90% The Cabin in the Woods

All Critics (184) | Top Critics (36) | Fresh (165) | Rotten (19)

And you thought you were just headed for a weekend getaway.

A horror movie embedded in a conspiracy flick embedded in another horror movie-the most inventive cabin-in-the-woods picture since The Evil Dead and the canniest genre deconstruction since Scream.

The climactic one-two punch of special-effects chaos and meta-movie chin stroking should have the fanboys trembling with delight.

"The Cabin in the Woods" gets at the story underneath the story, and the reason behind the clich?s.

If it's true that you always kill the thing you love, then horror honchos Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard have taken an ax to slasher cinema in The Cabin in the Woods and chopped it up for kindling.

Everything about "The Cabin in the Woods" is a delicious practical joke...

Whedon & Co. obviously have more fun with this genre than most people.

This horror-reality movie is extremely well-crafted. It has some humor to go with all the mayhem and the story keeps you guessing for a while.

The Cabin in the Woods revisits the formula that lets viewers feel superior (in terms of knowledge) and also anxious (because of that knowledge).

It's hard to overlook the transition from smart to smart-assed and the dispensation of credibility for a weightlessly nihilistic punchline.

... dumbass slasher-movie hokum ...

I won't be so bold as to declare 'The Cabin in the Woods' the Best Horror Movie Ever Made, but it is sort of the ultimate expression of the genre. 'Genius' is a word I'm toying with.

Veteran writer Joss Whedon and first-time director Drew Goddard deconstruct the horror genre like never before.

Unless you're a Whedon buff, wait for DVD.

Goddard and Whedon clearly achieve exactly what they set out to do, even if it is just as clearly not in line with the mass audience's expectations.

All the meticulous buildup leads to a hugely satisfying payoff. Despite all its ironic detachment, it has tons of laughs, some truly jaw-dropping moments, and a couple scenes of unexpected poignancy that make it more than a parody movie.

Not for the nervous, and possibly not for the novice horror aficionado, 'The Cabin in the Woods' is gory good fun that could easily be spoiled if I go into too much detail ... which I refuse to do.

Not for the nervous, and possibly not for the novice horror aficionado, 'The Cabin in the Woods' is gory good fun that could easily be spoiled if I go into too much detail ... which I refuse to do.

...enough unemployed characters from Whedon's failed series Dollhouse to staff every Abercrombie & Fitch in Beverly Hills.

Clever enough stuff until the computer generated monsters run amok.

really just another instalment in the live-action Scooby-Doo franchise

An absolute delight; though I will not vouch for the delight apt to be received by those not well-versed in the genre it so playfully references and mocks.

The Cabin in the Woods is the closest anyone's ever likely to get to a lighthearted stoner version of Michael Haneke's Funny Games.

Quirky and fun but not as great as it thinks it is.

like a senior thesis about the modern horror genre masquerading as a movie

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