Drew Goddard

Summary: This time around we get the single-issue story "A Beautiful Sunset" first, scripted by Joss Whedon himself, in which Buffy deals with the isolation of power, even as she gets her first face-to-face meeting with Twilight, this season's Big Bad. In the main four-part story arc, "Wolves at the Gate", the Scotland slayer HQ is attacked by a group of Japanese vampires who can turn into wolves, or fog. When they steal Buffy's scythe, she'll stop at nothing to get it back, although before show more they head to Tokyo, they'll have to enlist the help of the vampire whose powers are being used by the Japanese gang: Dracula himself.

Review: In terms of plot development, this volume is pretty simple: Bad guys steal Buffy's scythe (which... ARGH! That. Is. Not. A. SCYTHE! It is an ax. AN AX!), Buffy & Co. track them down, kick their butts, and get the scythe back. In terms of character developments, however, this volume is incredible. Buffy and Xander do most of the heavy lifting, but Willow and others get plenty of nice character moments. There's some new emotional entanglements, Buffy's usual "it's lonely at the top" angsting, and this is the moment where the seriousness of this season's Big Bad really hits home for each of the characters.

But, amidst all of the pathos and heartbreak, this volume is also literally laugh-out-loud funny. Not just a muted chuckle, either - I was roaring with laughter at some scenes (Not to give too much away, but they're in Tokyo... and Buffy's little sister isn't exactly so little anymore. Now take whatever you're imagining and multiply the funny by five.) The dialogue, the banter between characters, the snarky sarcasm and quick-cuts... everybody sounds like themselves, and they all sound like a Joss Whedon show. So, all-in-all, an excellent mix of uproariously funny, terribly sad, a few kick-ass fight scenes, a few more teasing hints about Twilight's identity and agenda, and an interesting if not particularly complex plot staring one stupid mis-named scythe. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Anyone who liked Buffy the TV show really, really needs to be reading this series. I loved No Future for You, and this installment is equally good, albeit in different ways. show less

A group of five college friends decide to spend the weekend at a remote cabin in the woods owned by a cousin of one of the group members. What they don't realize is that it's all a set-up: their every move is being watched by a group that's locked them into a cliched horror movie-like experience that's designed to kill them. The only question is how they'll all die.

I'd wanted to see this movie for ages but avoided it because the spoilers I'd looked up made it sound too gory for me. Here's show more the thing: while this does indeed have gore in it (one character gets beheaded, a few get eaten, there's an elevator room absolutely covered in blood, etc.), most of the worst moments are shot with so little lighting that it's impossible to see details. The scenes that do have decent lighting have so much going on in them that it's possible to just accept the blood but not focus on anything specific. Deaths tended to happen fairly quickly, and damage done to characters wasn't depicted as being as painful as it could have been. Ready or Not's "pulling herself up with a nail through the hole in her hand" scene was more horrible than anything in this movie, at least for me.

For a good chunk of the movie, there are basically two stories going on. First, there's the cliched horror movie that the group of college friends are in. They meet the creepy guy at the gas station, see how run-down the cabin looks, and somehow don't decide to immediately turn around and go home. The group's "dumb, sex-crazed blonde" is helped along in her role by chemicals in her hair dye, and strategic uses of gas, chemical additives, and suggestions herd everyone into the kind of dumb choices that only stereotypical horror movie characters would make.

My favorite scene was probably the one in the cellar, when the movie still had the potential to go in a bunch of different horror directions. Personally, I wish Jules had managed to put on the necklace before Dana got everyone to listen to the diary. I really like the design for the "mouth for a face" ballerina, and she'd probably have been more fun to watch than the "Zombie Redneck Torture Family." The scene I hated the most? Jules making out with the wolf head. It was both too long and very gross.

The second story, going on at the same time, involved the workers watching the college group's every move. For them, this was just another day at work. They placed bets on how the group members were going to die, and the guys were way too into Jules' stereotypical sex scene considering what was about to happen to her. Viewers only gradually learned that they weren't doing this for some kind of sick kicks - from their perspective, there was a good reason why they'd set this group up for a horrible death.

Eventually the stories merge, and the result is bloody. The ending was...an ending. I'm still not sure how I feel about it. There were a few things that could have happened, and I'm not sure any of them would have been truly satisfying, so I guess this was as good an ending as any.

Extras:

Audio commentary with Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon, "We are not who we are: the making of The Cabin in the Woods," "An army of nightmares: makeup & animatronic effects," "Primal terror: visual effects, "The secret secret stash: 'Marty's stash' and 'Hi, my name is Joss Whedon and I'll be your guide," and Wondercon Q&A. I only watched a few of the extras and was a bit sad there was no gag reel.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

A gang of Japanese vampires, using powers won from Dracula in a crooked card game, steal Buffy's magic battle axe to forge a magic spell to turn all the slayers human again. That was the ordinary stuff. The extraordinary stuff is personal; Buffy's being on the receiving end of a heavy lesbian love from Satsu, one of her lieutenants, Xander's crush on Renee, another slayer in the midst, and the return of Dracula and his oft-hilarious relationship with former manservant Xander. Speaking of show more hilarious, the morning after stuff following Satsu and Buffy's night of passion is of epic hilarity. A particularly well-done story, ending with a fine mix of tragedy and comforting warmth. show less

In the third volume of Season Eight, Buffy comes up against a group of Japanese vampires who can shapeshift and turn into fog.

This series just keeps getting better and better! Joss Whedon and Brian K. Vaughan gave us some fantastic drama in the first two story arcs; now Goddard kicks it up a notch with that other staple of the Buffyverse: humor. This was bloody hilarious. I don't often laugh aloud while I read, but portions of this book had me in stitches. I had a blast with it. So many show more pithy little comments! So much sarcasm! Both Whedon, (who penned the first issue of this arc), and Goddard know just how to use the medium to amplify their desired effect. The beats are spot on, the paneling drives the story forward and the dialogue is broken up just perfectly. It's a thing of beauty.

But of course, Goddard also gives us some heartwrenching stuff. There's so much of it, in fact, that I feel a bit awkward emphasizing the humor in this volume. When all is said and done, though, I'm gonna remember WOLVES AT THE GATE as one of those rare and wonderful Buffyverse episodes that had me in stitches.

I also remain very impressed with Jeanty's art. He's done some great stuff here; one of my favourite panels involves Buffy doing a mid-air leap onto the bad guy's back. All the characters are recognizable, too; always a good thing.

If you're a Buffy fan, I can't recommend Season Eight highly enough. You've gotta read it. Start with THE LONG WAY HOME, (effectively the season premier), move along to NO FUTURE FOR YOU, (a fantastic Faith-centric arc), then plunge into WOLVES AT THE GATE. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

(An updated version of this review is available on my blog, Stella Matutina). show less