Page 20 THE VILLADOM TIMES I, II, III & IV • April 25, 2012 ‘Cabin in the Woods’ is clever and original film by Dennis Seuling Horror films have been popular with audiences, dating back to silent cinema and in the sound era since Bela Lugosi invited Renfield into his Transylvanian castle in 1931’s “Dracula.” Over the years, there have been many new monsters, slashers, and homicidal maniacs. “The Cabin in the Woods” appears at first to be yet another entry into the isolated young people in danger subgenre of the horror flick. There are plenty of familiar elements: attractive but bland leads, a remote locale, an eerie basement, bloody scenes, and stock character types. However, this movie is not from the usual mold. It is smarter and turns a basic plot into something far more. Five college kids head for a cabin where they hope to party, party, party. There’s Curt (Chris Hemsworth), the jock; Jules (Anna Hutchison), the “bad girl;” Dana (Kristen Connolly), the “good girl;” Holden (Jesse Williams), the intellectual; and Marty (Fran Kranz), the stoner. When they stop for gas, they encounter a grizzled geezer (Tim De Zarn) right out of “Deliverance,” who is not only inhospitable, but practically a human billboard heralding imminent horror. The five carry on, refusing to let this disturbing encounter spoil their weekend of planned hedonism. Acting is not the draw. Though each of the principals is adequate, they never transcend the typical horror flick standard. Only Kranz makes a real impression as the guy who makes getting stoned his life’s priority, preferring a permanent drug haze to harsh reality. Yet he is the one who rises to the challenge when things turn ugly in and near the cabin. In 1996, director Wes Craven satirized and reinvented the horror film in “Scream,” where the characters referenced popular horror flick clichés in a combination of The Waldwick Band will conclude its 2011-12 Winter Season with a concert on Sunday, May 6. The 3 p.m. performance will be held at The Village School, 100 West Prospect Street in Waldwick. Lew Archer, the band’s principal saxophonist, will be the featured performer. Archer has studied with the noted saxophone teacher Paul Cohen, and has performed with the Ridgewood Concert Band and the Teaneck Summer Band. He has appeared as a featured player on several earlier occasions with the band, soloing on the soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones. For the upcoming concert, he will perform the “Fantasia for Alto Saxophone and Band” by contemporary American composer Eric Ewazen. Archer will then switch to the baritone saxophone and join the members of the Waldwick Band Baritone Saxophone Quartet in the perfor- Waldwick Band sets performance Chris Hemsworth, Jesse Williams, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, and Kristen Connolly portray friends who share a frightening weekend in ‘The Cabin in the Woods.’ mance of Peter Schickele’s “Last Tango in Bayreuth.” The band, under the baton of Music Director Edmund A. Moderacki, will open the concert with its 2011-12 signature piece, Edwin Franko Goldman’s “Fanfare March.” Moderacki will conduct the ensemble in Gordon Jacob’s “Concerto for Band” and a suite from Howard Hanson’s “Merrymount.” The program will also include selections from “Grease” and the Gordon Jacob parody “The Barber Goes to the Devil.” Marches by John Philip Sousa, Edwin Franko Goldman, and Civil War composer Claudio S. Grafulla will also be included. The concert is free and all are welcome to attend. The band’s summer series will begin on July 10 at the Waldwick Circle Amphitheater. Additional information is available at www.waldwickband.org. genuine terror and humor. “The Cabin in the Woods” is more subtle in its approach. Director Drew Goddard adds a layer that refreshes the genre by alluding to other horror pictures or horror staples without losing sight of the central story. “The Evil Dead” is what immediately comes to mind. Both films feature a remote cabin, a mysterious book, a creepy cellar, and great danger in the heavily wooded area surrounding the cabin. There are also nods to assorted zombie films, particularly George A. Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead” franchise, Japanese horror, torture horror pictures, and “Friday the 13th.” The script of “The Cabin in the Woods,” by Goddard and Joss Whedon, is anything but predictable. The first act plays it fairly straight, though there are occasional glimpses of two men (Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford) in an ultra-modern Mission Control-type room with enough monitors, control panels, buttons, switches, and flashing lights to rival the War Room in “Dr. Strangelove.” Their function and relation to the kids in the cabin gradually unfolds. It is in the film’s second and third acts that interesting, unforeseen plot twists kick in, taking “The Cabin in the Woods” to new heights of audacity, cleverness, and gruesomeness. There is a lot more, but the movie’s surprises should not be revealed. Horror film fans will embrace this movie with affection. It is crafted with love and respect and manages to stay within the parameters of the genre while expanding its potential and being devilishly original. “The Cabin in the Woods,” rated R, references numerous horror classics, both big and small budget. It does not benefit from viewers knowing too much in advance, so don’t let anyone else spoil the fun. Experience the movie fresh.