Hello everyone. Welcome to Day 28 of our celebration of Halloween. Whose ready for Halloween next week? Everyone have their Silver Shamrock masks so they can tune in during the spooky hour?
Tell me if you've heard this one before. A group of friends go to a cabin in the woods. Once there, shenanigans begin to ensue. It all leads to a discovery that unleashes a deadly force. Now, they must band together to survive. That sounds like Evil Dead.
Wait...it's not Evil Dead? Oh man. There's an underground installation located underneath the Cabin? Really? Huh.
Welcome to my thoughts on Cabin in the Woods from Drew Goddard.
So, Cabin in the Woods like I mentioned earlier is about 5 college friends going out to a cabin in the woods. That was the by and large the main selling point of the trailer. However, there is so much going on this film. It is a massive love letter to the horror genre. It completely smashed apart my preconceived notions of what to expect from it.
The beauty of Cabin in the Woods is how meta it is. It is a world where nothing happens by chance. Underneath the cabin, there is a group of military/private sector scientists that are manipulating the events befalling the college friends. It is just one of many different attempts at completing a ritual to appease some of the Old Gods.
While the college friends story is a typical aspect that we normally see in these movies, it's the military/private sector corporation story that is definitely my favorite. Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford are the biggest highlights as they are our lead scientists. They definitely don't take things seriously and it's not their first rodeo. It's the little things that they had to find to make this enjoyable for them. One of these little things is a betting pool of what exactly the college kids are going to be unleashing. And these aren't shallow characters - I mean look at Bradley Whitford's character's dream, he just wants to see a merman.
Thinking back on this film now, it's very clear that the military/private sector scientists are representing the filmmakers. They are trying to craft a story that will appease the 'Old Gods', but in this story - the audiences are the Old Gods. Honestly, it's something that I never really thought to much about before.
I think one of the things that makes Cabin in the Woods so special is the many many many layers the film has. Each rewatch is just another way of noticing something new. Whether it being noticing a new entry on the giant whiteboard or noticing a new monster that's hidden in the underground complex below. There is just so much going on. It never makes the film a dull watch. Plus, what other film are we going to see a stoner come out on top in the end? Or the stoner sterotype bashing zombies...sorry backwoods zombies with a collapsible bong?
Going back to the college kids, each one of them represents an archetype within the genre. Stoner (Franz Kranz), Jock (Chris Hemsworth), Ditz (Anna Hutchison), The Brain (Jesse Williams) and The Final Girl (Kristen Connolly). Yeah, each of them has a character name. However, I don't recall them. I think one of them is Dana. Each of them deliver such a fantastic performance that is just interesting to watch. And it's not just the ones that I mention - literally every actor or actress in this film does something interesting with what they are given. What's really interesting is that this was Chris Hemsworth first performance as it was filmed before Thor. Jesse Williams also would go on to become something of a bigger name on the show Grey's Anatomy - I believe. It's kinda cool to see where they would end up.
The basement where the kids find the backwoods zombie diary is also littered with so many fun different nods to horror. It literally feels like each element could have turned it into a different movie. Which when the film was released, a lot of people were hoping for a sequel. It's easy to see why because there are limitless possibilities for it. However, the film is so much better as a one-off because the meta angle can only be done once. And that's what makes this film so special is the journey of it.
Everything in this film - each of the elements work so beautifully together to craft a film that is so much fun to watch during the spooky season.
Rating: 5 out of 5.
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