The brainchild of Joss Whedon, The Cabin in the Woods artfully redefines horror films in an awe–inspiring way. Cabin plays on standard horror tropes with its distinctively 80s feel, following five friends that travel to an abandoned cabin in the middle of the woods (but it's not quite as cliche as it sounds).

However, the central tenet of the movie isn’t the horror, but rather the refreshingly unique storyline and laugh–out–loud comedy. In fact, the viewer may forget Cabin’s genre until the first hardcore death (approximately half an hour into the movie). While the writing can be a bit trite at times, the movie successfully subverts the horror genre, which has steadily been declining into “torture porn” and gritty reboots as of late.

Go into this movie knowing as little about the plot as possible. No matter your stance on horror films, you won’t regret it.

4.5/5 Stars