tell you what, this certainly looks like a unique bend on a familiar story. I see elements of Vacancy (one-way mirrors suggest the cabin was made to stalk and observe), The Truman Show (a group of men seem to be controlling the action from a high tech control room; in one scene we see them causing an avalanche with the push of a button), Inception (a bird flies into an invisible force-field), The Strangers (villains in disturbingly emotionless masks), and The Decent (creature that look like the creepy Crawlers).
After watching the trailer three times, I still have no concrete hypotheses as to what the hell is really going on. This is intriguing, and Saucy Josh is excited.
Also intriguing, however, is the fact that The Cabin in the Woods was originally slated for theatrical release in 2009. That’s right, this film has been sitting on a shelf for the best part of 3 years. Why the delay? According to Upcoming Horror Movies, early screenings of The Cabin in the Woods were so positive that MGM decided to pull it back to convert the entire film into 3D. *Groan* I’m not a fan of 3D movies even when they’re done well. If Cabin was not filmed with 3D cameras, the conversion process will be brutal. Don’t believe me? You obviously didn’t see last year’s Clash of the Titans.
The Cabin in the Woods stars: Chris Hemsworth, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, Kristen Connolly, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, and Brian White. The current release date is Friday April 13th. Let’s pray they don’t push it back any farther.
And just in case you still doubt that Whedon and Goddard plan to turn this subgenre upside down, check out the poster.
Saucy Josh writes a blog for intelligent Horror Movie aficionados called Blood and Guts for Grown Ups: https://bloodandgutsforgrownups.wordpress.com/