‘Cabin Tales’ is a low-budget horror film that follows a trio of friends exchanging scary stories as they stay at a cabin in the woods, eventually ending up in a tale of terror of their own.
The film comprises of a number of vignettes, the titular ‘Cabin Tales’ that are exchanged by the group of friends, Kylie, Dean and Andy, tying the film together. At it’s short 42 minute runtime, the movie manages to squeeze in five different tales, each focusing on a different cast of characters and a different horror tale.
All with a different tone and execution, the separate sketches vary in terms of ingenuity and originality. The opening tale, ‘Clown Face’ regales the audience of an incident where a group of guys face off against a home intruding murderer in clown get-up. Not particularly scary or original, the segment also suffers from poor editing, making for a number of unnecessary and distracting cuts, detracting from the story and leaving little to no impact in terms of suspense or horror.
Following that, ‘No Way Out’ follows James, who goes into a public restroom at a park. There James is harassed by a ghost of a woman. Trying to escape, James realises he is trapped in a loop, as he tries to leave the restroom, only to end up re-entering the facilities. After succumbing to the ghosts influence, the woman is able to leave the restroom, trapping James in her stead. By far the more novel of all the vignettes, this sketch manages to ramp up the tension and delivers eerie vibes, even concluding the story of a somehow upbeat note, revealing the woman to have been trapped in the restroom since the 90’s and is now perhaps able to take control of the rest of her life.
‘Shadow’ follows on from there, where the story revolves around a house sitter. Terrified of being on her own, she calls a friend to drop by. Sensing she is not alone, she is assaulted by a shadowy figure. As the friend eventually turns up, the house sitter has been possessed by the figure and the friend is overwhelmed by the figure as well. Perhaps the shortest of all segments, this sketch contains poor execution, creating for a more confusing rather than horrifying experience.
‘Interrogation’, perhaps the longest of all episodes, focuses on a suspect as she is brought into a police station for questioning, uncovering unnerving revelations an ties to the supernatural. Seemingly the most well composed, this vignette contains the most development in terms of character aims and background. Including surprising hidden abilities and agendas, the story unfolds well in terms of pacing. Even though the end may become predictable after a certain point, the sketch retains an air of mystery about it and an intrigue towards the future of the main character.
The final segment, ‘Man In Black’ tells the tale of a couple, Amanda and Brandon, out star-gazing one night. After encountering unusual lights the couple try to leave, but experience time loss and are unable to get home. After meeting a man in black, Brandon is subdued and Amanda is abducted. Waking in the middle of a field the next day, Brandon, now dressed in a black suit, exhibits supernatural abilities and walks off into the distance. Unusual in re-telling the urban legend of men in black, where a character is shown to have been recruited to become one of them, the segment has little to no surprises in it and is let down by poor acting and execution. Creating a somewhat claustrophobic feel with the scenes set inside the car as the pair try to leave, the pacing is constantly undercut by less than committed actors.
After the final tale ends, Dean and Andy start questioning the legitimacy of everything that the group have shared. Seemingly out of nowhere, Kylie proceeds to stab the two to death, ending the film on a spliced in cut-away to a woman laughing maniacally.
‘Cabin Tales’ is a z grade movie. The film looks and feels like it was produced on a shoe-string budget, attaching unknown players and containing less than stellar editing. Even though the film itself is not a cinematic marvel, there are instances of compelling storytelling and developments that shine though as the mundane nature of the feature carries forward. With a short run-time, ‘Cabin Tales’ is not too much of a waste, as its anthology presentation does manage to deliver a couple of fun urban tale revamps. Even though it’s conclusion also seems to stem from nowhere besides trying to illicit a surprise twist at the end, the feature is a curious if not well executed project.
Score: 2/4
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