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boum's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
It was okay.
Real close to what I remembered of the movie. Well there was good SFX in the movie. If you've seen it or plan to, there is no point in reading the novel. Not much more information except a few names thrown in.
Meh. At least it is short and well written.
Real close to what I remembered of the movie. Well there was good SFX in the movie. If you've seen it or plan to, there is no point in reading the novel. Not much more information except a few names thrown in.
Meh. At least it is short and well written.
pat32's review
4.0
Went to see the movie in the cinema loved it and I'm just finished reading this it's a great read.
taskir's review against another edition
1.0
Even for a movie novelization, this is trash. Putting aside all the spelling errors, formatting mistakes, and uncorrected Britishisms that toss you out of the story, the author seems hellbent on complete character assassination. Every person we get to hear the inner thoughts of is a sexed-up perv, regardless of if it makes logical sense. The movie is funny and clever, playing with tropes and situations, but you'd never guess that from the novelization. It takes a smart twist on the horror genre and turns it into some sub-Christopher Pike nonsense. Skip it.
collie6's review
3.0
Gore, this book definitely delivers. I wish there was more to the back story on why the operators do what they do, and when their purpose is finally exposed it goes by too fast. You're left feeling like you need a prequel book. If you like gore/comedy books than you'll like this book.
jalyns7611's review
2.0
pretty good until the horrible ending. never really explains what the purpose was in detail and then the end is just weird.
sarah1984's review
4.0
Spoilers!
1/4 - First book of April! Yay! I remember seeing the trailer for this movie and thinking "A Joss Whedon horror movie? I HAVE to see this?" Of course I never got around to it while it was at the cinemas and it has since slipped my mind (I'm going to see if I can find it playing on Foxtel tomorrow morning). 55 pages in and I can definitely hear Whedon's voice in the dialogue; the Buffy, Angel, Firefly and Dollhouse episodes he wrote were always the funniest with the snappiest one-liners. For e.g. this conversation on p47:
"I'm switching a few courses." Dana said coolly.
"How come?" Holden asked, and then he twigged it. Oh, so slimy bastard shithead had been a lecturer?
"For no reason!" Curt blurted.
"For very good reasons that don't exist." Then he pointed. "Hey look, trees!"
As soon as I read that passage I was immediately reminded of some of Xander's hilarious attempts to diffuse tension with random exclamations.
I've seen (but never actually read) a lot of 'college kids go up to the cabin and bad things happen to all but one, or maybe two (sequels are easier if you've got a continuing character from the first movie, who you might kill early on), of the characters' type of movie. I hope this can deliver on the promise of 'something different' (although, if anyone can it'll be Whedon - he's got to be my favourite non-actor Hollywood person), it would be disappointing if this was another Cabin Fever with different character names. To be continued...
A short while later - On page 76 now and as I've been reading I've been wondering how the tech guys fit into all this. Sitterson just had a thought that forced my brain to make a mental leap: "Their whole world in my hands... Their every private moment under my scrutiny." I suddenly had the idea of what if this is The Truman Show with blood and gore? Sitterson and Hadley are sitting in a control room watching everything the kids do through pinhole cameras throughout the cabin, and the crazy guy at the gas station is in on it (he made too many hintish comments for it to all be a coincidence). That would be how he was able to pop up out of nowhere, he stepped out of an off set room like they used in The Truman Show. Only this 'show' probably isn't for public entertainment and ratings, as I assume there's going to be some hacking of limbs, slashing of throats, and shooting of heads. I just don't know why people are going to die.
Sitterson and Hadley seem like lab-coat-wearing guys, so maybe it's an experiment, some kind of drug or virus or insect that's going to be let loose in the environment around the cabin and it either kills everyone or turns them into killers themselves. And that's why they needed to pass through an electrified barrier, it stops the contaminant from getting out into the general population... one of my wild theories :) To be continued...
30 seconds and 1/2 a page later - I swear that when I made that guess, I had only read Sitterson's thought (documented above), I hadn't read any further down the page before making the update. When I did continue reading, after writing my previous update, and I saw part of my theory (and a pretty wild theory at that) had been confirmed so quickly I was pretty shocked, especially since I often have wild theories and they're not often right. Just to add a bit more to my theories, I have also been contemplating the likelihood of experimentation in a new type of chemical warfare. To be continued...
Later - Well that's a surprise...
Mother is halfway through the one-way mirror - head and one leg through - this is a perfect time to grab her by the chin and back of her head and snap her neck (and then rip it off just in case). Instead Holden and Dana just watch and hope she doesn't get through before they can escape down to the basement (although it'll only be a temporary escape as, if they aren't able to take this chance to kill a, they'll never manage it in more difficult circumstances).
2/4 - Well, that ending was certainly different, hint:
The back story to why the cabin in the woods was being operated was different, much more sophisticated and organised than the usual story. I was also pleasantly surprised by the explanation of why such stereotypical characters were chosen - jock, whore, virgin, fool, and scholar - just like in the traditional horror movies. I thought Whedon was losing his touch a bit with such obvious character choices, but it gets (mostly) explained at the end. The Cabin in the Woods started out feeling like 'same old, same old' as any other movie (well, book) in the horror genre, but in the end it turned out quite different. I continue to love Joss Whedon and look forward to seeing this as a movie.
*Update* - I now have this planned to tape on Foxtel, but not till the 14th, so I have a bit of a wait before I see it.
1/4 - First book of April! Yay! I remember seeing the trailer for this movie and thinking "A Joss Whedon horror movie? I HAVE to see this?" Of course I never got around to it while it was at the cinemas and it has since slipped my mind (I'm going to see if I can find it playing on Foxtel tomorrow morning). 55 pages in and I can definitely hear Whedon's voice in the dialogue; the Buffy, Angel, Firefly and Dollhouse episodes he wrote were always the funniest with the snappiest one-liners. For e.g. this conversation on p47:
"I'm switching a few courses." Dana said coolly.
"How come?" Holden asked, and then he twigged it. Oh, so slimy bastard shithead had been a lecturer?
"For no reason!" Curt blurted.
"For very good reasons that don't exist." Then he pointed. "Hey look, trees!"
As soon as I read that passage I was immediately reminded of some of Xander's hilarious attempts to diffuse tension with random exclamations.
I've seen (but never actually read) a lot of 'college kids go up to the cabin and bad things happen to all but one, or maybe two (sequels are easier if you've got a continuing character from the first movie, who you might kill early on), of the characters' type of movie. I hope this can deliver on the promise of 'something different' (although, if anyone can it'll be Whedon - he's got to be my favourite non-actor Hollywood person), it would be disappointing if this was another Cabin Fever with different character names. To be continued...
A short while later - On page 76 now and as I've been reading I've been wondering how the tech guys fit into all this. Sitterson just had a thought that forced my brain to make a mental leap: "Their whole world in my hands... Their every private moment under my scrutiny." I suddenly had the idea of what if this is The Truman Show with blood and gore? Sitterson and Hadley are sitting in a control room watching everything the kids do through pinhole cameras throughout the cabin, and the crazy guy at the gas station is in on it (he made too many hintish comments for it to all be a coincidence). That would be how he was able to pop up out of nowhere, he stepped out of an off set room like they used in The Truman Show. Only this 'show' probably isn't for public entertainment and ratings, as I assume there's going to be some hacking of limbs, slashing of throats, and shooting of heads. I just don't know why people are going to die.
Sitterson and Hadley seem like lab-coat-wearing guys, so maybe it's an experiment, some kind of drug or virus or insect that's going to be let loose in the environment around the cabin and it either kills everyone or turns them into killers themselves. And that's why they needed to pass through an electrified barrier, it stops the contaminant from getting out into the general population... one of my wild theories :) To be continued...
30 seconds and 1/2 a page later -
Spoiler
Okay, so I got the part about Sitterson and Hadley sitting in a control room watching the surveillance cameras that fill the house right, spookily right.Later - Well that's a surprise...
Spoiler
zombies brought about by a Latin inscription in a hundred-year-old diary.Mother is halfway through the one-way mirror - head and one leg through - this is a perfect time to grab her by the chin and back of her head and snap her neck (and then rip it off just in case). Instead Holden and Dana just watch and hope she doesn't get through before they can escape down to the basement (although it'll only be a temporary escape as, if they aren't able to take this chance to kill a
Spoiler
zombie2/4 - Well, that ending was certainly different, hint:
Spoiler
no one survives (and I mean no one). I had it pretty close with my guess of a Truman Show kind of thing, but I assumed that it wouldn't be a true reality show because then you'd need an audience willing to watch people getting slaughtered by nightmares come to life. Obviously, I assumed wrong because it seems that the whole complement of staff behind the cameras are happy to bet on which monster would be 'chosen' by the unsuspecting guests of the Bruckner place, knowing full well what would happen after the monster was chosen and had arisen. I guess people will gamble on anything.The back story to why the cabin in the woods was being operated was different, much more sophisticated and organised than the usual story. I was also pleasantly surprised by the explanation of why such stereotypical characters were chosen - jock, whore, virgin, fool, and scholar - just like in the traditional horror movies. I thought Whedon was losing his touch a bit with such obvious character choices, but it gets (mostly) explained at the end. The Cabin in the Woods started out feeling like 'same old, same old' as any other movie (well, book) in the horror genre, but in the end it turned out quite different. I continue to love Joss Whedon and look forward to seeing this as a movie.
*Update* - I now have this planned to tape on Foxtel, but not till the 14th, so I have a bit of a wait before I see it.
octavia_cade's review
2.0
Yeah, this isn't great. To be fair, I didn't think the film was that good either, so it would have been expecting a lot for the book to be an improvement on the source material. I just couldn't take it seriously, and characterisation in both media was paper thin. It also doesn't help that I have very little time for Lovecraftian giant monsters in general, and it's a rare author who can get me to care. (Lachlan Walter did it in We Call It Monster if you want a more intelligent look at the subject.) I end this particular story wondering why they just didn't drop a nuke down the hole, but if there's an in-universe reason why not no-one ever bothered to give it.
The book does get an extra star for the creepy description of the different types of elevator monsters, and for the lovely little Japanese schoolgirls who buggered up their sacrifice by being gentle and loving to their creepy ghost. I honestly think I'd rather have read a book about that...
The book does get an extra star for the creepy description of the different types of elevator monsters, and for the lovely little Japanese schoolgirls who buggered up their sacrifice by being gentle and loving to their creepy ghost. I honestly think I'd rather have read a book about that...
som's review
5.0
EXCELLENT BOOK i finished it in about 5 days and that was me actively trying not to finish it all in one sitting, so captivating and enticing and all the descriptions were done in such detail, only thing i might say is there was kindd of a cliffhanger at the end wish the book would have lasted longer! maybe its like that in the movie i have no idea i haven't seen it lmao
goodvibesgoodbooks's review
3.0
Ohhh my friends, whatever you do. Do NOT pick this book off of your shelf at 5pm, because you will read, and be terrified and have nightmares the second you fall asleep. Once you pick this book up.. you will be transported, to this terrible cruel world of manipulation, deception, sacrifice, and slaughter.. But you will not be able to put it down. It’s as if only your reading is going to save them.. at least that is what will be going through your mind after the first few pages. Everything about this novelization of the thriller/gore movie.. is.. twisted. That is the only word I see fitting. It’s scary, detailed (kinda gross,) mind boggling and every second of it you want to scream out to, or at someone.