The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

The Cabin in the Woods is a heartless, hilarious, campy self-satire. It criticizes the very techniques it employs. Owing to a few extended pauses, the sound of your heart beating becomes too loud for you to bear. And then, you’re hit with jump scares that will give you convulsions. It’s a shallow and ridiculously loud piece of work. But it’s also brilliant. I was completely caught off guard.

We have two perspectives on a certain event that’s about to occur, shown in parallel. One shows us the event live- a gang of youths are heading for a cabin in the woods, where they intend to spend their weekend. They’re a generic bunch characterized by archetypes, revealed by the film-maker himself. As the emphasized title obviously suggests, there’s going to be mayhem. In all likelihood, it’ll have supernatural forces at the helm. The other point of view is from a setting similar to Eric Byer’s office in The Bourne Legacy. There’s a huge screen, an array of computers and everyone’s pleasantly buzzing around like worker bees. The cabin and the woods are controlled by a large corporation that consists of scientists and technicians. Now, don’t take all of this at face value.

Paranormal Activity (2009)

Paranormal activity is not one of those typical horror movies that give you periodic jolts but instead one that keeps you rooted to the spot with your heart clenched. It is only the grasp that tightens when you aren't fully prepared, and loosens when you're at your breaking point, just so that you can sit through it without having a heart attack.

While it awakens memories of another horror movie, it can be interpreted as trying to glimmer in the shadow of "The Blair Witch Project". It was the director's intentions. Nevertheless, it is a shadow that exceedingly towers and then insolently looks down. For its meager budget of $15,000, I personally am glad that it grossed over $100,000,000 at the box office.

Straightforward as it may be, its principal characters are played so effortlessly in the most naturalistic way, subsequently making them comprehensible. Micah and Katie, despite their idiosyncrasies, are both pleasant, likeable people. Katie's enthusiasm from the day she moves into her boyfriend, Micah's house, gradually dies down like the hope of a cynic fading away with time. The movie keeps getting more and more "freaky", a term used endlessly to describe any kind of paranormal activity that occurs in the "haunted" house. Without exempting it of its nobility, there is one trivial question I'd like to ask. Why doesn't Katie move over to the other side of the bed? Wouldn't it keep her at a safer distance from the demon? Isn't Micah the adventurous daredevil? I cease to believe that it was a deliberate goof.

This movie isn't just a must watch but must be watched alone with headphones in a dark room. But beware, once you've finished watching it, you're going to be stared at by every inanimate object from every corner in the room including the corners themselves. No, it isn't just me.

Rating- 7/10