To the writers of The Cabin In the Woods

I am totally baffled by this film. I understand the entire tongue in cheek caricature of the horror genre as a whole. I understand the clever joke of having the most typical characters spend a weekend partying in a cabin  in the woods. I get metafiction. But I don't understand how the people who wrote this film could come up with such a clever premise for a film, attract legitimate stars and make a pretty well made film but create such completely cheesy dialogue. "I'm living in a world of reefer!" Are you serious?

The Cabin in the Woods

During the film, I believe one of the characters said that the monsters were the things nightmares were made from. I think that quote seems to put this film definitely into the supernatural realm like the monsters were always there. Considering that nightmares didn’t just start happening I guess the film suggests that the monsters have existed for a very long time. To see humans be able to use the monsters and manipulate them does give humanity a sense of power over the creatures, but it’s clear that they can’t be controlled. Maybe the message of the movie is that nightmarish things are out of our control. It could be saying that no matter how strong we believe we are, nightmares will prevail or something like that.

The Cabin In The Woods

When watching this film, I couldn't help but notice all the elements that were used to make a horror film. One of the main elements I recognized was the music and sound throughout the movie. The viewers know when something is about to happen because the music is different. The sound is higher and more eerie and makes it a scary atmosphere. Another element in this movie was the camera angels. The way the camera follows certain people and when the camera angels towards something also suggests that something bad is going to happen. Overall, I think this movie was really good and the overall story is different and unique to other stories that I've seen. The ending was a little disappointing because I expected a happier ending for the two characters. I think I would only suggest this movie to horror movie lovers because I think the movie was pretty frightening.

The Cottage in the Forest

A tongue-in-cheek smörgåsbord of horror film archetypes and tropes, "The Cabin in the Woods" takes everything the viewer expects from a scary movie and shoves it down their throat. While this initially sounds terrible, the obviously intentional heavy-handedness of the film's direction serves as perfect commentary on the genre as a whole. The movie comically highlights the genre's formulaic approach to storytelling, drawing attention to both stereotypical circumstances (no escape, increased libido) and characters (athlete, whore, scholar, fool, and virgin). The clichés of horror movies are all present, which makes the genuine anxiety induced all the more impressive. Despite the constant hokiness, "The Cabin in the Woods" delivers scares and hopefully a reality check to the film industry.

The Cabin in The Woods



In the film The Cabin in The Woods, the supernatural monsters are tools used to perform the human sacrifice ritual and are controlled by other humans.  This gives a critique of whether sacrificing one for the good of many is the right way for the world to be.  The fact that the people who were controlling the rituals show that the concept 'for the better good' turned into something like a reality show so that the controllers are entertained while working.  Turning people's pain and suffering into what appears to be normal entertainment supports the character, Marty's thoughts about society taking a turn for the worse and a change is necessary.  At the end the change for humanity appears to be the complete destruction of all civilization and human life by these ancient gods. Whether or not what is left to restart the world is better than what was destroyed remains for interpretation.

Cabin in the Woods

After watching “Cabin in the Woods” in its entirety it’s hard for me to not simply discuss what a terrible movie it was. I appreciate the idea of the satirical references to common themes from horror films in the past, but I also found this film predictable and uninspired. As far as the use of cinematic techniques, sound and camera angles were heavily relied upon to create suspense. Viewers are reminded of the surveillance of the characters by the underground authorities controlling their experience by filming characters from behind. This creates a tension and feeling of being watched without their knowledge or that something/someone could sneak up on them at any time catching them by surprise. Music and sounds that start soft and crescendo to a climax when something terrifying pops out create fear and tension for the audience. I feel that if it weren't for the over-the-shoulder camera views and sudden loud noises to catch the audience by surprise there would be very little suspense or terror in this film. The blood and gore was so unrealistic it was more comical that frightening. Maybe this was the point of the movie, to show how most horror films are simply spin-offs of things that have been done before. In my opinion this just groups “Cabin in the Woods” into the same boring, repetitive horror movie genre it’s supposed to poke fun at or pay homage to. Overall I didn't find the film enjoyable or very entertaining because one was able to predict almost every twist and turn thrown into the film. I guess that is kind of the point, being that the film is commentary on overused horror tropes but I feel it makes it just as unoriginal as these films and therefore not worth watching. 

Revolt of the Monsters

I found the use of Metafiction in Cabin in the Woods interesting in that it both played to and played against the viewer’s prior conceptions of the technique. One of the most common manifestations of metafiction is ‘breaking the fourth wall’, in which a character shows a level of awareness that they are in a film (or in a play or book). It is usually played for comic effect, often pointing out plot contrivances or overused tropes. 

Cabin in the Woods plays with this idea- There is a ‘fourth wall’ present, but it is not between the audience and the film, rather it is between the two sets of characters- The sacrificial victims in the cabin and the shady organization observing them. Throughout the film, the organization are aware that they are viewing a predetermined series of events- they are in the place of the audience watching a film. When the cabin’s residents start to become aware that there is more going on than simply a trite horror story, the fourth wall shows its first signs of cracking. It is broken when Marty and Dana enter the underground facility, and completely shattered with the release of the hordes of supernatural monsters.

This idea of the audience observing a staged narrative within a film is not a new one. However, Cabin in the Woods makes use of this technique to provide an added critique of the horror genre. The film concludes with what can be read as a ‘revolt’ of monsters against the shackles of the horror genre.