If you haven't seen The Cabin in the Woods yet, I want to reiterate what everyone says: don't look anything up before watching it. I know people have been saying this since it released, but trust me, going into this (mostly) blind made for an engaging and exciting viewing experience.
Without giving anything big away, this is an excellent deconstruction of horror/slasher movie tropes. At this point, almost everyone is familiar with the typical roles certain characters play and the underlying themes of the genre, so the twist gives the audience a fresh understanding of why those things might be the way they are while still adhering to said themes. It's a meta-meta-narrative; they stick to the tropes to the very end, even when it seems like the veil has been lifted.
I really enjoyed the writing. The A plot keeps itself feeling familiar while sprinkling a few notes of mystery throughout. And even though we've already been exposed to said mystery from the start, it still keeps you in a constant state of "what the heck is going on", letting you put the puzzle together as the events unfold. This movie would absolutely benefit from a second viewing.
But what really impresses me is the moviegoer's completely uncoordinated and unanimous movement to keep the secrets of this movie hidden. The fact is that, unless you actively go out of your way to spoil the movie for yourself, you're likely going to have a hard time getting spoilers. It's like there's an unspoken rule you must follow once you finish watching it: thou shall not spoil The Cabin in the Woods. It's fascinating, honestly.
I don't even like horror movies and slashers; most of them just seem like an excuse to watch people die in increasingly sadistic ways, and that doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. In contrast, this movie is cleverly written to be both a meta-narrative on a stereotypical horror flick while also being a decently scary movie in its own right, full of moments of thrill and dread.
Review by JonTheMantisBlockedParent2021-10-23T21:17:40Z
If you haven't seen The Cabin in the Woods yet, I want to reiterate what everyone says: don't look anything up before watching it. I know people have been saying this since it released, but trust me, going into this (mostly) blind made for an engaging and exciting viewing experience.
Without giving anything big away, this is an excellent deconstruction of horror/slasher movie tropes. At this point, almost everyone is familiar with the typical roles certain characters play and the underlying themes of the genre, so the twist gives the audience a fresh understanding of why those things might be the way they are while still adhering to said themes. It's a meta-meta-narrative; they stick to the tropes to the very end, even when it seems like the veil has been lifted.
I really enjoyed the writing. The A plot keeps itself feeling familiar while sprinkling a few notes of mystery throughout. And even though we've already been exposed to said mystery from the start, it still keeps you in a constant state of "what the heck is going on", letting you put the puzzle together as the events unfold. This movie would absolutely benefit from a second viewing.
But what really impresses me is the moviegoer's completely uncoordinated and unanimous movement to keep the secrets of this movie hidden. The fact is that, unless you actively go out of your way to spoil the movie for yourself, you're likely going to have a hard time getting spoilers. It's like there's an unspoken rule you must follow once you finish watching it: thou shall not spoil The Cabin in the Woods. It's fascinating, honestly.
I don't even like horror movies and slashers; most of them just seem like an excuse to watch people die in increasingly sadistic ways, and that doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. In contrast, this movie is cleverly written to be both a meta-narrative on a stereotypical horror flick while also being a decently scary movie in its own right, full of moments of thrill and dread.