Like Tucker and Dale, the Whedon-penned Cabin in the Woods offers an ingenious spin on the slasher movie, whereby the subgenre and all its tropes are gloriously re-contextualised. This one differs in that its (sporadic) comedy sits uneasily with the sheer novelty of the thing, but the premise is a great joy to watch unravel. Unfortunately it stops unravelling at the end of the second act, leaving one particular dangled subplot unresolved (quite possibly as a result of secondary revision), and momentum lacking. I felt the conclusion wasn’t hit home forcefully enough either, but maybe that’s just me. With a good cast playing likeable characters and a plot executed well, the flick is the kind of devilish fun you’d be scared for your teacher to find out about, for all the rules broken. Great stuff.