Movie Friday: Cabin In the Woods

I recently watched The Cabinin the Woods, having heard that it was something more than just a horror movie.  The fact that JossWheedon is associated with the project was definitely in its favor.  Anyone who calls back the stars of The Avengers just to film an after-the-credits gag showing them sitting around a table eating shawarma is OK by me.  And of course there’s Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog, Firefly, etc., etc. 

Turns out Joss produced and co-wrote this with the director, Drew Goddard, and it definitely has his fingerprints all over it.  First of all, it’s really a deconstruction of the horror genre, with explicit attention paid to the clichéd archetypes (jock, slut, virgin, etc.), while adding some humorous counterpoint with the control room people—particularly BradleyWhitford (of The West Wing fame, not the Aerosmith guitarist) and Richard Jenkins, the latter being one of my all-time favorite character actors.  Stir in some thought-provoking material on society’s attitudes towards the young, torture porn, religion, and half a dozen other topics, and you have a fairly brilliant commentary on our modern entertainment-industrial complex.  It’s also hilarious.  See this movie if you have the chance.