The Cabin in The Woods (2011) - This Horror Gem Still Holds Up - REVIEW

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The Cabin in the Woods was released in 2011 I was not sure to watch it since it look too tech for a horror movie but damn it was such a great movie, at least in my opinion because its not that kind of horror movie that scares you to death and has some connection to reality as everything is part of a show, literally a show, and gotta say this is one of those movies that completely twist everything you think you know about how things going to happen, is not so predictable and on top its fkn funny. Writer / Director Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard did a great job with this movie coming from two very very creative minds, this movie takes all those horror cliche we have grown tired of and turns them into a fresh and exciting title. Shot back in 2009, the movie was stuck in limbo over MGM’s money problems, but honestly might have worked out for the best since Chris Hemsworth became a bigger star during that waiting period, something that work in favor of Lionsgate.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1259521/
• Platform: AppleTV+

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It’s a story that starts off being your typical horror scenario, a very classic bunch of college kids going to a remote cabin for a weekend, the moment they arrive something is different. These two ordinary looking guys, Sitterson and Hadley, are talking about their weekend plans like they’re in some boring office comedy and we open with them in some high tech facility. Then all of the sudden they're actually orchestrating and directing this whole horror show about to unfold. Dana "the supposed virgin", Jules "the blonde", Curt "the joker", Holden "the brains", Marty "the stoner", this hole group is hilarious. It’s interesting how they get together this lineup of stereotypes to make everything play out.

What made this movie really genius was how it played with my expectations of how things could unfold after each scene when "the show" kicks off, the point is that they are not dumb kids making dumb decisions, these people are being manipulated by some kind of mysterious organization, reminds me a lot to Hostel (2005). The only explanation is that they are pumping the facility workers full of drugs so they act like the typical horror movie victims, which is why horror movie characters always make terrible choices. As it turns out, all of this is just part of some ancient ritual that requires young people to be sacrificed so these old gods will be happy and not destroy the world.

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One aspect of the movie is that the cast brings its A game here, way before he was Thor, Chris Hemsworth lets his charm shine, but Fran Kranz steals the show as Marty with his stoner character could have been super annoying, but he turn out hilarious and surprisingly smart in very few specific scenes, he’s actually the first one to figure out something weird is going on. Also it was obvious when Holden could see Dana like from a two way mirror. The facility guys, played by Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford, steal every scene they're in, perfectly bringing this perfect mix of workplace boredom and dark humor to their parts like its just another day in the office that its not entertaining anymore, making things even creepier because they treat organizing horrific deaths like it’s just another day at the office.

The movie doesn't have crazy scores online but I can tell it was loved by horror fans and critics too considering its rating on RottenTomatoes, but I get how might not be appealing for certain audience as it is indeed too cliche at times but that doesn't stop it from been both fun and terrifying. It's a real horror movie, it plays with genre conventions, but not in a smug way that gets too self aware and it really clicks with audiences who are tired of seeing the same old horror scare jumps with that mix of horror, blood, monsters, drugs and manipulation at its best, it also doesn't have buckets of blood something I like about it or at least its not like Evil Dead Rise (2023).

I really like how the movie builds up to bigger and crazier scenes one after another, just like a horror show. It also keeps throwing curve ball one after another when you think you’ve got it figured out. All hell breaks loose towards the middle of the movie and the whole underground facility with every monster imaginable is like a horror fan's dream come true, big collection of them. I also saw some mentioning of how a lot of the effects were practical and not entirely CGI, make this horror scenes more tangible but its also clear that budget was not the strong suit of this movie as when CGI kicks in its not the best of the best, you got to take this movie for what it is.

Source Source The ending of The Cabin in the Woods is a whole bunch of stuff we have seen before in other monster movies and there is nothing new about it but its the combination of things going on that cranked up the dopamine rush. When Sigourney Weaver shows up playing the role of "The Director", she drops the mother of all bombshells as she reveals these sacrifices are happening to keep ancient gods happy and from destroying the world, I was like WTF!!. The whole thing from the facility, the monsters, even the manipulated deaths, all of it is this massive ritual that has to have specific types of characters dying in a specific order in a specific way, the hole thing is a fkn joke. The reason the ending is so wild is that Dana and Marty, our last survivors, essentially say fuck it to saving humanity as they decide to let the world burn instead of playing along with this twisted game where people need to die to keep some old gods happy. A ballsy move that totally works at least for them to save their own ass, taking the "heroes save the day" ending and turning it into something much darker, the responsible to let hell loose turning the ending into something way more interesting that for me opens the door for a second movie although it might never happen since its been too long. It’s like the movie is telling us that maybe we should stop feeding into these same old horror movie on how they constantly keep repeating and do something completely new, its the reason why now days I'm more into psychological damage movies than the good old scare jumps and blood everywhere, FPV horror shot movies are also interesting as you can see the movie from the perspective of the victim or the killer. The Cabin in The Woods (2011) is way more than your classic horror movie, its a mix of dark humor, horror and action that just works, the script and the cast felt very natural, ultra cliche that keep things very familiar but the point that it was an entire show makes it refreshing bringing something different, but I think it would be even more dramatic and interesting if there was like an actual audience for the entire show and not just the staff directing and controlling how things happen.

The movie turns funny, scary and a bit provocative to criticize classic horror movies, which is pretty rare for most movie on the same genre. The movie does have its flaws, such as some mediocre CGI and a slightly rushed script, it’s definitely worth watching even if you’re a horror fan or not.

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