“The Cabin in the Woods” Review – Following a Template

I was initially compelled to watch Joss Whedon’s “The Cabin in the Woods” by an inconsequential Reddit image post featuring a scene from the movie. I probably would have seen it at some point, as I was curious when what little news about it first appeared, even though I still knew very little about the actual movie to completely draw me in. On the one hand, it was co-written by Joss Whedon, a well known lover of movies and comics and other geek stuff, in addition to his track record of being an imaginative writer, however the vague trailers and few paragraph information articles about the movie gave little indication of the actual plotline. Soon the knowledge of (or lack thereof) the movie even existing faded from my mind.

But on one random day, a random image on the Internet brought me back to “The Cabin in the Woods”, and I’m delighted to say I now consider it one of my favorite movies, and one of the better movies in general to be released this year. I still went into the viewing not knowing much in the line of plotline and genre, however in some initial research I learned it contained both horror and science fiction elements (two kinds of movies I enjoy). Even the few reviews I read portrayed little of what happens in the movie, and suggested that seeing it would be all the more enjoyable if you went in relatively blindfolded like I did. I would like to recommend this as well to anyone (anyone? hello?) reading this review, and while I’ll try my best to keep it as spoiler-free as possible, if you plan on seeing “The Cabin in the Woods” anytime soon please tread lightly, if at all.

The movie begins like any of the campy, so crappy its good horror movie clichés that unfortunately overlay the truly excellent and unique films in the genre with their terribly produced masses, leaving them to be the poster-children of horror movies. There’s the usual group of replaceable, branded college students going away on a spring break trip to this mysterious cabin recently purchased by one of the characters apparent cousin. The early plotline follows this same generic, almost laughable template as the roles of the stupid blonde/whore, the jock/alpha male, the new guy/mandatory ethnic character, the comic relief/pothead (because our society labels them as one in the same), and the smart, nice girl that everyone is rooting for and usually survives the horrors that obviously await are introduced respectively.

Of course this cabin just happens to be in the middle of nowhere, “off the grid” as the template fool character explains from amongst his cloud of marijuana, and of course on their way there they meet a strange, ominous character that literally screams that this little getaway to this mysterious cabin just might be a bad idea, but college kids know everything (being one, I know) and they still blindly continue their ill-fated trip, because what could possibly happen? And this entire time I’m thinking in the back of my head that I would ultimately be disappointed by this film (and for one of the few times, Joss Whedon) and was tricked into watching the overused, predictable horror sequence that thrives on fake blood and lacks any character development or even common sense. However I held firm, slightly because of my unwavering faith in Joss Whedon’s creative ability but mainly because of the very, very first scene of the movie, which focused not on the group of future cadavers but on two vanilla business-men working for an unnamed corporation, watching and waiting through hidden cameras as the kids make their way to this cabin in the woods.

Then my excitement level doubles as the scene of the RV filled with horror movie fodder makes its way through a unsuspicious dark tunnel on the unsuspicious one way, single path to the cabin road, and the camera focuses on a bird that follows them across the giant chasm between the road before and after the tunnel, then unexpectedly (well expectedly if you’ve viewed the trailers) slamming into an invisible barrier as the kids obliviously drive by, trapping them inside. Then the fun really begins, when transitions between the now sexy party cabin, soon to be bloody murder cabin and the mysterious vanilla organization gradually feeds bits and pieces of information as to their apparent connection.

Now, as much as I want to discuss what happens afterwards, I will hold my tongue in order to save the awesome realization whoever may be reading this will go through during their own viewing of “The Cabin in the Woods”. I will say that the initial horror movie cliché is only the tip of the iceberg, and the horror genre soon morphs into more of a science fiction vibe, topped off by a scene that, as a monster movie enthusiast, gave me such an exuberant amount of glee that I had to re-watch it a couple more times after.

While the ending of the movie did leave a little to be desired, even though I thought it was the right way to do it, “The Cabin in the Woods” works as an excellent satire and voices the frustrations of many a horror movie aficionado on the state of the genre. There’s this irritatingly constant assembly line of completely oblivious groups of people that aggravatingly put themselves in the positions that we know will end up in their grisly and sometimes hilarious deaths, and this movie not only puts that into the spotlight, it does it even better than the uncountable SyFy-type movies do, even though that’s the entire point of those types of films. In fact, in this movie those doomed characters actually do gain some semblance of character development in their short time on screen than any of the others do in their movies movies, and then combines it with the excellently crafted correlation with the nameless corporation we see throughout the film. Of course, Joss Whedon incorporates his own dark humor and wit, and in combination with the buckets of blood spraying and splattering everywhere gave me an odd but satisfying combination of recoil and laughter as I viewed it.

“The Cabin in the Woods” is a must see for anyone who enjoys a good horror flick, and there are many shout-outs to the leaders in both the movies and other forms of horror pop culture. It’s surprising and refreshing, actually creating a sense of faith in a higher reason for why every year we see a new group of clichés getting dismembered on screen by some otherworldly creature. “Don’t go into the basement!” we’ll scream at the screen, but the character invariably does. “Stay together!” we’ll yell as the scared, irrational characters split up to cover more ground. All of the clichés are there, and it’s nice to see them in a different light, following the template that some one – or thing – created for a higher purpose, not just to watch five idiots panic and end up getting themselves killed in an outrageous fashion. But that can be fun sometimes too.

Legend of Korra Q2 Review, Or Book 1, or First Half of Season 1, or Something Like That

Damn you, creators of “The Legend of Korra”. I had my review system all set out; four reviews of roughly six or seven episodes each, but you just had to mess it up with your announcement of 26 additional episodes. Sure, I get more Avatar, but what’s the point if you’re going to render my perfect system obsolete? But seriously, I jest. I am thrilled that “The Legend of Korra” will be getting a second season, consisting of two more books set in the Avatar universe, and if I have to reconstruct my system (Keep the current episode amount per review? Review each book? Review the second half of the first season, then the entire second? THE POSSIBILITIES) I am perfectly contented with more content. As for the second half of Book 1, Air, it makes a solid conclusion of an equally solid continuation of the series I grew to love during “The Last Airbender”, if not cursed with the lack of knowledge that Korra would be getting many more episodes than the originally planned twelve. Also, *cough* SPOILERS */cough*.

My Q2 review, or whatever I decide on naming it under my new system, starts off with a bang; the first two episodes fixing a problem I had with in my review of the first half of the book of antagonist development. We learn supposed good guy and Mako love interest Asami’s father, Hiroshi Sato, was the mastermind behind the weapons used by the Equalists, finally giving us a face to the movement and adding the additional emotional attachment with his betrayal of Asami. In addition, supposed good guy but all around douchebag Councilman Tarrlok turns out to be the son of criminal bloodbender Yakone and turns on Korra as well.

Sticking to Tarrlok’s betrayal, Korra finally is able to connect with Aang during her imprisonment to learn of the councilman’s less than respectable ancestry. It’s nice to see the gaang as adults, especially my beloved Toph, and adding a quick backstory to Tarrlok suddenly propels him to one of the more developed enemies of this new series. It also sets up the twist at the end of the book, which I will get to later. However, one thing irked me during Tarrlok’s interactions with the council; why are the other members so easily manipulated? The other three mainly faceless members seem to dislike Tenzin for some reason, as every rash and seemingly hurtful act Tarrlok proposes, while all are adamantly opposed by the obviously more poised Tenzin in this time of crisis, are unquestionably agreed upon. It does show that while benders are mainly portrayed as strong willed individuals, even those with these special powers can become idiotic puppets for others with a cleverer disposition.

In addition to these two new antagonists, we learn the full extent of Toph’s daughter Lin’s overall badassery, which, other than possibly Tenzin or Zuko if he does make an appearance, has propelled her to my favorite character of this new Avatar series. Being Toph’s daughter doesn’t hurt either. At one point, when they were searching for the supposed secret underground factory of Sato’s, I found myself yelling at the screen when Lin wasn’t using the technique of seeing with her earthbending, something Toph obviously would have taught her, when only minutes later I am given the sweet satisfaction of her nonchalantly utilizing it not just then, but multiple other times in the covered episodes. While Toph’s blindness was never a hindrance per say, I believe that Lin has become an even better earthbender than her mother with the addition of sight and learning the metalbending technique from the beginning of her training. She has a soft side as well, assisting Tenzin with protecting his family and later sacrificing herself in one of the more heart-tugging scenes of “The Legend of Korra”.

Continuing with what I observed in the first half of Book 1, the darker undertone in this series compared to “The Last Airbender” is shown even more extensively in the second half. I believe this is mainly in the fact that Amon’s mysterious power to take bending away is the closest thing we will ever get to on screen deaths in a show aired on Nickelodeon. While it is obviously not as dark as actual execution, the way bending becomes integrated in a person’s personality and way of life makes it’s sudden disappearance all the more jarring, and when Lin loses hers at a time where I was unsure if she would ever get it back forced me to let a subconscious sob escape from my throat. “The Legend of Korra” also has some even darker actions towards the end of the first book, including attempted public execution and murder/suicide, and while I still believe that “The Last Airbender” overall contained the larger number of darker elements (there was mass genocide, and I made an argument on Reddit that Azula’s descent into madness was equally as dark), in such a short span of episodes the overall tone of this series definitely surpasses the original.

Now we come to the ending, which brought up many questions and complaints during my initial viewing of it. This review has taken a longer time to write because I wanted to re-watch the episodes and properly develop my opinion on the ending, and I believe I have come to a satisfying conclusion. Before I begin, however, I must lament on the fact that the creators thought they would only have the twelve episode miniseries to work with for this storyline, for that reason in my opinion is what hindered the context of the ending. It was very powerful; the reveal of Amon as a waterbender and Tarrlok’s brother was excellent, and Korra’s short but emotional battle with losing three of her four bending abilities (she gains control of airbending after Amon takes the others away) was tear-jerking, however the entire turnaround of these events happened in too little amount of time for me to be completely content.

It would have been nice for the creators to allow for a few more episodes for this story arc, even the twenty used in the first series would have worked, and it’s even more depressing now that we know there will be forty more episodes. I have always admired how the creators were able to stuff as much intriguing content in each episode of “The Last Airbender” as possible, and they continued this trend in “The Legend of Korra”. However this is one instance where the content being distributed over a greater number of episodes would have made the experience better, in my opinion. Many things happen in the final minutes of the last episode; Korra battles with the loss of her bending, then she suddenly gains control of both her spiritual connection with the past Avatars as well as the Avatar state. Tarrlok and Amon escape, seemingly off into the sunset, but Tarrlok kills them both in a gripping scene of retribution. Korra gains the ability to give bending back, which she does for Lin in another great scene. It just seems so rushed, which is consistent with how I felt earlier on in the series, and I would have liked to have been integrated into such a rich storyline a little more slowly, to savor the moments all the better.

Another thing that I didn’t quite enjoy about the ending was the aspect of teenage love between Korra and Mako. Sure, Aang and Katara were younger when they realized they were in love, but they experienced much more together than the other two, and in defense Aang was in love with Katara at first sight. Mako just suddenly professes his love for Korra, pushing aside both Asami and Bolin’s feelings in three short words, and Korra magically accepts his love in a sappy ending fit for most of the crappy romantic movies HBO loves to show three times a day. Once again, I feel it was rushed and doesn’t seem very genuine.

One other thing I initially was skeptical about but have come to terms with was Korra’s sudden control over the Avatar state when she finally gains access to it. Aang had to go through many trials in order to be able to control it, and having Korra initially have complete control confused, and in relation, angered me. I was waiting the entire book to have the struggle with the state be involved in the story, yet the Avatar state is never mentioned before she automatically gains control of it. However after taking some time to think about it, it makes sense. Aang, being an airbender, was already connected with the spirit world, which allows for initial access to the Avatar state. However, he had yet to master all four elements. So, if mastering the elements was necessary for control of the Avatar state, then that shows why Korra was able to use it so easily, for she was always very proficient with the other three elements, just not the one necessary for connectivity with the spirit world. So I was content, if not a little disappointed that there was little mention of it beforehand.

In conclusion, while I am very happy to hear about the extension of “The Legend of Korra”, I am slightly irritated that the creators didn’t just announce all the episodes from the beginning so they would be able to distribute and evolve this storyline in the way they so masterfully did in “The Last Airbender”. It’s nice to have the addition of new storylines now that there are many more episodes planned, but it kind of leaves the whole Amon and Equalist movement partially unfulfilled with its accelerated conclusion. Many of the characters in this new series have yet to be fully developed, especially Bolin, and hopefully the creators are able to accomplish that in the forty additional episodes, as character development is one of the main reasons both series have been appealing to me. In addition, I need more General Iroh and in relation, Zuko and his daughter. BRING ME ZUKO. The knowledge for both me and the creators now of these next three books hopefully will allow for both story and character development to match and even exceed that which was in “The Last Airbender”, and I will be able one day say that this series is the perfect addition to the already fantastic Avatar universe. But not quite yet.

The Games With No Ending

You know what really grinds my gears? When you’re playing an epic adventure game, to the tune of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time or Psychonauts, then after you put so much time and effort into completing and finally defeating the final boss you realize there is no further inclination that you did complete the game. It is the bane of the game with no ending, and it has been an unfortunate thorn in my side as an adventure gamer and aspiring game designer. Video games are, in their essence, lacking much of a physical reward for completing them. You don’t get a certificate or trophy once you emerge from the final dungeon and topple the final boss, only the surge of self-satisfaction that all the hours you have selflessly poured into this environment have come down to this final accomplishment. The game should at least give some kind of in game sign that you have finished all that could be, however in my experience some of the most rewarding games have ended in mild disappointment with their lack of this type of acknowledgement. WARNING: There may be some spoilers ahead, so proceed if you dare.

The first game I recognized this trend in was one of the first I ever played. Paper Mario always will have a special place in my heart for two reasons; it was an initial compliment to the surprise gift of a Nintendo 64 from my parents those many Christmases ago, and it was one of the many games I never completed the first time through, only to return to it years later and dispatch it with not much effort. I was held back for many years from the fulfillment of defeating 2D Bowser because of that blasted endless passage in his castle, but once I embarrassingly figured out the pattern I finally defeated the Koopa King with all that pent up rage from years of frustration. Alas, my accomplishment will never be realized by anyone other than myself, for once I returned to the title screen in order to check my status, there was no mark of my achievement anywhere to be found.

The game Psychonauts gave me the next and likely the most frustrating experience in this category. An adventure game at its core, this underrated gem from Double Fine also incorporated the collect-a-thon theme that I loved so much about gaming. I figured, once I did complete the game the fun wouldn’t end, for I would be able to return to the quirky environments afterwards and finish collecting all the extra things that needed collecting, like figments and scavenger hunt items and giant floating eyeballs. However it appears that it was not meant to be, as to my dismay when trying to return to the game after defeating the chilling final boss (or bosses, depending on how you look at it), I not only was placed back in the final area before the boss, I was given no route to return to all the past levels in order to finish collecting everything. And I was sad.

Recently I finally got around to playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and even wrote a review on one of the most widely debated game levels of all time, and was horrified to find that a game that was so close to perfect in every other regard of its design included this never-ending game trend. Being in the depths of my college life, I returned to and reluctantly abandoned the game over a few years, but after my graduation I forced myself to finally finish and realize the full extent of this amazing game, and defeated Ganon. Yet there it was again, the exclusion of any display of my hard journey to this final accomplishment. I actually sat and stared at the final scene of the game (which, I might add, wasn’t too bad seeing, as it was profoundly moving) to no avail. With no end in sight, I jumped up in frustration and slammed the power button down on the N64, never to return to the game again. Well, unless I want to replay it at some point. Which I probably will. But still. NEVER AGAIN.

Last but not least of the games I can recall using this despicable design flaw, the yet again underrated Baten Kaitos had unique gameplay combining turn-based strategy gameplay with the utilization of customizable card decks. I’ll admit that of all the games on this list, the never ending aspect was not its most jarring weakness, but adding it on top of the others certainly didn’t make the game any better. It was a unique and risky attempt, which is commendable in a present day where many game companies lean towards the easy path towards development (*cough* Call of Duty *cough*), yet it still, like the other games in this article, left a bad taste in my mouth when the completion of the very difficult final boss battle will never be realized within the game in any way.

The most frustrating thing about these games with no ending is I just don’t understand why game developers decide to leave out such a seemingly easy aspect of the game. Why not in Psychonauts just retexture Raz’s clothing to look like the turtle neck and terrible hairdo he gains at the end of the game, and allow the player to travel through all the levels again to collect the rest of the items? Why not just show some sort of mark or seal in the game that clearly shows that the player has completed it, like Raz’s clothing change or just as simply as a star next to the save file? I’m not asking for a completely new section of the game, something the designers after years of development might not have the energy to add just to appease my ridiculous demands; I just want some small sign of closure in a medium that naturally doesn’t have one other than personal satisfaction.

Some games do it right, and prove even further that ending the game in the way I desire is probably one of the simplest parts of the design process. Banjo-Kazooie is one example, adding on to the endless list of reasons why it is and always shall be my favorite game. Initially, when starting the game from system shut down, no matter how far you have advanced Banjo always begins at the entrance to Grunty’s lair. This isn’t even too much of a hindrance, as her lair works as sort of a base area connecting all of the other levels, and has portals placed throughout it to transverse to the further regions of the environment. Once the player has defeated Grunty, the game goes through all of the ending procedures, returns the character to the title screen, and when beginning your game again, Banjo appears at the entrance of the lair. Now, there really isn’t a showing of the game’s completion, but the way the game is designed allows the player to explore previous parts of the game after completion, and isn’t confined to the final area with any flexibility like in Paper Mario and Baten Kaitos. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is another game does apply the display I describe, in the way that I explained before with a star next to the save file, showing that the player has completed the game and allowing for further gameplay even after the final boss was slain.

In conclusion, many of the games that I have experienced this flaw in are games that I hold dear to my heart, and it’s more depressing than frustrating that such masterpieces end in such a way. Now most modern day games do not end in such a way, or their design doesn’t allow for any kind of ending in this manner, however I still see some crop up here and there and it puzzles me to no end. There must have been some reason for the designers to allow their games to end this way, if anything just pure laziness towards the end of development, but every time I come across it the value of both the overall game and the time I put into their creation is lessened, and I wonder why they do not want me to have some kind of compensation for all my effort. I just want some closure dammit.