Monday, April 16, 2012

Goin' To The Cabin & We're Gonna Get Married

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(Some spoilers ahead) I don't think I could have been happier with The Cabin in the Woods if it had ended with a complimentary handjob from Chris Hemsworth upon exiting the theater. Alright, that's an overstatement... but not as much as it could be, since I felt as good as hand-jobbed by the movie itself! (I really want that to make it onto a poster. "As good as a handjob!" says My New Plaid Pants!) I literally giggled my way through the entire weekend after seeing it, my brain working back through all the happy spots Drew & Joss & Co. took us. Unicorns! Japanese girls with frog spirits! A giant tentacle sweeping away Amy Acker in an instant, practically with a "Yoink!" sound effect! Oh truest bliss, I have found thee.


Could I possibly be fair and balanced talking about this movie when it was created in a lab by awesome scientists (that is, scientists of awesomeness) out of everything I love most to be The Perfect Movie For Me? I cannot. This was the best time I've had in a movie theater in I don't know how long, I guess since Drag Me To Hell, another movie that was so finely attuned to precisely my crazy-person wavelength that it's impossible for me to be rational. Only The Cabin in the Woods even more so, because not only did it give me a fully satisfying horror movie with characters that I cared about (I've heard people complain otherwise, but I do not agree), but it gave me a smart reassessment and deconstruction of that same thing at the same time. It was everything to every-me! And then the movie just slammed its halves together into the funniest bunch of mayhem this side of Blazing Saddles. When I saw the monster boxes I couldn't even dare to dream that they'd all be opening... but they did! They did! And all was good.


I'm having a hard time sitting in my chair right now knowing I could walk out the door, cross a few blocks, and see The Cabin in the Woods again right now. This is a movie I know I'll be finding dozens of things to stare at, ponder, and giggle at anew with each and every viewing. There's layer upon layer at work here - we the audience are the Elder Gods demanding a fresh blood sacrifice! Mermen are slimy! - and never in a pedantic tiresome way. It's done with tons of love, and intelligence, and wit, and bear-traps. What more could I have asked for? I mean besides that handjob from Chris Hemsworth.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh how I wish I had entered the theatre with no knowledge of any of the pic except that it was highly anticipated. What a ride that would have been. I appreciate the film for it's cleverness and fun and references, but I think the critics who saw it, saw it fresh not after hype about it's brilliance, and far too much revealing info in the trailers. Go with somewhat lower expectations and you might have a good time, but it ain't scary, no matter how clever it may be.

Jason Adams said...

I went in with sky-high expectations, had seen all of the trailers, and had been posting about it for three years, and I was completely satisfied, so, you know, your mileage may vary.

Prospero said...

Once again, we saw two very different movies. While I found it entertaining as hell, I thought it was just too self-aware and jokey to be an effective horror movie. I agree with 'Anonymous.' Go for the ride, but don't expect to be scared or find a truly original idea, just some clever variations on familiar genre tropes.

Jason Adams said...

I won't argue that it's really all that scary because no, it isn't, it worked for me despite that, but there is one scene that I found deeply unsettling - when our Final Girl "virgin" is getting the shit beaten out of her on the dock but we're watching it on screens in the background of an office party, that shit was serious. That scene for me is kind of the whole shebang, where the film's double and triple underlining itself, and I found it really upsetting. In the right way.

Brian 5 said...

I remember the first time you posted about this movie, and oh what a long road it has been. I finally saw it on Thursday night, and I've been grinning like a madman ever since. I've been begging all of my friends to see it, because all I want to do is talk about it.
Glad you mentioned Drag Me to Hell, because it definitely had the same madcap vibe to it.
Oh, and when they revealed all those nightmare boxes, I thought to myself, "Oooh, it would be awesome if they all opened!" But then I quieted myself down, thinking it would never happen. AND THEN IT DID! *sigh* And that's how Cabin was cemented as one of my favorite films ever.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to continue basking in the afterglow. ;)