By Melissa Antoinette Garza
A new or at least revisited trend among horror movies is combining meta writing with comedic elements. This can and has been done successfully in films like A Cabin in the Woods (2012), Shaun of the Dead (2005) and Club Dread (2004).
There are times when this method has been overused thus creating a film or in the case of Scream (1996) and Scary Movie a franchise which at best are mediocre and at worst unwatchable. There is only so much winking at the camera and being self-aware that a movie can have without alienating the audience and coming across either pretentious or just plain dumb.
The Cabining follows best friends and fellow screenwriters Todd (Mike Kopera) and Bruce (Bo Keister) who are attempting to write the next great horror movie funded by Todd’s Uncle Sarge (Richard Riehle).
The film opens with Todd walking in on Bruce his is in bed with a blonde that is apparently dead from a stab wound in the back. Bruce claims he can explain but before any understanding has been reached, the screen flashes “Two Weeks Earlier.”
Bruce brings Todd into what appears to be a Yoga class. Todd believes it to be a waste of time and wants to work on the screenplay. The duo begin to argue which gets the negative attention of the instructor who grows angry at Todd and says that the class will now face four weeks of bitter harvest. The instructor offers to remove the curse if they sign up for a different class but they both leave to start working on their screenplay.
The thoughts between the two are generic and consist of the average slasher in the woods. When they bring their work up in a screenplay writing class, pretentious students put down the piece as derivative and something that could have written in the fourth grade. Therein is the problem with the movie. The film itself seems to hate the genre that it wants to be a part of and thinks it’s smarter than the fans it wants to attract.
One could argue that A Cabin in the Woods utilized the same tactic, but that isn’t the case. In A Cabin in the Woods the creators worked to show the audience why questionable decisions were often made by the main characters in horror films (a.e. splitting up when they should stay together). The conclusion was elaborate and fun, but it never showed an outward repulsion for any aspect of the horror genre.
Another issue is that the two main characters are unlikable. Bruce is homophobic, irresponsible, and lazy. Though, Todd shows more gumption, intelligence and dedication, he still reacts poorly when his uncle thinks about investing money in the heavy metal band of a different relative rather than the screenplay. Todd even responds by calling it “my money.” Sarge gives Todd two weeks to come up with something worth investing in or he’s done and the money is going to the musicians.
Todd and Bruce decide to take their rent money and go to the Shangri-La which is basically a resort for writers and artists so they can focus and write something worth producing. There they meet the fellow guests who all begin to meet their demise in different and elaborate ways.
At least, Todd seems like he would be someone interested in horror. Bruce acts like the typical jock bro-ski which would be fine as a character in the average horror movie, but not in one as a screenwriter of horror films. He just doesn’t fit the mold.
From beginning to end, this certainly wasn’t my cup of tea. That said, it was shot well and was, for the lack of a better word, a pretty film.
Still, it lacked significant dialogue, any connection with the audience and characters to care about. Every character acted in a manner that they knew they were part of a movie and therefore it made it impossible to bond with them or the film at all. It’s ironic that so many of the criticisms of the pretentious screenplay group within the movie are the issues with the film itself.
Overall, it tried too hard to be funny. I know comedy is one of the most difficult things to write and here it was mostly painful. There wasn’t a scary or apprehensive moment in the film.
I was really hoping to enjoy this movie. I think deep within it there is a film to be made but when anything becomes too self-aware of itself, rather than breaking new ground, we get something that feels stale and awkward.
I did see the effort that was put forth it just seems that it was misplaced in the wrong areas.
Scared Stiff Rating: 3/10
The Play is a murder mystery thriller where a famous theater group in Kolkata is ravaged when the members of the group gets killed one by one in a span of one night. Only three of the members survive. The task of finding out the truth falls on one member, but the answers the member was looking for are not the answers the member will get. Will the truth kill the member or just make the member even stronger. Find out as The Play begins.
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