>Interesting premise, and the execution was fine for the most
>part, but I thought it dragged in a few spots
>
>Can't really comment on the kids, since they were mostly
>cyphers, except to say that the stoner kid got off a couple of
>good lines
>
>Can't say I saw the "ancients = the audience" thing, in part
>because that would be a pretty shitty "fuck you" coming from
>the writer/director of one of the summer's bigger tentpoles,
>not to mention created one of the more celebrated TV shows
>that gleefully twisted and played with genre convention.
>
>I can see Whedon saying that he's just poking fun at
>horror/sci-fi movie conventions, as well as our expectations,
>but the other interpretation just seems too mean and cynical
>coming from him, even though this movie is actually a black
>comedy more than anything else.
>
>Anyway, the "veteran, non-spoiler" leads were okay.
>
>It wasn't terrible, I had fun with it, but in the midst of all
>of the deconstruction it felt like something... more was
>missing...
>

I'm with you here...I felt like, to me, something was missing. I don't know what it was but it felt like Whedon and company were going to go somewhere with all of this...but backed off at the last minute because they weren't sure or maybe even trusted themselves.

I don't know.

I dug it...it's so *NOT* one of the better horror films out...better than what has come out in a while though...

but Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford are *FUCKING* rockstars! LOL! and Whitford's death...the audience fucking hollared at that.

but, it was a nice play on the archetypes/tropes of horror movies.

and shout out to Whedon for putting all of his regulars in the movies: Acker, Kanz, Lenk, etc. I was waiting for Buffy to pop out of nowhere and slay some beasts only to get eaten alive by one of the monsters for real