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The Cabin In The Woods - The Official Movie Novelization (2012)

by Tim Lebbon(Favorite Author)

3.58 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

Horror

publisher

Titan Books

review 1: This review courtesy of topoftheheapreviews.comMovie Tie-ins have to do two things. One, they have to keep the reader interested with more than just the plot, and Two, they have to add something that the movie or game counterparts are unable to portray, so does New York Times bestselling author, Tim Lebbon do a good job of this?I started to read this book BEFORE watching the movie. I had always been interested in it, but just never had the time to sit and watch. So this review is going to be based on what I’ve read, and then we’ll do a compare and contrast.Tim Lebbon does a good job of setting up the characters here. Each character is very stereotypical of other horror movies, which is fine. The point of this is to kind of poke fun and play into previous horror st... moreereotypes. You get a feel for each person in the first 25 pages or so. You know exactly the role they are going to play, from the jock to the stoner to the introverted female.The action is well written, the blood and gore are well written, and the comedy (yes, there is a lot of comedy) is well done. The way the comedy is interwoven in the book is really kind of a stark contrast to the horrors that are going on when the characters enter in the cabin that they are going to vacation in. It balances out the chills very well.You can tell that this book was a movie first. While you get some insight and internal monologues with the characters, you get the very obvious feeling that it’s there to just try and make the characters more endearing to the reader. The problem comes in during the gory action sequences. You can’t really get good pacing with the action when the characters are having a dialogue with themselves.When compared to the movie, there isn’t much added except the extra inner monologues and characterizations. The interactions between characters are scene for scene spot on. The descriptions of the locations seen in the movie are also done very well. The images you should get in your head when reading are pretty much how they’ll look in the movie. Tim Lebbon does a fantastic job of moving the screen to the page and giving you all the thrill and chills and comedy the movie gives you. When I went back and watched the movie, while I knew what was going to happen, it was fantastic to see the images that Tim Lebbon drew for me brought to life in their original form.The Bottom Line: Novelizations are tough to do. You have to add something more than the movie can provide. However, based on the way this movie was done, and the homage it pays to horror movies, the novel isn’t not going to come across as well as the movie. There is just something about the way Joss Whedon does things that makes his vision more suitable for the big (or small) screen. That’s not to say Tim Lebbon doesn’t do a good job. The book is not without it’s merit. However, I’ve seen better work from Tim Lebbon when he’s left on his own. He can truly create some terrifying work, this one just wasn’t it. The movie is definitely better than the book. This is not a knock on Tim Lebbon though. His job was to give the reader the movie experience while providing you insights into the characters that the movie couldn’t provide. He did that very well, and the book was quite enjoyable.If you don’t have time to invest in the movie, the book does a wonderful job of providing you with exactly what you need though.
review 2: 4 stars out of 5I loved this movie, it is in fact one of my all time favorites. So instead of delving into the sheer genius of the movie, I will stick to the book. I knew the second I saw it at B&N that I had to read it. The novelization is true to the movie as you'd expect, reflecting its success. I was hoping for a closer look at the monsters, but instead was surprised by getting to know each character intimately. The book is brutal. I found myself unnerved by the violence, not because it was disgusting, but because I found myself caring more for the characters than I thought I would. I felt strange because I was hearing the character's thoughts, hopes, and fears, while objectifying and dehumanizing them in the contrasting Control Room sections of the book. Even though I knew how everything would play out I worried about the terrible fate awaiting each character because their happiness mattered to me. The book is well written, I underlined a lot. The writing style is casual and disarming, enabling it to sucker punch you in the gut. The Cabin in the Woods is the horror genre. less

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