The Cabin in the Woods

There is little doubt this film is the most intoxicating morsel to hit the horror circuit since Scream or at least Paranormal Activity. Cloverfield writer Drew Goddard may be a first-time director, but he has whipped up a heady concoction in which horror-movie clichés form the backbone of the film's humor and creativity. Five standard-issue college kids embark on an off-the-grid getaway. Of the girls, there's the sexually active Jules (Hutchison) and the virginal Dana (Connolly). The guys in the group are alpha jock Curt (Hemsworth); scholar Holden (Williams); and stoner Marty (Kranz). Without giving away more than the trailer, it eventually becomes clear that they are unwitting lab rats in an experiment run by unknown overseers. What's gradually revealed, however, is the experiment's global reach, its perversity and desperation, and the fact that the game is rigged. This Cabin may not be the Parthenon, but it's definitely a place to worship the gods of horror.