Movie Review: The Cabin in the Woods

Daniel Drop

13 years ago

“You think you know the story;” it’s one you think you’ve seen dozens of times (Friday the 13^th, Cabin fever, Evil Dead, etc.), but it’s not. It’s really not. When this movie was first brought to my attention I was anything but curious, then I heard that Joss Whedon was involved, and my curiosity level raised just enough for me to investigate, and after having viewed a few trailers and clips, my curiosity exploded into a full blown need to see what lies beneath The Cabin in the Woods.

I won’t lie to you and say this movie isn’t full of clichés, familiar archetypes, and plot devices; because the movie is not only full of them, it’s dependent on them, and it never stops reminding you of it. But, unlike any of the typical college “slasher” flicks, all that is cliché has a purpose, and it pokes fun at itself and the fact that these elements are present. Yet, this is not done in a Scary Movie way, where everything is exaggerated and foolish, it merely acknowledges the fact that yes, what is happening has been done before many times and will happen again, in this movie and in those that will follow it.

One aspect setting this movie apart is its two intertwining stories: 1) the familiar, archetypical story about five college kids (Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, and Jesse Williams) “roughing” it for a weekend at a remote mountain cabin; 2) the other revolves around a mysterious, yet jocular and cynical, men in black/big brother-esque group (which includes Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford) watching and manipulating every move the kids make.

It is my opinion that the true element of horror comes from this group of watchers, or “puppeteers,” if you will. Because, as the movie progresses and the hopelessly oblivious group of friends fight to survive, it seems there is virtually nothing they can do to save themselves. In the normal remote cabin horror flicks, we are familiar with the dangers the protagonists face, whether it be monsters, psychopaths, zombies, etc. and we are aware of what they can do to save themselves. In this instance, however, they are not only battling an unflinching mutant monster thing, they are also battling a bored group of middle-aged men and women. There are a number of truly terrifying moments where we see the puppeteers pull the strings and instantly stifle the friend’s attempts to escape or understand their predicament. It was this aspect that intrigued me the most because I was constantly asking myself; what’s the purpose? Why do these people need to suffer? What’s beneath the cabin?

However, despite some of the horrors we the audience are privy to; the movie has some truly hilarious moments. This is especially prevalent amongst the puppeteers who, right off the bat, treat their job as a completely mundane day at the office, and are looking to spice up their routine in any way possible. They achieve this mostly by manipulating the cabin and its inhabitants.

If you are thinking this movie is a rip off of (insert whatever title you think it’s a rip off of here), you’re correct, sort of. This movie has elements of several genre’s (horror, sci-fi, comedy, drama, fantasy), and it does directly take some famous bits from some classic films, but it’s not done with malice, it’s done with an obvious sense of homage to the stories and films that inspired a truly original film. There is an old adage, “you can’t reinvent the wheel,” which is true. But, in the case of Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon’s The Cabin in the Woods, they have rotated the wheel, and given new life to a stale and worn genre(s) full of remakes and un-imaginings.

You have not seen this movie…but you should.