The Cabin in the Woods is a well made and darkly humorous horror film that takes on the tropes of the genre quite well and has a pretty good bloody creature clash in the end which was wonderful before an ending that wasn’t nearly that satisfying.
The Cabin in the Woods
(2012)
Genre(s): Horror, Fantasy, Comedy
Lionsgate | R – 95 min. – $22.99 | September 5, 2017
Date Published: 08/30/2017 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 3.75/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: A rambunctious group of five college friends — Dana (KRISTEN CONNOLLY), Curt (CHRIS HEMSWORTH), Jules (ANNA HUTCHISON), Marty (FRAN KRANZ) and Holden (JESSE WILLIAMS) — steal away for a weekend of debauchery in an isolated country cabin, only to be attacked by horrific supernatural creatures in a night of endless terror and bloodshed. Sound familiar? Just wait. As the teens begin to exhibit standard horror movie behavior, a group of technicians in a control room are scrutinizing, and sometimes even controlling, every move the terrified kids make! With their efforts continually thwarted by the all- powerful eye in the sky, do they have any chance of escape?
Quick Hit Review: Well, only took me five years to finally see The Cabin in the Woods and while I don’t think it’s anything groundbreaking, it’s still an incredibly fun horror-comedy taking shots at the tropes in the slasher subgenre. The performances all around were good even if their characters aren’t exactly memorable though Kristen Connolly in the lead made for someone to root for. If there were a couple drawbacks, it would be it’s a bit on the predictable side (and saying this as someone who did not read any spoilers) and the finale was a letdown, but not to the point of ruining the enjoyment factor. Other than that, co-written by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard (who helmed), The Cabin in the Woods might not do what Scream did with the genre, but it’s still a lot of fun and very entertaining filled with plenty of blood for the gore hounds out there, particularly with toward the end which was a blast. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.75/5 |
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This release comes with a rounded-corner and glossy slip cover. Inside is a code for the Digital HD copy as well as the Blu-ray. Audio Commentary – Producer/Co-Writer Joss Whedon and Co-Writer/Director Drew Goddard. The pair are incredibly fun to listen to offering up stories from the set and bits of trivia. It’s Not What You Think: The Cabin in the Woods Bonus View Mode is a picture-in-picture feature. (Blu-ray only) We Are Not Who We Are: Making The Cabin in the Woods (28:33; HD) is a behind-the-scenes featurette with interviews by Goddard, Whedon and the cast. The Secret Stash (13:07; HD) takes us behind-the-scenes with actor Fran Kranz. An Army of Nightmares: Make-Up and Animatronic Effects (12:10; HD) looks at how the monstrous villains were brought to life. Animal Terror: Visual Effects (12:07; HD) examines the fx work accomplished. WonderCon Q&A (27:30; HD) features Whedon and Goddard answer a variety of questions. Theatrical Trailer (2:27; HD) |
VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| The Cabin in the Woods slashes onto the 4K format presented in its original 2.40 theatrical widescreen aspect ratio and given a crisp 2160p ultra high-definition transfer (HEVC/H.265 codec) which looks incredible. Detail is quite sharp throughout and although I didn’t really notice much of a boost with the HDR as this is a dark movie in general anyway, there are some pops especially at the end, chiefly the red in the blood. But black levels were decent but not stark, though detail is still discernible in those dark scenes. |
AUDIO – 5.0/5 |
| The audio gets a modest upgrade. The Blu-ray came with an already impressive DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track while the 4K gets the newer Dolby Atmos audio codec which is an ever-so-slight improvement but not that big of one. The depth is excellent but the LFE channel really kicks it up a notch especially at the end where my entire room would shake and reverberate throughout the floor in the house. |
OVERALL – 4.0/5 |
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Overall, The Cabin in the Woods is a well made and darkly humorous horror film that takes on the tropes of the genre quite well and has a pretty good bloody creature clash in the end which was wonderful before an ending that wasn’t nearly that satisfying. This 4K released by Lionsgate has good/great video/audio transfers and a great selection of special features. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.