Cabin in the Woods, The (2011)

Cabin in the Woods reminds me of nothing more than the kind of (good) fan-fiction that crops up only in long-established fandoms -- the kind that gently, affectionately mocks common tropes while still telling a good story of its own.

Not only does it drip with references to horror films new and old (my favourite is "Fornicus, Lord of Bondage and Pain"), the comic relief (Dollhouse's Fran Kranz) is also an effective audience-surrogate, the only one who realizes that acting like a character in a horror movie is crazy. If there is a downside, it's that the meta-comedy does rather defuse the horror: it's not a frightening movie, especially so because it follows the traditional Whedon pattern of puncturing every single moment of suspense with a punchline or gag.

Still, it's tremendous fun, especially the final quarter, the part when, in a normal horror film, the credits would already be rolling. It's a crying shame it didn't get the wide release it deserved.

I'm so happy at how well this has held up to repeat viewings (there's always the risk that what you enjoyed the first time was just the novelty). Just as good the fourth time as the first.