Director: Johan Bodell

Cast: Christopher Lee Page, Caitlin Crommett, Erik Kammerland

Production Company: KW Studios

Runtime: 86 minutes

Every once in a while, it’s nice to head to a secluded location to get away from it all. But what if you could no longer leave once you got there? Director Johan Bodell considers the horrors that come with complete isolation in his film, The Cabin (2018).

In the movie, a troubled couple visits a remote cabin and soon find themselves stranded. Their only neighbour is a compulsive liar and a dangerous psychopath. Survival and escape definitely seem out of the question for this ill-fated twosome…

The couple’s constant bickering is set side by side with a scene of mutilation early in the movie. Their words are eventually drowned out by music and the sound of a chainsaw. I thought this was a great way to show that their problems are nothing compared to what may happen next.

Christopher Lee Page and Caitlin Crommett do a fine job as the distraught duo. You can see why they’re fighting so much, but they also give you glimpses into the love that brought them together in the first place. Their relationship is portrayed in a realistic fashion.

Thomas Hedengran from Faust 2.0 (2014) appears in the opening scene of the movie. He’s watching a zombie movie when he’s attacked by the film’s antagonist. The film within the film was interesting in its own right and left me wanting to see more of it.

Stories featuring a lonely cabin in the woods are a mainstay of horror cinema. The magic is in the variations. Show Yourself (2016) and Dead House (2014) have recently explored similar themes, but in very different ways. Sometimes the familiar can lead to something new…

There are a few surprises in the movie that specifically play on your expectations of the genre. I’ve heard say that there are no new stories, just new ways of telling them. That’s definitely the case here. Bodell throws in some interesting twists to keep things entertaining.

The Cabin takes us to familiar territory, but offers us new sights to see. Isolate your expectations and see what comes of it…

– John Migliore

For more information on the film, check out the links below…

Official Trailer

IMDb Page

Official Site