I've caught some crap from other reviewers and in the forums on this site because I like a certain two films: "Thir13en Ghosts" (2001) and "Darkness Falls" (2003). I gave each one a pretty decent rating. This has made me a BAD PERSON and a TERRIBLE REVIEWER.
The high ratings that "The Cabin In The Woods" has received so far make me feel much better about myself, since this is basically a pretty mediocre movie and lots of people think it's a great work of art. It's sort of interesting in parts, but you can only plug so many homages into a single film without it feeling like it's just patched together from other people's films. I can't think of a single original scene or plot point in the whole movie.
I think what disappoints me the most is that TCITW tries to be lot more than it can be. The two other movies (see above) I mentioned are pretty small and compact films, with moderate budgets and limited aspirations. TCITW tries to be a lot more. One of the most disappointing things about TCITW is the lousy CGI. It opts for extended CGI sequences that would require a lot of work (and money) to get right. And the move doesn't get them right, or even believable. You feel like the director and producers are saying, "Isn't this a great concept to have all these classic creatures in a single scene? Too bad we didn't have the budget to make it impressive on the screen, but the idea to do it was cool."
So, I'm not saying you shouldn't watch this. Just don't expect a very scary (or impressively different) film.
BTW, I'm a massive Whedon fan.
The high ratings that "The Cabin In The Woods" has received so far make me feel much better about myself, since this is basically a pretty mediocre movie and lots of people think it's a great work of art. It's sort of interesting in parts, but you can only plug so many homages into a single film without it feeling like it's just patched together from other people's films. I can't think of a single original scene or plot point in the whole movie.
I think what disappoints me the most is that TCITW tries to be lot more than it can be. The two other movies (see above) I mentioned are pretty small and compact films, with moderate budgets and limited aspirations. TCITW tries to be a lot more. One of the most disappointing things about TCITW is the lousy CGI. It opts for extended CGI sequences that would require a lot of work (and money) to get right. And the move doesn't get them right, or even believable. You feel like the director and producers are saying, "Isn't this a great concept to have all these classic creatures in a single scene? Too bad we didn't have the budget to make it impressive on the screen, but the idea to do it was cool."
So, I'm not saying you shouldn't watch this. Just don't expect a very scary (or impressively different) film.
BTW, I'm a massive Whedon fan.