by Drew Goddard with Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth and Anna Hutchison
In 1957 when the movie Witness for the Prosecution with Tyrone Power and Marlene Dietrich came out, the studio started a campaign to dissuade anyone who saw it, or was about to see it, to reveal the ending, and also during the final credits an off-screen voice demands not to say anything about the final twist.
Nowadays it’s hard to keep scripts and stories secret, but if I had one movie to choose – after the Sixth Sense or…Armageddon – worth to keep its ending a secret, that would be The Cabin in the Woods.
Drew Goddard, with the help of his writing companion Joss Whedon, creates an intriguing and original story for his first feature film to direct. Every time directors or actors are asked how hard it is to invent and build something never-seen before or at least something fresh and innovative, the answer is always evasive or of resignation, due to the fact that many milestones have been already created and many clichés are already in the minds of generations of moviegoers. And yet, The Cabin in the Woods manages to deliver a stunningly original story, but always based on the lesson learned so far. The director takes all the previous stereotypes and clichés and puts them into a blender, together with elements from different legends and cultures, and what comes out is something I don’t want to spoil!
The very first sequence of the movie, before the title’s vintage appearance, does not have anything to do with cabins, woods or young lads ready for a relaxing weekend, and for the first half nothing really makes much sense, but then a slow crescendo will keep everyone’s eyes glued to the screen. Yes, there are gory scenes, yes, there are chopped limbs and heads, but that is not the point. Really.
The Cabin the the Woods relies on the strength and innovative power of the script and not as much on the protagonists’ shoulders. Shot in 2009 and shelved for some reason until 2912, the movie exploits the recent fame of a younger and hammerless Chris Hemsworth, but the rest of the cast is made of good actors who enjoy being in this little big horror film that changes fundamentally the rules of horror without delegitimizing its predecessors. And like some of its predecessors, The Cabin in the Woods plays also on metaphors, allegory and symbols to let the audience relate and think: are we really so accustomed and anesthetized by violence? Are we really so in need of controlling and spying on anybody with an insatiable big-brother crave? Or are we so scared of being left without answers that we willingly submit to any imposed creed or religion?
Tyrone Power was not guilty. Or was he?
