FSalud: Film Titles (The Cabin in the Woods)

For the Film Titles project I wanted to go for my own choice of a movie that is still critically acclaimed and at least has enough material to work off from. I picked The Cabin in the Woods as that was a film I’ve been really wanting to check out and experience on my own because of how much the film intrigued me. I’m happy this was the perfect opportunity to watch the film as it quickly became one of my favorite films I have seen in some time. Specifically, this is a film that has the stuff I personally love.
The Cabin in the Woods is a 2012 horror film, with an addition of science fiction and comedy, that was directed by Drew Goddard, who worked on films like Cloverfield and television shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and was produced by Joss Wheadon, who you make recognized being the guy behind the first two Avengers movies. The whole film basically plays with the typical horror tropes and cliches seen in so many other horror films by adding a major spin to it, one that may debate on why these tropes and cliches are the way they were. The idea is that these traditional horror settings are designed to be experiments controlled by an unknown company that works in an underground facility. From there, the facility controls the entire setting, along with the “cast” or in this case the victims, to get them killed in their dedicated horror setting in their way of performing a sacrifice that would prevent the end of the world.
The setting in which case follows five college students going to and having a stay at a cabin in the middle of the woods, as the title suggests. Each of these five characters have their own intentional archetype that you would see in a lot of horror movies. These archetypes are meant to be the purpose that is needed for the sacrifice mentioned before. For instance, the girl with sexual desires, in which the film refers to as “The Whore”, has to die first. The other archetypes include the drug addict, the jock, and the nerd, labeled respectively “The Fool”, “The Athlete”, and “The Scholar.” The last archetype, being the main character, is of course the “final girl”, or what the film labels to be “The Virgin.” Being meant to be the last one alive, her death is optional, and thus the ritual would be completed.
The film isn’t bothered to shy away from doing these tropes, whether it be in a way to make fun of it. The way the facility makes the characters make their decisions are done in a very clever and even in a satirical and comedic way. For one, they had to unknowingly decide which form of horror is going to be their killer, by interacting with a particular item that connects to who would be their killer. In which case the killer(s) they chose are a zombie family that were summoned by reading an incantation written on the supposed diary from the family’s daughter. The fact that they mentioned that the “zombie family” always seems to get picked during these experiences is to hint how an overused trope that is when it comes to many slasher films. One funny spin they did to typical horror tropes is that the facility would simply emit a gas that would make the characters either have a sexual desire, or make really dumb decisions like what most horror movie characters tend to do. No matter if these are still tropes you would get tired from when it comes to watching horror movies, I just love the way that the movie played with these tropes and how it contributes to the “setting” the facility is controlling.
The characters themselves are obvious throwaways simply because of them being archetypes and this being a horror movie with a body count, but I do really dig into the characters that are intended to have a major role for the story to progress. The drug addict character is easily the best and most likable character, as he so happened to be the one that is finding out that the whole thing is an experiment. Even a couple of the archetype characters that are meant to be killed off have some moments worth remembering from them and they overall aren’t too unlikely to be worth killing off. “The Whore” character I definitely didn’t care much about, which is pretty much the intention considering her being the first victim. I also do enjoy the two technicians that control the facility, as they give off the most comedic energy and really show how their job is very important in order to prevent anything tragic from happening. Yes they clearly are the antagonists, killing and manipulating innocent college students, but the film made it very clear that what they’re doing is important due to the massive stake they have.
I should really appreciate how the movie sets its tone regarding its cinematography, settings, and its nice mix of both practical and digital effects. The way the film would have to cut from the dark, dimly lit, horror setting that is the forest and the cabin, something that’s definitely been seen in a lot of horrors, to the more brightly lit, mechanically-felt, and comedic-toned facility that is mostly controlled by these two men. It’s a way that the film doesn’t want to shy away from the fact that it is meant to be a “horror comedy”, and that these two different settings still really bounce off each other by how the facility setting is controlling the cliche dark forest setting that includes the archetypical cast. The film also has some very nice and, to me, flat out cool shots when it really wants to show you most of the setting it desires in. Sometimes the camera would have to pan out to really have the viewer take in on what is happening, and other times the camera would have to stay still for a rather similar reason.
The film is relatively short, only being an hour and thirty minutes long, but once it gets to the third act is where the movie shows its best. When two of the archetypal characters managed to escape, one of those characters was thought to be killed and therefore the facility is having problems with that, they ended up finding the underground facility that the cabin is being controlled by, and quickly put together that the whole thing was a test. From there they get to see the different types of monsters and killers that the facility holds, and I just love how they’re basically from they’re own kind of horror type. There are werewolves, misty-looking ghosts, giant snakes, flying demon-like creatures, bug-like aliens, killer robots, killer clowns, even a killer unicorn. Some of these monsters and killers are even spoofed from other well-known horrors like Hellraiser, The Strangers, Cloverfield, Alien, and much more to even count. Things get even cooler once all the monsters are released and start breaching the facility, leading to so many cool shots and definitely a lot of death and gore.
Like I mentioned, the movie does have a nice combination of both practical and digital effects. Though I will admit the CGI isn’t exactly the greatest at points, as some monsters do look a little too fake than others, but I’ve definitely seen worse in other films and I do really appreciate how some of them are composited. I’m sure we all can recall the infamous scene with the elevators and all the different types of monsters coming out and downright slaughtering the security guards. That is a shot from the movie worth mentioning. Another shot I have to mention that I absolutely love is during the scene where the two survivors are inside the glass rooms that the monsters stay in, and the camera has to pan out to show all of the monsters inside their rooms while centering on the glass room the two survivors are in. It really reminds me of another sci-fi like horror, The Cube, where that whole film is set in this large group of cubical rooms that the characters have to go through.
Now if you haven’t seen the movie as I’ll go ahead and talk about the ending, I would recommend checking it out first before reading the rest. Unless you can go ahead and skip these few paragraphs. Once the monsters start killing the rest of the facility members, our two survivors later find out that the whole thing was meant to be a sacrificial ritual. There they are confronted by who was basically controlling the company, “The Director”, played by Sigourney Weaver. She tells them about how the whole thing is meant to be a sacrifice in order to appease the gods underneath, that would also prevent the end of the world from happening. Whatever you think about this twist, it’s definitely a ridiculous one, but from what this movie is I honestly bought it. Of course in the end they didn’t end up finishing the ritual as they instead kill “The Director”, which in a way is simply telling off a sadistic message about how “humanity is not worth keeping”, in response to how humanity is basically killing off innocent people just to appease, even if it’s to prevent the world from being destroyed. It does really add the sadist feel the whole movie gives off and the final pay off to how the world ends is presented visually in a really cool yet kind of silly way. One that really doesn’t bother me as I simply loved the final shot the movie ends on.
I should mention for this being a “horror comedy”, the movie has some really funny moments to note off. Not just from the satirical ways the tropes are being done but also having moments that just overall fits the movie's comedic edge. It was mentioned that the work the facility does is international and is in different nations. One of them being Japan as to how Japan pretty much has their own fair share of types of horrors. The way the experiment in Japan failed and the reaction from one of the technicians gives off to it is a very funny moment to point out, just to show how absurd the movie can be despite being a “horror.” One of the deaths of the five victims was so funny I had to replay it over and over just for how funny it was. The film also has this subtle build up on how one of the technicians wanted to see a favorite monster of theirs to be used in the experiment, only to be killed off by that monster once the security breach happens. That’s another funny moment and payoff I think is worth mentioning.
Of course a film isn’t without its flaws, no matter how small or big they are. The film’s problems are definitely small and aren’t enough to hurt the film at all, but some can be worth mentioning. As a horror, it’s definitely not the scariest with that, as the jumpscares are rather predictable and even if they are effective, they aren’t exactly the most memorable moments of the movie. Again, the CGI isn’t the greatest at some points, as there is one scene that uses really fake-looking CGI blood that just looks like a last minute overlay that was found in some “special effects folder.” The movie also weirdly used stock screams at some parts, and they are very noticeable there. And I am just a little bothered by how one of the technicians was killed off, as I assure you that he really should’ve gotten a less lamer death than what really killed him off due to how big a role he had in the movie. Once again these are only small flaws, and they really aren’t enough to ruin the whole movie for me.
The Cabin in the Woods is meant to be a horror movie with a satirical and comedic edge, playing with the horror movie tropes we’ve seen in so many other horrors. The end result didn’t disappoint at all as the film really gave me what it promised me. Therefore, The Cabin in the Woods is one of my favorite movies because it has the kind of things that I love. A satirical spin to something that’s been done quite a lot, and is one that gives the film an intriguing feel. The kind of intriguing feeling I am into. I loved how the film played with the overall horror movie genre, of having these horror movie tropes being played around and having different horror elements regarding the kinds of monsters the film introduces. I love the movie’s cinematography and how it presents me with some of the coolest shots I’ve seen in movies. I love how the movie is overall executed, with its comedic edge and whenever action is happening. It pretty much just has the elements that I am a huge sucker for and combine them into this very enjoyable experience. I’m sure some people would simply view this as just a really good horror movie that gives off a different spin not many other horror movies at the time were doing, but from having some of the stuff I enjoy in certain media, it’s a movie I have a massive keen on for what it really is and what it ended up giving me.

5 Words: Horror, Satire, Discovery, Sadistic, Ritualistic
Thesis Statement: A traditional slasher setting following five college students residing in a cabin in the middle of the woods turns out to be a technical process controlled by an underground facility in order to sacrifice for the gods.