The Cabin in the Woods

Post by **Graham Kennedy** » Sun Apr 15, 2012 3:12 am

I've two things to say about this film.

First, it's really good. It takes a standard "kids vacation in remote cabin and find Something Nasty" plot, and it twists it in genuinely weird ways. It's been compared to Scream in that it is a very self aware horror film, but it really doesn't do it the way Scream does. It doesn't so much wink at the audience as if to say "it's all a film, really!" as it presents a story that, the way it is set up, is a straight horror story, twisted into a self aware horror movie, and which can act as a rather apt metaphor for cinematic horror itself. It's cleverly done stuff, to be sure. It's certainly one of the more original movies I have seen in years, and very highly recommended.

And second... learn as little as possible about this film before you see it. DON'T read spoilers. If you can, don't even watch the trailers - they give away more than they should! If at all possible, see this film completely cold. It's not that there is some massive surprise twist, like The Sixth Sense... there is not "twist moment" like that, but rather a gradual evolution of the story into directions that you don't - hopefully - expect. I don't claim that knowing the ending in advance will result in a colossal disappointment or ruin the movie. But it will, to a large extent, ruin the journey that you take along the way.

And as a result, I'm going to say nothing else about this film. Just see it! It deserves to be a big hit.

Jim · Post by **Jim** » Mon Apr 16, 2012 12:13 pm

Spoiler alert:

Coalition · Post by **Coalition** » Thu Apr 26, 2012 12:33 am

Anyone else see this movie? Even though it has all the tropes for the college students going for a cabin trip, there is a reason for it. It looks like a bunch of kids going on a cabin camping trip, with an organization that will run psychological tests on them, but it is actually more than that.

Some might say the betting pool is a bit much, but considering the job the people in the Organization have, letting off steam is a good idea. Plus the party at the end with the background is a bit disconcerting.

I enjoyed it, especially the big red button scene (and what came after).

Hint - Downstairs = higher ranking in organization, upstairs = lower ranking.

Merged into the existing thread

Tyyr · Post by **Tyyr** » Mon Jul 29, 2013 7:31 pm

I'd heard things about this movie, nothing spoilery, and then caught a single .gif on reddit. Turns out it was free to watch on Amazon Prime. I don't care anything about modern horror movies, formulaic torture porn for the most part. This movie though... this movie is amazing. You really have to watch it to appreciate it and you should in no way have it spoilered for you. This is the first movie in a long time that I think if I'd learned more about it I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. It's horrifying, funny, thoughtful, and has a lot to say about the horror genre.

And Joss Whedon wrote it.

Watch it, watch it tonight.

Post by **IanKennedy** » Tue Jul 30, 2013 7:08 pm

Brilliant film. I'm not sure I would have had the eagle at the start though.

Post by **Graham Kennedy** » Tue Jul 30, 2013 9:46 pm

I'm half and half on that. It really goes to what I said earlier... they could have made this so that it looked like a standard horror movie right up until the big "twist" moment when we realise that it's not that at all.

But in fact, they never even try that. Hell, the very first scene in the film is a "giveaway" scene, and those carry on all the way through the film. There is no twist moment when we're shown what's happening for real... we see the for real stuff all the way through. The eagle is just part of that.

Tyyr · Post by **Tyyr** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 1:05 pm

Removing the Eagle at the start would have let the barrier remain a secret until later. I know it's not meant to be a traditional horror movie but that doesn't mean it has to give it all away up front.

Post by **IanKennedy** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 9:19 pm

Yes, it was a little soon to show it's hand. It didn't even give us a chance to think it was standard. Still great though.

Tyyr · Post by **Tyyr** » Thu Aug 01, 2013 12:41 pm