Cabin in the Woods: Free Will

While Cabin in the Woods had many terrifying, anxiety ridden moments, one such moment of extreme discomfort was when the characters went into the basement and were looking at all the little trinkets that had seemingly been left behind by past residents. This is the scene in which, as later noted by one of the characters, they essentially chose how they died, this was the one part of the movie when the characters were given a choice as to what was to become of them. In all other parts of the movie the characters were manipulated and controlled by hormones released into the air, by remote controlled doors, and by whatever other aspects of human behavior the scientists running the show knew how to control. What makes this moment in the basement even more terrifying is the music. As the characters are looking around in the basement, fiddling with whichever object caught their eye first the music became excessively creepy and innerving, and yet the audience was still at a loss as to what terrifying thing was about to happen. Even after the Latin text is read and the monsters are brought to life it is still somewhat unclear what all the trinkets had to do with anything. And then later, you find out that each trinket was connected to one of the many monsters designed to kill the characters, making that moment in the basement even more twisted and disturbing. Ultimately the characters had a choice in how they died, this was the only real free will or decision the characters were allowed to make the entire time, and they didn’t even know that they had that choice.