It's really quite hard to write about The Cabin in the Woods without spoiling certain aspects of the narrative. After all, much of the film's best moments come after the various twists and turns, leaving little room for spoiler-free discussion. In an effort to keep you free of spoilers, I'll skip over any juicy plot details here.
But know this – The Cabin in the Woods is not some generic run-of-the-mill horror film. It was largely advertised that way, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Rather, The Cabin in the Woods is a horror-comedy akin to something like Scream, by way of Evil Dead. In fact, on some levels, it plays perfectly as a re-imagining of Evil Dead, but with one big, hilariously awesome twist.
Produced and co-written by Avengers-alum Joss Whedon and Lost-alum Drew Goddard (who directed and co-wrote the film), Cabin is a film that both mocks and pays homage to the horror genre, specifically films from the late '70s, '80s and early '90s. Like Scream, the film plays mostly serious, with winks every now and then to the film's more humorous undercoat. With a terrific cast in tow (including Chris Hemsworth, Fran Kranz, Kristen Connolly, Bradley Whitford and Richard Jenkins), solid direction keeping things fun, gory and atmospheric, and sharp writing that adds a heavy dose of humor, Cabin in the Woods is a wild ride. It's a kitchen sink picture, where anything and everything goes
Underneath the sly horror and gaggle of laughs, though, there's also a stinging sociopolitical subtext – a commentary on the current political climate, perhaps, where politicians are forced to adhere to archaic doctrine, fearing the wrath of some beast below. While the film's subtext is certainly subtle, and tucked beneath plenty of gore, mayhem and goofy comedy, it's certainly there – and it's one of the better political commentaries of the past few years.
The Cabin in the Woods is a strange beast. Advertised like it was some crummy remake, with some of the best twists spoiled in the trailers, The Cabin in the Woods only half-found its audience in theaters, and ended up polarizing some genre fans. But if you've dug Joss Whedon's previous work, or you love a good horror-comedy – by all means, check out The Cabin in the Woods now that it's come to video. The film is nothing short of brilliant.
Lionsgate Home Entertaining brings The Cabin in the Woods to Blu-ray, complete with a Digital Copy and UltraViolet copy. The film is presented on Blu-ray in 1080p/AVC, mixed in 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio.
No surprises here – the transfer and audio are absolutely outstanding. The encode yields a sharp palette rich with depth, inky blacks, perfect shadows, spot-on flesh tones and plenty of texture. No major distortions or compression was noticed on the transfer whatsoever. Blacks do tend to bleed just a little bit, but it's never very distracting. The film's somewhat soft cinematography also flattens the image every now and then, but on some levels that just adds to the film's somewhat intentionally dated feel.
The disc's 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix is designed to impress, and impress it most certainly does. Layered with creepy atmosphere, the mix has all the makings of a reference horror soundtrack, but also packs a punch during the film's “action” set pieces as well. With booming bass, aggressive surround cues and a clean, crisp center channel driving most of the dialogue, this track delivers a rousing, eerie mix that easily ranks among the very best of the year.
Extras for this film are pretty awesome, too. Fans are treated to a delightful commentary with Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, who amusingly walk you through the film's tumultuous production history and long road to release. If you know anything about these guys, you'll know that they're movie geeks as much as they are filmmakers and writers, so expect a lively, funny and honest track you'll probably want to revisit a few times.
The disc also includes a picture-in-picture mode. While not as fun or informative as the commentary, it's a solid supplement that's well worth at least one play-through. Next up, there's six making-of featurettes, totaling roughly 100 minutes, presented in HD. There's a standard making-of featurette, a downright awesome Q&A from Wonder-Con, and a few featurettes about the film's production design, visual effects and props.
Concluding the set is a series of trailers, as well as the film's original theatrical trailer. Unfortunately, the disc does not include any deleted scenes. It would have been awesome to see what didn't make the cut, especially toward the final act.
Cabin in the Woods might have somewhat polarized genre fans when it hit theaters a few months back, but the film is sure to continue to find its audience now that it's come to Blu-ray. And with good reason. The film is great, the presentation looks fantastic and extras are pretty kickass.
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