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"The Cabin in the Woods" : My 15th Favorite Horror Movie

Welcome back, one and all, to my countdown of my top 25 favorite horror films. With this installment, we break into my top 15 by taking a look at a movie that languished in production hell for years before finally wowing critics and audiences alike with its recent theatrical release. Although I will endeavor to keep this article spoiler free, I should caution everyone that broad elements of the plot and characters will probably find their way in out of necesty. So read at your own risk if you haven't seen the movie yet. With that out of the way, I proudly present my 15th favorite horror movie of all time:The Cabin in the Woods

A widely circulated story of production delays can often dampen audience enthuasm for a film, and damage its box office reception. Luckily, there's no evidence of that happening with Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon's The Cabin in the Woods, which benefited from glowing early reviews once the legal morass surrounding when it would be released, and by who, got cleared up. Based on its unpretentious title, which makes it seem like something horror fans have seen before, and its long slog to theaters, it's quite a coup for this movie that it's already had a profound effect on the genre (as well as on this countdown, nce I had to reluctantly bump another film from the final cut to make room for it).Although the all-dominating behemoth that is The Hunger Games

kept it from the top slot at the box office during its opening weekend, The Cabin in the Woods floored most critics while drawing accolades from horror buffs far and wide. Like any film, the movie has its detractors, many of whom have been quite vocal on this and other webtes. But even they are spreading the movie's influence, making it one of the most hotly discussed films on the internet, inviting pasonate defenses from the movie's fans and undoubtedly making many people feel rather intrigued to find out what all the fuss is about. For me, the more this movie opens up dialogue about all that is good and not so good in horror, the more I become aware of just how much reverence the movie displays for the genre, and exactly how broad its scope is.

The Cabin in the Woods lovingly embraces practically every major film, movement and plot device that has ever had an impact on horror, even when poking fun at them. The mere fact that the movie manages to offer up so many recognizable homages to horror icons new and old while avoiding anything that could be called a copyright violation is an indication of its smarts all by itself. But the smartest part is the new light it shines on these horror archetypes that we have all come to know and love (or fear, which is often the other de of the same coin for horror fans). I can't say too much about this without giving some of Cabin's many secrets away, but hopefully it's not too revealing to mply say that a suggestion is made that its not necessarily in the best interest of the world for the protagonists of horror films to survive. Obviously, this raises questions about whether the scurrying human prey in horror films are truly the real protagonists at all. Whatever the motivations of homicidal maniacs and killer monsters in past films, it has usually been more or less instinctively acknowledged that the one doing the slaughtering is the "bad guy" and the ones fighting or fleeing the slaughter are the "good guys", no matter how flawed they might be. Viewed through the lens of the premise Goddard and Whedon developed here, the question of who to root for becomes murkier, and the best answer becomes "well...depends on how you look at it."

By reminding us of other horror films without actually acknowledging that they are just films, Cabin suggests (in ways both subtle and overt) that what's happening on the screen before us might just be another part of what we've seen in other narratives. This is a big piece of what sets it apart from other self-referential franchises like Scream, and also the reason that its observations and inferences about the genre often seem particularly relevant. Scream's angle of killings patterned after and informed by movies is a potent one, but Cabin presents a new angle that is perhaps even more compelling. It tries to show us how and why those patterns might have been established in the first place and connects them to a sort of divine purpose that is much bigger than all of us. It's a somewhat deep concept, and some viewers have apparently been left confused by how it's all presented. For my part, it all went down pretty smooth, and I greatly admire the relatively seamless way the script got its points across without going out of its way to explain itself or boast of its own brilliance. Fans of Whedon and Goddard will probably not be surprised by this, but dialogue and character are points of excellence for The Cabin in the Woods, as well. The movie never pauses to give us every ngle irrelevant detail of our main cast's lives, but there is more than enough there to make every character feel like their own person, with their own identity. Kristen Connelly is endearingly awkward as the somewhat dilluoned Diane, who has just gotten out of an ill-advised relationship. Chris Hemsworth is all charm as Curt, the jock with the winning smile who seems like the type who might protect the nerdier kids at school. He has good chemistry with Anna Hutchison, who plays his girlfriend Jules, another pretty person who still has a heart, a brain and ambition. Jesse Williams is just a chill, pretty much unflappable guy as Holden, the tag-along who always seems to do the right thing. All of these characteristics are effectively revealed early on, and turn out to be quite important later, nce another element of the film involves changes in people's normal behavior. As good as their castmates are, the standouts for me are definitely Fran Kranz as Marty, the lovably disheveled stoner, and Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford as tterson and Hadley, whose roles I will say absolutely nothing else about to avoid unneeded spoilers. Whedon-esque banter between all these characters is on joyous display throughout the film's run time, which is an added bonus for me, nce I conder Joss Whedon to have one of the best ears for dialogue of any screenwriter currently working.

Some moviegoers have complained that, for all of Cabin's cleverness and originality, they didn't perceive it as being particularly scary. Even as someone completely won over by the film, I can admit that there is nothing absolutely terrifying in it for any adult who has seen a handful of horror movies prior to this one. That said, there's nothing poorly crafted or needlessly tame about any of the scenes of death or carnage, and with horror fans becoming ever more thick skinned the more scary movies they see, it's becoming harder and harder both to be scared by cinema, and to admit it when a movie succeeds in scaring us without being laughed at by people who want to pretend they're tougher than the next person. This fact is even noted by the script, when one character wonders aloud whether it's normal for people to be growing accustomed to the presence of all the various things that go bump in the night walking among us.As is the case with the vast majority of horror movies, the terror that befalls the characters in The Cabin in the Woods would be damn scary if you were going through it yourself, but you are not likely to forget that it's just a movie. Being willing and able to suspend your disbelief to the same extent you should while watching any film definitely helps, but you probably are not going to leave the theater feeling terrified. However, you will come away from it with plenty of cool visuals and intense sequences to devote to memory, new ways of looking at the horror genre as a whole, and probably a big smile plastered on your face. It's also very likely that you'll have a burning dere to see the film again, especially nce certain scenes at the end are so gory and thick with crazed activity that it's almost imposble to absorb everything that's happening with just one viewing.

The Cabin in the Woods is a smart new breed of horror film. While it's not a film that will inspire nightmares in many people, it might very well cause them to re-examine the things that gave them nightmares in the past. The movie is an unabashed love letter to the horror genre that weaves a bold premise into its own unique narrative without ever distracting from that narrative, or becoming unbearably gimmicky. It also has a pretty hardcore and atypical ending. Although the exact merits and flaws of the film will continue to be debated for some time to come, there is no doubt that it is one of the most critically well-received horror films to come along in quite some time and one that is bound to influence where the genre goes next. Beyond that, it is mply a uniquely entertaining piece of cinema that provided me with one of the best times I've ever had watching a horror film. I have a feeling this one will turn out to be condered a clasc, and I welcome it to my list of all time favorites.Stay tuned for my next installment!