‘Cabin in the Woods’ Screened in Austin Over the Weekend at BNAT

It is safe to say that I am clearly green with envy.  Besides the fact that Austin is home to some amazing restaurants, stores and people, the city also hosts three large events for film geeks each year. The first is SXSW.  The second being Fantastic Fest. The third and final event is Butt-Numb-A-Thon.  This final event may seem like an odd title to some, but it is a fitting name for the much-coveted geek event.  Each year, Harry Knowles (Ain’t It Cool News.com) screens films at the Alamo Drafthouse for 24 hours in honor of his birthday.  The tickets for the event always sell -out due to the fact that Harry has been known for showing a mix between classic cinema and world premieres of highly anticipated films.  This year was no different.  With a lineup that included Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, The Grey, Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol, the lucky attendees were some of the first people to witness some of these genre treats.  Yet, there is one film that was clearly the talk of the town.  It also was the audience favorite award after the 24 hour event.  After sitting on the dusty shelves for over a year, Joss Whedon’s The Cabin in the Woods was screened before an audience! It exists!  Judging by the Twitter feed of some of the people who saw the film, I think its safe to say that the film met expectations.  Here are a few comments from some in attendance.

Nordling from AICN:

I’m not going to review this movie with any length, at least, not yet.  But I will say this.  Read nothing.  See nothing, including the trailer.  Go in blind.  There are movies that it’s okay to be spoiled a little bit on.  This is not one of those movies.  THE CABIN IN THE WOODS won BNAT this year, hands down.  There are audience experiences at BNAT that I cherish more than any other.  Seeing THE LORD OF THE RINGS films for the first time.  Seeing Buster Keaton’s THE GENERAL with a live band.  To that, I’ll simply add the last 30 minutes of THE CABIN IN THE WOODS.  It’s going to be a BNAT experience that I’ll treasure forever, and simply put, this is a must-see film when it opens in April.  Because it’s probably going to be one of the most talked about genre films of the year.  Believe it.

Devin Faraci from BADASS Digest:

If Cabin came out in 2011 it would make my top ten. I’ve seen it twice now and it is a brilliant film – the anti-Scream. It’s a work of genre reconstruction; it’s funny and smart and well-made and surprising and just the epitome of why we love genre filmmaking. The crowd went wild, and rightfully so. I can’t wait to see Cabin AGAIN.

 

2012 will see the release of two anticipated genre-bending horror films: You’re Next and Cabin in the Woods.  Which one will over horror audiences more? We’ll have to see next year.

Source: AICN and Badass Digest