When five friends go to a remote cabin for a weekend break, they soon discover they have got more than they bargained for and they are all in danger.

The Cabin in the Woods is a good horror film because it knows what it is, has the usual tropes but turns them on their head. The five friends all fit the standard clichés; there’s Curt (Chris Hemsworth) the jock, Jules (Anna Hutchison) the sexy, popular one, Holden (Jesse Williams) the quiet one, Marty (Fran Kranz) the stoner, and Dana (Kristen Connolly) the good girl.

The film embraces the horror stereotypes and the fact that so many people watching it will know all the genre clichés and it does it’s best to subvert expectations. It feels both self-referential and new and intriguing. It’s equal parts weird, scary, gruesome and funny – and sometimes all those things happen at once. The script is witty and clever, with some of the best lines coming from stoner Marty, his attitude to the weird goings-on is the best.

Honestly, The Cabin in the Woods is the sort of film to watch, knowing as little as possible. It starts out as the typical five-friends-go-to-a-remote-cabin-in-the-woods horror cliché but it becomes so much more than that. It’s bonkers and fun and creepy and is well-worth a watch. 4/5.