Five young, good-looking college students go out into the woods to spend the weekend at a cabin. Sounds familiar? It should. In a lot of ways The Cabin in the Woods is the horror movie of all horror movies. I will tread softly because if you haven’t seen The Cabin in the Woods (which you really should) I don’t want to spoil the film for you. If you’ve seen any other horror movies with the same set up, you have an idea of what is in store, but only on the very surface. As one of the characters in the film says the horrors we see in it are not the things of nightmares, “They’re something nightmares are from”. What makes The Cabin in the Woods worthy of being on a list like this is that is a brilliant deconstruction and excellent example of horror films all in one neat package.
While there is a big reveal in the film what I like about the film is that I get more out of it each time I watch it. Viewers familiar with producer & co-writer Joss Whedon’s work will be familiar with ideas behind the deeper levels of the plot. It has some really good scares and a great deal of gore; it also has a sharp wit and sense of humor. The Cabin in the Woods also forces its audience to take a closer look at themselves and what it means to be entertained by such gory violence.
I knew it would make the list, but must admit I’m a little disappointed at how high it is. It’s enjoyable enough, but it’s only fallen in my opinion since seeing it (largely due to feeling that Whedon and Goddard felt they were above the genre) and I didn’t love it to begin with.
David is probably gritting his teeth right now.
I’m holding up okay but, yeah, I’m not ecstatic.
– David
And then it points at you and laughs derisively. Not a fan of this one.
I knew it would make the list, but must admit I’m a little disappointed at how high it is. It’s enjoyable enough, but it’s only fallen in my opinion since seeing it (largely due to feeling that Whedon and Goddard felt they were above the genre) and I didn’t love it to begin with.
This was on my list, more for enjoyment rather than the horror aspect #alibi