my thoughts on.... 'The Cabining' (an original Creepercast site review)

As with all of my reviews of the independent films that we get sent here at The Creepercast, I fully recommend that you check each and every one of them out. I am one man and this is my opinion. I've seen plenty of movies that received reviews that were the complete opposite of how I saw the film. These writers, directors, producers and actors all put a lot of time and love into these projects. They deserve to be seen and appreciate for what they are. Everyone has a dream and I fully support the people that take the time to make theirs a reality. With that being said....
Back in the day, I went to film school. Columbia College in downtown Chicago, to be exact. I had greater aspirations of making it big with my creative screenplays, living in Chicago and enjoying a life of unbridled success. While I was there, I also studied directing and producing, in an attempt to be a more well rounded film maker. During the course of my studies, I came across a lot of different ideas and concepts for screenplays. Some really good and some not so much. I myself came up with several that I look back on now and cringe and other one's that I wish I would have seen through to the end. This movie reminded me of those days. Collaborating with a partner on some projects and sometimes working on your own. It's never ceased to amaze me how some ideas seem amazing and original in the beginning, but end up just really being re-hashes of old concepts and ideas that have been seen 100 times before. Then.... just when you think the muse has died, a massive burst of inspiration hits you and you write the next great American movie. 'The Cabining' isn't the next great American movie, but it takes a fun and VERY entertaining look at the whole process, but with a very stabby twist.

'The Cabining' is the brainchild of Steve Kopera (writer/director) and David Silverman (co-writer). It stars Steve's brother, Mike Kopera as Todd. The oddly charming Bo Keister as Bruce. Angela Relucio and Melissa Mars as the lovely Mindy and Celeste. Luce Rains in a fun little turn as our potential killer Jasper. Then, from left field, we have a mystery guest star.... Mr. Richard Riehle as Sarge! The main cast is surrounded by other very talented actors and actresses who provide a strong support system and who play just as important a role as our leading men and women. The storyline feels a bit similar to some films you may have already seen, including some moments that smack of 'Tucker and Dale vs. Evil'. I am not saying that in any negative way, just an observation that made things a little distracting at times. Other than that, the story moves along at a quick pace and never makes you stop and wonder what's taking so long?!?! The murders are entertaining and frequent enough to hold even the most jaded movie goer ransom in their seat.
Our basic storyline tells us the tale of Todd and Bruce. It begins at the end, with Bruce caught in bed with a woman with a knife in her back and Todd thinking he's murdered her. After Bruce tries his best to convince Todd that he didn't do it, we suddenly flashback to before it all happened. Back to where we meet two screenwriters who are on the verge of writing the movie that will change everything for them, but they're running out of time. The money is almost gone and their screenwriting group basically told them that what they've written so far, a movie called 'Bloody Hell', is crap. They need a change and a bit of inspiration. Sarge, the man who's funding the hopes and dreams for Todd and Bruce, tells them that if they don't produce something soon.... he's going to give all of his money to Todd's cousin. Bruce gets the bright idea that if he takes his unemployment money and invests it in a trip to Shangri-La, an artists resort, everything will change. They'll write the script they've been dreaming of and everything will good again. Despite Todd's misgivings with the idea, he reluctantly goes along. Soon, their fellow artists starting dying off.... one by one. Seemingly by accident, but the police are involved soon anyway. As the bodies pile up and the accusations fly, you'll never see the twist ending coming! Or will you?

This is a great little indie horror comedy that does well to balance both things and make a lot out of a smaller budget. It has a great soundtrack and the overall sound in the movie, is done really well. Great editing and I really love the establishing shot when they get to Shangri-La, it's brilliant. There's a couple of lighting issues here and there, but you're just nit picking at that point. This is a very self aware, movie within a movie, sort of. It's fairly sharp and the dialogue is somewhat natural. I could have used slightly better performances out of our leads, but I've see some indies that were far far worse. If you have some time to kill and have access to a copy of 'The Cabining', I recommend you sit back and enjoy. This is a 3 ¼ out of 4 star movie that shows promise of bigger and better things to come from Steve Kopera, David Silverman, Mike Kopera and Bo Keister. There was genuine love in the making of this movie and it came shining through in every scene.
The last two things: 1) the character of Monroe, could have easily been played by Michael Parks 2) Stick around through the credits, for an amazing performance by Mother Acid!

If you like this, check out: 'Tucker and Dale Vs Evil', 'Detention' and 'Shaun of the Dead'