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.
I first watched some of this movie in college, and I wish I hadn't. At the time, I thought the movie was dumb & wasn't impressed. I think current me would have enjoyed this more if I'd gone into it blind, but alas, I knew pretty much all of the twists going into my first REAL full-watch.
I think the setup for this is great-- I love the concept of them choosing their fate, the betting, etc. I'm just not sure I loved how everything came together. It seemed like every aspect of this was a bit rushed, like they could've used extra time once everyone started dying, or when the two survivors let loose all the creatures. It felt like they tried to fit too many things into the time they had and I would've preferred either more time or fewer things. This is also true of the ending, which just didn't really give me what I wanted. Maybe it's because I just watched a certain popular netflix show, but I think I would've liked this better and found it more satisfying if it leaned into the betting and was truly just human torture for entertainment or rich people betting, rather than as sacrifices to gods. idk, just as-is, it wasn't as enjoyable as i'd hope.
There are so many genres this film fits in, and fits well into. It can be considered a comedy, science fiction, or even a fantasy film of sorts. And, I would agree with the other commenters when they say this is more of a thriller than a horror film. When it started, I thought it was more of a comedy more than anything, but it quickly and efficiently got to the main meat of the film.
Although I really liked the aesthetic of the poster, I was given the expectation of something different. That said, however, I was certainly not let down by this incredible movie.
I thought it was interesting that there existed a world-wide organization set up to appease the ancient gods. Each culture they showed had a unique way of accomplishing the same goal, and Japan even appeased their god without sacrificing a bunch of kids. I found it weird that that was still considered a failure.
I had the impression, leading up until the final moment, that the wolf and admin being thrown into the pit would have counted towards the "fool" sacrifice. I suppose that was designated for one person, and the world ended up being destroyed by the creature attached to the giant arm. After that, it's very open to interpretation what happens next but I'm pretty sure it's doom. HA!
Overall, though, the cinematography was nice and the story did a good job of progressing quickly, without seeming like it was "all over the place." The genre assignment could do with some revision, though I can't pinpoint a single, specific one. Perhaps thriller? The acting was good and awesome seeing Thor in this, even if he did die rather quickly!
Review by VicenteBlockedParentSpoilers2020-05-12T00:57:26Z
The less you know about this movie, the better. It will surely surprise you and take you to a path you absolutely are not expecting.
Although it starts as super generic horror movie, in the first moment you already realize something’s up. We have all the classical elements: the strange and crazy old man, a demonic book, reckless horny young people (at least in this one the characters are in college, so we don’t have actors in their 30s playing someone who is supposedly 16-years-old) and so on.
The cast is really good! Both the young people core and the other one in the company. There’s even Sigourney Weaver in the final minutes, so cool!
Every character follows a certain stereotype, but what's interesting is that this is not how they really are. For instance, the dumb blonde is not necessarily natural blonde or even dumb, and this goes to the rest of them. They're "designated" to follow that specific role. Very clever.
My favorite characters are Dana and Marty. Kristen Connolly plays the angelical and pure protagonist who does nothing wrong and sinful — this is subverted a little throughout the movie with her not doing and saying some things you usually expect from this stereotype of a character. From Fran Kranz we get the stoned guy, he is so funny and perform so well. And the fact that he is tripping and is the only person who really knows what’s happening is hilarious.
Now about the twist, it is brilliant! We are told of a whole crazy story about why the films we’ve seen are the way they are. Why everyone is so dumb and do stupid things and make even worse decisions and much more. There’s basically a comment or a reference to pretty much every aspect of horror movies. This is a celebration of the genre and it’s done so well!
The Cabin in the Woods is led by Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon, as mega nerds as they are I didn’t expect less from them. Top notch creativity. This movie is a huge tribute to the entire horror genre. The more of these films you have watched, the more references and observations you’ll notice and love.