The Cabin in the Woods (2012) - Spoiler Free

I think that this is going to be a fairly short post as it's quite difficult to really get into discussing this film without giving away what I would consider to be spoilers. Sadly there have been plenty of reviews eager to spoil parts of it, largely those that have had a negative opinion of it. Even trying to describe it in a positive light gets tricky very quickly and I'm even questioning whether I should talk about the opening credits! If you've seen the trailer and some of the posters for it then I would say that you have just about enough information to tell if it intrigues you and still go in to the cinema to experience it fresh, any more information than that and I think you risk taking away some of its entertainment value.

So what can I say about it? My first thought is that it's basically a love letter to horror movies, I would possibly have said a tribute to them if it wasn't a good film in its own right. If you like horror films in general I can almost guarantee that you will like it but it's more difficult to say whether it will appeal to everyone. If you don't like horror from a blood and gore perspective then there is plenty to put you off here but it isn't a particularly scary film if that's what puts you off. Some people might class an unscary horror film as a failure outright but I think it works more as a comedy and it's difficult to mix sustained fear with that. There are 'jump scares' but most of these made me laugh straight after the jump as the film had either been preparing you for it or tricking you at the last minute. The humour is a mixture of stuff that will probably be funny to anyone and things that may be more aimed at horror buffs but I don't think it comes across as being exclusive.

Overall I found it a fun film and while I wasn't impressed by the quality of the screen I saw it in (looked like an upscaled DVD), I think seeing it in the cinema added to this. As if the horror stereotypes were managing to escape the film, I was actually sat next to a young couple with the girl jumping at all of the shocks (I think she even dropped her popcorn at one point). I don't know if it has much more to it and if it's really the saviour of horror that some people seem to be deeming it but I'll certainly search out more about it now that I've seen it. I may even come back to it in another post with spoiler gloves off to give anyone reading this a chance to see it first.