Review: Himizu (TBC) / Director: Shion Sono / Screenplay: Shion Sono / Starring: Shota Sometani, Fumi Nikaido, Tetsu Watanabe  / Release Date: June 1^st

Himizu is Director Shion Sono’s reaction to the Japanese earthquake and tsunami of 2011. Devastating landscapes, psychological tension and a regnant rumble take over your senses. Not as brutal as Cold Fish or as long as Love Exposure, but affecting and powerful cinema that captures the confusion of disaster and the anger of the aftermath. Sono takes Minoru Furuya’s manga novel and shifts the setting to Fukushima to create a tense and moving portrayal full of darkness.

Keiko (Fumi Nikaido) is a fourteen year old girl obsessed with Yuichi (Shota Sometani), in fact she is self admittedly his stalker. She collects his words and wallpapers her room with them, repeating them like a prayer and getting overexcited at spending any time with him. Yuichi is going through troubling times, his mother has left, leaving him to run the family business and his drunken father has run up debts with the yakuza which he must repay.  Life is a little overbearing to say the least. With his parents gone, Yuichi is helped by another family of sorts, a mixed group who live on his land in tents due to displacement after the tsunami.

The relationship between Keiko and Yuichi is one full of humour, fraught emotions and curiously unexpected moments of madness. They constantly slap each other in a haiku inspired game created by Keiko and what starts as funny leads to something a little darker as Yuichi takes his repressed anger out on his admirer. Yuichi is on a path of destruction, as he keeps being pushed closer to the edge and it all ends in disaster. Both the performers excel at portraying damaged youth. Nikaido delivers hysterical outbursts with flair, whilst Sometani’s portrait of an adolescent on the edge reaches dark and palpitating places.

Sono delivers it all in a melodramatic fashion in fitting with the subject matter. Dramatic and moving classical music, that although slightly uninspired, certainly adds to the melancholy and building unease. The disaster is haunting these characters constantly and with the use of sound and powerful imagery (especially prevalent in a dream sequence that is shot on location in Fukushima) Sono presents a crushingly real reaction to the events in Japan of March 2011. His empathy for the people affected by the disaster and the importance of marking and mourning this tragedy are clear.

An elegy that delivers moments of calm and waves of violence that hit you unexpectedly and repetitively. A bleak but tender portrayal of youth and the all-encompassing nature of grief; it ends on a hopeful note, advising the audience not to give up.

Himizu is showing at the Terracotta Far East Film Festival on 15^th April and released in the UK on 1^st June.

Expected: 8

Actual:

Review: Mirror Mirror – The Untold Adventures of Snow White (PG) / Director: Tarsem Singh / Screenplay: Melissa Wallack, Jason Keller / Starring: Lilly Collins, Julia Roberts, Armie Hammer, Nathan Lane / Release Date: April 2nd

On first inspection an audience would be forgiven for thinking this is a Julia Roberts vehicle; it isn’t. Tarsem Singh’s Snow White interpretation is a refreshingly sweet and saucy version of the tale. The set pieces and costume are extravagant and creative. Singh approaches the tale with a certain amount of humour and a spoon full of silliness that works in its favour. Although there is a good amount of darkness, it mostly veers to the brighter side.

Singh is aiming for an innocent but smart female hero in Snow White, attempting to turn the usual fairy-tale on its head. Instead of a prince saving a princess, the heroine decides to take the initiative and save herself.  At one point she even battles her own prince.  There is a little too much of the wicked Queen’s (Julia Roberts) story, considering this film proclaims to tell the untold adventures of Snow White, and more screen time should have been given to Lily Collins’ Snow who is endearing and spot on in her role.

The dwarves are reminiscent of Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits as a bunch of thieves who hold up stage coaches and rob the rich for their own gain. They offer a lot of the humour, with some exquisite slapstick and quick quips, but at times, some of the dialogue is trying too hard to be funny.

Armie Hammer excels in his role as an arrogant prince with a heart of gold who falls for Snow White. He puts his usual amount of charm and freshness into the role and the romance between the two develops nicely.  Shifting from instant attraction to confused rivalry works well after Snow joins the band of dwarves. Silly antics and a montage sequence showcasing the fighting skills Snow learns makes absolutely no sense in the time frame of the rest of the story, but is still quite a lot of fun to watch.

Tarsem (as he is referred to in the closing credits) brought the opulent looking The Fall and The Cell to the screen and as expected Mirror Mirror looks suitably lovely most of the way through. Although a CGI monstrosity does come to life in the last third that is totally out of place in this otherwise lavishly beautiful film. Tarsem’s artistic vision and the worlds he creates are inspired and worth watching on the big screen. The film also loses pace in the last act, but a surprisingly upbeat song and dance sequence plays over the credits, and watching Armie Hammer awkwardly trying to bust a groove is pretty funny.

An entertaining and delightful spin on the fairy-tale that should have been trimmed for better pacing.

Expected Rating: 6 out of 10

Actual Rating:

Review: Wrath of the Titans (12A) / Director: Jonathan Leibesman / Screenplay: Dan Mazeau, David Johnson / Starring: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Edgar Ramirez, Toby Kebbell, Rosamund Pike, Bill Nighy / Release Date: March 30th 

We think it’s fair to say that Louis Leterrier’s 2010 interpretation of Clash of the Titans was one of the most derided blockbusters in recent memory. Acting, characterisation and plot took a backseat to endless monsters, a wooden Sam Worthington and some shoddy post converted 3D which singlehandedly kick started the 3D backlash. For the sequel the producers have addressed these concerns somewhat and made something fairly entertaining and thrilling.

We pick up some years after the events in the first movie and find demigod Perseus (Sam Worthington) now widowed and living in a fishing village with his son. The god’s power is fading due to people’s lack of faith and prayer. Zeus (Liam Neeson) shows up to ask for Perseus’ help as the walls of the underworld Tartarus are failing and they threaten to unleash Kronos; the father of all gods who has been imprisoned down there since the world was created. Perseus refuses to help but when his village is attacked by monsters from below and Zeus is double crossed by Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and his treacherous other ‘pure god’ son Ares (Edgar Ramirez), Perseus must team up with warrior queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike) and his thief cousin and son of Poseidon, Agenor (Toby Kebbell) to journey into the underworld to rescue Zeus and forge a weapon to hold back Kronos.

The first thing you notice about Wrath of the Titans is the 3D is miles better than the first movie. In fact it might be the most effective use of the format for a while. Things jump out at you and you find yourself flinching every time a rock flies off into the air. To match this the effects are better too, gone are the plasticky looking CG creations of the first movie to be replaced by organic, more realistic monsters and you never have the feeling that you’re watching a bunch of actors tumble around on a green soundstage. The film seems to have been designed with the sole purpose of being an experience to savour in 3D especially during the underworld scenes and the climactic battle and to their credit, it works.

Sadly, again where the film falls down is with its screenplay. It’s very much a case of getting from point A to point C picking up D on the way with a minimum of characterisation and development. There is a nice subplot about the soldiers with Perseus having to lose their faith even in the face of horrific danger because if they pray it will give power to Ares who is now their enemy, but this is never fully explored. There are also some woeful moments of deus ex machina to solve the problems that the characters face as well as Perseus’ general invincibility being a point of contention during the climax.

Sam Worthington won’t do anything here to change your mind on him, but the good news is he doesn’t even attempt an accent this time; he is pure Australian the whole way and seems more relaxed. Luckily new supporting characters played by Toby Kebbell and Bill Nighy bring some much needed humour and warmth that was sadly lacking in the first movie. Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson are also given more of an opportunity to shine this time with more of an arc than our main character.

It’s big, it’s loud and it’s proud, delivering everything it promised to in the trailer and the poster. See it on the biggest screen you can find.

Expected Rating: 4 out of 10

Actual Rating:

Review: The FP / Cert: TBC / Director(s): Brandon Trost, Jason Trost / Screenplay: Brandon Trost, Jason Trost / Starring: Jason Trost, Lee Valmassy, Art Hsu, Caker Folley, Nick Principle, Brandon Barrera / Release Date: (UK) TBC, (USA) Out Now

The Trost Brothers have created an action comedy that has a surreal dreamlike quality, a bizarre amalgamation of Streets of Fire set in the world of Escape From New York, mixed with the heart and soul of Rocky. The FP doesn’t take itself too seriously and that’s part of its charm.

In the near dystopian future, narrated by James Remar (from the classic film, The Warriors) rival streets gangs fight for control over the FP (Fraizer Park) by participating in the dance/fight video game, Beat-Beat Revolution. If the title sounds familiar, it is. It’s based on the arcade game, Dance Dance Revolution, though The Trost Brothers were unable to get the rights – a massive marketing faux pas on the creators’ behalf. Remember when M&M’s turned down Spielberg for E.T. and they used Reese’s Pieces instead? I think the guy who dropped the ball there now runs the night shift at a bowl alley.

Jason Troost plays JTRO, our Snake Plisskin-like hero, who witnesses the death of his brother, BTRO during a grueling dance-off against vicious gang leader, L Dubba E (complete with hairstyle inspired by Mr. T) as he cries, “Nooooooo, I’ll never play Beat-Beat Revolution again!”

A year later, we find JTRO in isolation as DJ, KCDC (a stand out performance by Art Hsu who played Johnny Vang in Crank 2: High Voltage) delivers bad news that the FP is now being run by L Dubba W and is in ruins. JTRO now must find the courage to return and restore order in a battle that can only leave one man… dancing.

The FP has an ’80s, Roger Corman drive-in movie feel to it and that’s what makes it entertaining. The characters are all interesting, including the minor ones, and there’s some hilarious, OTT dialogue throughout (“he wasn’t expecting the unexpected, but the unexpected was sure expecting him”). Troost brings a certain quality to the brooding JTRO audiences will like. Caker Folley as JTRO’s damaged, trailer trash love interest Stacey, as well as Nick Principe as spiritual guru and Dance Master BTL who trains JTRO for his big fight, also both turn out excellent performances.

Director, writer and cinematographer Brandon Trost (who was also the DP for the aforementioned Crank 2: High Voltage as well as Rob Zombie’s upcoming Lords of Salem) keeps the story active and his choice of lighting is impressive for many of the set pieces. Special mention also goes out to production designer Tyler B. Robinson who, with a shoestring budget, created fabulous sets, along with George Holdcroft for providing the excellent techno pop soundtrack.

The FP is a lot of fun and is sure to become a cult favourite.

Expected rating: 6 out of 10

Actual rating:

Review: The Hunger Games (12A) / Director: Gary Ross / Screenplay: Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins, Billy Ray / Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Wes Bentley, Elizabeth Banks, Toby Jones / Release Date: March 23rd

When you are dealing with a much loved novel written in the first person you are inevitably going to suffer when it comes to some of the finer details. The Hunger Games trilogy is all written in the first person from the perspective of heroine Katniss Everdeen and as a result you see the world through her eyes and get some specific details with regards to feelings and events. The film version of the first book; The Hunger Games, loses some detail that make the ruling totalitarian regime an evil and sinister presence and also makes the central romance feel a little unbelievable. On the whole though it’s a successful first film in a franchise that deserves your attention and hardcore fans will be very happy.

In case you have been living under a rock, The Hunger Games takes place in a future United States which has been split into twelve districts under the command of the decadent ‘capitol’ Panem. The districts are made up of farming and mining communities that all toil to keep the capitol running. As a consequence of a civil war, once a year each district is made to give up two of its children between 12 and 18 to compete in a fight to the death which is televised for the nation. This is a means of reminding everyone who is in charge and keeping the populace under control. The film follows the 74th ‘Hunger Games’ as Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers in place of her younger sister and is thrust into the spotlight along with Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) who may or may not have feelings for Katniss.

The film version follows the first book faithfully but some of the more disturbing elements are excised. We get to see more of the goings on behind the scenes which involve President Snow (Donald Sutherland), ‘Gamemaker’ Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley) and former contestant and survivor Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson). By losing some of the details which we get from the first person perspective in the books, the story comes across more as reality TV gone mad type scenario and less about the cruelty of a dictatorship. By including more of the characters that are not featured prominently in the first book they cleverly manage to lay the groundwork and character detail for what is to come.

For a film that involves kids slaughtering each other, the violence is understandably toned down. You are spared some of the more brutal moments in the book and by not going into full on gore, Gary Ross has somehow managed to make the violence more disturbing. The opening of the games where the kids rush to get supplies and weapons whilst trying to avoid death is brilliantly done and is fast paced, filmed mostly on handheld cameras. The deaths are quick and sudden without showing blood and somehow it has greater impact.

Jennifer Lawrence is brilliant as usual and embodies the heroine that will get the nation’s sympathy effortlessly. Woody Harrelson is also perfect as the sad, drunken Haymitch, a character that has great depths which will be revealed in subsequent films. Josh Hutcherson and the lesser known performers who make up the contestants all rise to the challenge and come across as naturally scared or troubled young people in an awful situation.

Whilst it’s not quite the slam-dunk we hoped for, The Hunger Games is a great film which is brutal, heartbreaking and thrilling and sets the scene perfectly for what is to come.

Expected Rating: 10 out of 10

Actual Rating:

Review: Piggy (18) / Director: Kieron Hawkes / Screenplay: Keiron Hawkes / Starring: Martin Compston, Neil Maskell, Paul Anderson, Josh Herdman, Louise Dylan / Release Date: May 4th

I have the suspicion that the classification of Piggy, the new thriller by writer/director Kieron Hawkes, as a horror film may not be what production company DP Films quite had in mind. However, its depiction of social and moral breakdown set within the sprawling decay of inner city London is as unsettling and disturbing psychologically as anything larger film companies are currently producing under the banner of straight horror.

Joe (Martin Compston) is a shy and lonely young man who copes with his social inadequacies by hiding himself away in his dilapidated and ‘bohemian’ north London flat. The sudden appearance of his brother John (Neil Maskell), with whom he has always shared a close bond, starts to bring Joe out of himself as the two visit local pubs and generally do what men do. However, an altercation one night whilst Joe and John are out drinking with some friends results in John’s murder by a notorious gang leader and his ominous band of thugs.

Joe is again cast into a downward spiral of self-doubt and fear until a man calling himself ‘Piggy’ appears on his doorstep one day, claiming to be an old school friend of John. Purporting to have his best interests at heart, Piggy devises a plan for the beleaguered Joe to get revenge on the gang who killed his beloved brother. As the programme of retribution begins to play out, Joe finds himself, under the influence of the sinister Piggy, caught in a web of violence from which he cannot escape.

Piggy, an (quite literally at one point) in-your-face take on Clockwork Orange (1971) like gang culture, is the direction, like it or not, that one would suggest modern horror films will have to take if they are to survive. In the era of post 80’s teenager-in-peril schlockers like Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and their attempted pastiche driven resurgence during the first decade of the new millennium with the Scream and Final Destination franchises, and a genre where creatures, alien or otherwise, now raise little more than a mild shudder, the horror of the disintegration of everyday, urban life is something which everyone can relate to and as a result at worst find unsettling and at best downright terrifying.

It will spoil little to reveal that Piggy‘s main focus centres on the retribution dealt upon each member of the gang by Joe and Piggy’s two man vigilante team – the said revenge which is frequently hard to watch. The more disturbing aspect and one which lasts well after the film has finished, is its depiction of Joe’s own moral breakdown and his increasing isolation from the world surrounding him, including from the love and support of his long suffering ex-girlfriend Claire (a beautifully heartfelt performance by Louise Dylan).

An unexpected double twist ending, though doing little to detract from the hard hitting and visceral violence of the film or its underlying bleak theme of urban and moral decay, makes Piggy an interesting and refreshingly original entry in a tired and increasingly directionless genre.

Expected Rating: 5 out of 10

Actual Rating:

 

Review: The Devil Inside (15) / Director: William Brent Bell / Screenplay: William Brent Bell, Matthew Peterman / Starring: Fernanda Andrade, Simon Quarterman, Even Helmuth / Release Date: Out Now

Director William Brent Bell has an obvious affection for The Exorcist (1973) unfortunately his attempts to update the premise with found footage and the spin of multiple demonic possessions doesn’t work. A contortionist, the spider walk, the use of the C word all nod to his fondness, but it certainly doesn’t live up to the quality.

The Devil Inside opens in 1989 with police footage and news coverage of a brutal trio of murders committed by Maria Rossi (Suzan Crowley) after a prayer meeting goes horribly wrong in a gory and promising prologue.  We are introduced to her daughter, Isabella Rossi (Fernanda Andrade), in 2009 as she attempts to discover the true reason behind her mother’s mental state, in the worry that it could be inherited.  Her father has passed and her mother is being held in a psychiatric hospital in Rome, Italy so she heads there with cameraman Michael Schaefer, to investigate and chronicle her quest for the truth.  Location shooting in Rome looks grand, but too much time spent idly following Isabella round the gorgeous city will have you shifting in your seat with boredom.

On arriving in Rome Isabella meets two priests who perform exorcisms not approved by the Vatican (think the Spectral Sightings duo in Insidious but with all the fun taken out). Father Ben Rawlings (Simon Quarterman) and Father David Keane’s (Evan Helmuth) side operation moves the story along as they agree to help Isabella in getting to the bottom of her mother’s condition but the characters were not fleshed out enough and their acting didn’t feel natural or reactive enough for the found footage perspective.

Crowley does a good evil Susan Sarandon impression and Ray Winstone style cockney accent when an exorcism is attempted on her and her bulging eyes are fascinating to watch but the scene unfortunately lacks any tension. Another exorcism scene features body contortionist, Bonnie Morgan, and it is a spectacle worth seeing. Unfortunately the film has serious pacing issues in the lead up to the exorcisms, it wastes a lot of time mumbling about the catholic tradition of exorcism, and uses lazy scares like dogs barking loudly to try and make you jump in the meantime. The religious aspect is obviously important in this film, and as Isabella is making her documentary, she walks in on an exorcism class that gives you all the information you need for the set-up of this film.  The filmmakers attempt to utilise the documentary style of the film with conversations in cafes and apartments could have been cut for faster pacing.

This is low budget horror at its worst, instead of playing with ideas or building on a good idea in a creative way, the filmmakers have chosen to rehash the limited exorcism tropes that have been seen too many times now.

After The Last Exorcism played out so nicely and effectively with some inventive ideas The Devil Inside takes the obvious, less challenging route and makes for disappointing viewing.  The premise was promising as was the opening scene but they missed every opportunity to do anything clever with it.

Expected rating: 5 out of 10

Actual rating:

Review: Strippers vs. Werewolves / Director: Jonathan Glendening / Screenplay: Pat Higgins, Philip Barron / Starring: Adele Silva, Robert Englund, Billy Murray, Martin Kemp, Ali Bastian, Steven Berkoff / Release date: April 27th

Strippers vs. Werewolves, as its title suggests, sets out as a deliberate piece of grindhouse cinema. It’s basically girls with guns against lycanthropes. Nothing wrong with that, I reckon. Strippers vs. Werewolves is meant as an unassuming romp – a bit of sleazy fun, which, for the most part, it is. The problem is that it should be more fun. Like too many independent British films, Strippers vs. Werewolves suffers from a weak script (by Pat Higgins and Philip Barron) and that makes it drag all too often when it should be flying.

When stripper, Justice (Adele Silva) is attacked by a werewolf punter, Mickey, (Martin Kemp) at the Silverdollarz strip club, she defends herself by stabbing him in the eye with a silver pen, killing him instantly. Club boss Jeannette (Sarah Douglas) orders the body disposed of, but it turns out that Mickey belonged to a bloodthirsty pack of werewolves led by the charming and vicious Jack Ferris (played by Billy Murray). Jack orders his pack to hunt down Mickey’s killers and exact bloody vengeance, but the werewolves haven’t counted on the resilience of the strippers, who band together to defend themselves and maybe exact some vengeance of their own.

Adele Silva gives an appealing performance as Justice, the sweet natured stripper who discovers her own mettle when she inadvertently catches the lycanthropy curse from fiancé, Scott (Martin Compston), whom she doesn’t realise is second in command to wolf man Jack. Quite endearing, too are Barbara Nedeljakova and Ali Bastian as Justice’s side-kicks, Raven and Dani, both of whom have boyfriend problems of their own. The three of them together make quite a team, and are more than a match for the hapless werewolves.

The problem is that Strippers vs. Werewolves really only gets on its paws in the final reel – for the showdown between the Strippers and the Werewolves, where the girls get to kick some ass and shoot some guns. The final ten minutes fulfil the promise of the title in all its grindhouse glory, but viewers may find getting to it a bit of a chore.

The werewolf gang, it has to be said, are not up to much. They’re a pretty crass bunch (including a mohawk-headed punk and a masturbating man-child) and not all that convincing as the gang of cockney criminals which they are partly meant to be. Strippers vs. Werewolves, I’m afraid, also tries to draw on the Lock Stock gang thriller – the type of which we thought we had seen the last of ten years ago. The casting of Billy Murray (best known as crime boss Johnny Allen in EastEnders) adds to this attempt at genre-cross over. There are also the usual Guy Richie-esque stylistic clichés such as freeze frames on characters as they are introduced with a subtitle giving their name. This presumably attempts to make up for the lack of any real characterisation of the gang members.

Alongside Martin Kemp there is a whole raft of cameos from the likes of Steven Berkoff, Lysette Anthony and Alan Ford. Robert Englund gets star billing as imprisoned alpha wolf, Tapper, but is only in one scene. These cameos are obviously meant to improve the film’s marquee value but, unfortunately, also add to the mish-mash, as the focus is all too often taken off the main story in order to accommodate the cameos.

Director Jonathan Glendening does his best to marshal the elements and injects a bit of vitality into the flagging script with some winning stylistic flourishes. Sometimes he goes overboard with the split screen and the comic book-type graphics but he is a director to watch.

If you can make it to the showdown you will enjoy seeing the girls kick some hairy werewolf butt, as I did. Silva, Nedeljakova and Bastian make it worth staying for. A sequel with these three in it please (Strippers vs. Vampires, anyone?). Oh, and a better script.

Review: The Divide (18) / Director: Xavier Gens / Screenplay: Karl Mueller, Eron Sheean / Starring: Lauren German, Michael Biehn, Milo Ventimiglia  / Release Date: April 20th

The Divide, the new apocalyptic horror thriller from director Xavier Gens, is both shocking and disappointing in equal measures. Though harrowing enough to have apparently made some people walk out of a recent FrightFest screening, the film never quite manages to live up to all the hype.

When the long anticipated nuclear bomb eventually hits a present day New York, eight disparate people find themselves taking shelter within the warren-like basement beneath their mid-town apartment block. With it clear that they will not be able to venture outside anytime soon, the boundaries between civility and base animal instinct become blurred and the true nature of each individual comes to the fore.

Then they hear the bang from the other-side of the heavy iron door which separates them from what has become an unknown and alien world outside…

Though The Divide has all the ingredients for wham-bam, in-your-face Horror/Sci-fi, it fails to use them to the best effect. It has so many varying elements that ultimately it fails to make good use of any, whether that be the nuclear fallout, sociological breakdown or a strange governmental scientific experiment angle which is tantalisingly thrown in but never brought to full fruition.

Ultimately, like its characters, The Divide reverts to a base level and proves true to the old adage, ‘united we stand, divided we fall’! Foregoing the initial promising premise of the group battling collectively with an unknown entity, the film falters when it instead opts for an ensuing battle for survival between the individuals themselves, culminating in a two hour, nauseating schlock-fest. Everything from amputation to beating and burning is here with some off-screen mutilation with a blunt axe thrown in for good measure, resulting in what is little-more-than cringe inducing torture porn.

Having said this, the film is not without its redeeming features. Beautifully shot, cinematographer Laurent Barès gives the proceedings a suitably claustrophobic atmosphere, whilst writers Karl Mueller and Eron Sheean capture the breakdown of each individual with sharp and, one would imagine given the circumstances, authentically acerbic dialogue.

However these said points in the film’s favour are diluted by the lack of any real depth or personality given to the cast. Except in a couple of instances (the proceedings are lent some degree of gravitas by the presence of Hollywood stalwarts Michael Biehn and Rosanna Arquette), the viewer is provided with next to no background on the individual characters, which might have made their plight and the extremes to which they are ultimately pushed to, if not palatable, at least understandable.

One can’t help but feel after having watched The Divide that it would be better to go out with the apocalyptic bang than wait around for the aftermath if a nuclear war ever does take place.

Review: The Cabin in the Woods (15) / Director: Drew Goddard / Screenplay: Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard / Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Fran Kranz, Kristen Connolly, Anna Hutchinson, Brian White,  Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, Amy Acker / Release Date: 13th April

The expectation for The Cabin in the Woods is considerably high. When you factor in that this was supposed to come out in early 2010, stars a pre-Thor Chris Hemsworth and has a closely guarded secret of a plot concocted by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, then you couldn’t be blamed for raising your expectations through the roof.

It makes us very happy to say that the wait has all been worthwhile. In fact it’s been more than worthwhile, it’s been necessary. Not just because The Cabin in the Woods had to find a home whilst MGM got itself back on its feet but also because this mythical status will guarantee it an audience now. Luckily the film is so good that positive word of mouth will surely take care of the rest.

Whedon and Goddard’s brilliant genre deconstruction begins the way that most of these things do. We get to meet our victims; the hunky jock, the slut, the mousey virgin, the sensitive hunk and the stoner are all present and correct. However once the hunky jock breaks rank and recommends a book to the mousey virgin it’s clear that this film is very self-aware, but without being smug. The friends head to the titular cabin in the woods for their weekend of fun and of course run into the creepy old gas station attendant on the way. The cabin looks identical to the one in The Evil Dead, has the same geography, cellar and everything, so this should tell you where we are headed. Once at the cabin they begin to party and act as most teenagers do in these films, but is it something more? Are they acting this way for a reason?

Whedon and Goddard’s screenplay slowly drip feeds you information, just when you think you have it all figured out something else comes into play turning things on their head. If you have seen the trailer and complained that it gives away too much (a criticism we’ve heard from some) then trust us when we say – you’ve seen nothing yet. As much as we want to talk about this movie in great detail, we feel that we can’t – there is so much here that is best enjoyed going in as cold as you can. The film has the ironic Meta aspects that were employed by the first Scream film as well as the recent Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon but it is never a spoof. The cleverness is intrical to the plot in ways that cannot be explained without giving too much away. To sum it up in some kind of spoiler free fashion, The Cabin in the Woods feels very much like a film that celebrates all the trends and bogeymen in horror over the last 100 years and presents it to you in one hilarious, blood-soaked package.

For long-time fans of Joss Whedon, the man has lost none of his talent for a quip or a laugh out loud line of dialogue. He also finds time to bring along some of his old cohorts such as Amy Acker, Tom Lenk and Fran Kranz. Kranz, who you might remember from the ill-fated Dollhouse, walks away as the star of the film as a stoner who has some good marijuana-induced ideas and is resilient when it comes to his choice of weapon in a fight. The rest of the young cast make their mark and deliver the brilliant dialogue perfectly. Also turning in worthy performances of note are supporting actors of some repute Bradley Whitford and Richard Jenkins. To say too much about their characters would again be a disservice but they get across the world-weary view of people who work to constant deadlines wonderfully, having many of the film’s best scenes.

Speaking of scenes, this film has some crackers. There is an elevator ride/ghost train sequence that plays out like a horror fan’s wet dream. Even if they didn’t quite have the budget to do some of the final sequences justice resulting in some dodgy CGI, you can feel the love and affection for the genre pouring through every frame and the feeling is infectious; this is definitely a film to enjoy in a large crowd. The score by David Julyan perfectly accompanies what is happening on screen and is very well judged in terms of tone and atmosphere and goes a long way to ensuring that it doesn’t tip over into crude parody.

We have a feeling that The Cabin in the Woods will one day be regarded as a classic and will get its devoted audience through word of mouth. Not just from horror fans but from the casual filmgoer too. A whole generation is set to rediscover horror because of this film in the same way that the slasher film was reborn with the release of Scream. As a horror fan you have to put up with wading through a lot of crap just to find a morsel of something original and entertaining. Films like The Cabin in the Woods make this all worthwhile. If we see a better horror film in 2012 then the year is going to be an amazing one for the genre.

Expected Rating: 7 out of 10

Actual Rating: