It’s a pretty fun horror-comedy that is dripping with ‘meta’
but isn’t too smug about it; kind of like Wes Craven’s Scream in being
self-aware and a compendium of horror film mythology. It’s also like if someone took the premises
of Eli Roth’s movies and gave them an H.P. Lovecraft twist. Director Goddard and producer Joss Whedon
were interested in commenting wryly not only on horror films and myths in
general, but more specifically on this past decade's trend of so-called
"torture porn." A group of
five high-school friends head off to the country for a weekend at a relative’s
cabin. Naturally, they are all
stereotypes who wouldn’t likely associate in real life, but this cliché is
ingeniously woven into the justification for the film’s entire plot. From the outset we see that some sort of vast
underground organization is maneuvering this perfect combination of character
types for a secret purpose. Not only that,
but it turns out there is a particular reason why these modern fables always
collect a party girl, a jock, a brain, a stoner and a shy virgin. And not only are these personae important but
the horrors we’ve cooked up in fictional stories are actually a form of
choosing the way we die. Spoilers don’t
really apply when it comes to this movie, (at least as I see it), because the
concept is revealed so early, but let it suffice to say that the Lovecraft
influence is preeminent.
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