The Cabin in the Woods (2012) - Spoilers Galore

Poster by Mondo

I'm making the assumption that anyone reading this has now either seen the film, is never going to see the film or just really doesn't mind spoilers. As I said in the previous post, it was difficult to write much without feeling like I was heading into spoiler territory. This is despite the fact that I wouldn't say it was a film centred around big twists, more that it's nice to see it unfold as it goes on first time around. For example, when I mentioned the opening credits I felt like drawing too much attention to them could lead people to the conclusion that it's all a modern form of human sacrifice to appease the gods a little too early. I could also have listed a multitude of films and games that it reminded me of but again that could have started giving people certain expectations outside of what the trailers show. It really surprised me to see other reviews that would happily give away the appearance of killer clowns and other horror legends, when there is initially nothing to suggest they will feature.

Looking at the negative reviews that seem so quick to throw around spoilers, I'd say a common feature is that they didn't find it funny. I understand that humour is subjective and that some of it could have been a little insular to horror movie fans but it also seems that a lot of them had a pre-conceived idea of what it should be (while others clearly drifted off and invented their own version of the movie). Most seem so concerned that it does not have whatever makes a good horror movie to them, but I think that it clearly sets out to be a comedy horror in the tradition of the Evil Dead trilogy. Again perhaps not a series for everyone but those films have stood the test of time and are proof that comedy can be a valid choice in making a different kind of horror movie. In fact the only part of the Evil Dead films that scares me is when the taxidermy comes alive and starts laughing, which I don't think is even supposed to be scary (I was both disappointed and relieved that this concept didn't make it into Resident Evil 4 after seeing the prototype footage of it). You can imagine that the "I dare you to kiss that Moose" section felt even more uncomfortable to me than it already must have to everyone else.

So if you were expecting something scary and didn't find it funny then I can imagine that some of the faults in it might leap out at you more easily. I think if you let yourself get bogged down in the details of the film it can start to unravel - even though the film explains that the sacrifices have to make their own choices and ignore warnings, it does seem like a very overcomplicated method of completing the sacrificial ritual. Combined with the fact that they forget about the stoner Marty when they have sophisticated heart rate monitors... you kind of have to start tying yourself in knots to explain everything perfectly. Those who aren't having fun are much less likely to go along for the ride and put these issues out of their mind. There is also probably an element of backlash at the many positive reviews it is garnering, I can see how it might seem that some critics are over hyping it but I think that if it grabs you then it's hard not to get excited about it.

One criticism that I'm not sure I really get though is that it's trying to be cleverer than it really is or that it's a 'hipster movie' (something that was levelled at Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World too when it's pretty much an anti-hipster film). I think anything that ends the way this does is not really trying too hard to be clever or insightful, to me it just sets out to be a whole lot of fun. The last 20 minutes is like the most epic version of the end of nearly every zombie film I can think of. It's something I could watch again straight away as there was so much going on at once that you couldn't pick up on everything. One part in particular was the shot where it starts to pan back from an array of CCTV monitors with almost every screen parodying a different film. I immediately focused on one screen that looked a little like Alien but then heard someone next to me going "urrggh" and I switched my attention to the screen with something vomiting acid onto someone. Just thinking about the amount of effort that went into each of these little bits of footage cemented my opinion of it being a total love letter to horror. I was sure that the amount of creatures shown in this section greatly outnumbered the amount shown on the whiteboard near the start of the film - perhaps they had a pool to choose from each year...

By the time Sigourney Weaver turned up as the facility director, she seemed like the perfect cameo to bring the whole thing to a close. While I've heard it mentioned that Jamie Lee Curtis pre-dates her as a 'final girl' horror movie survivor I still think she was a good choice, especially as she seems to play a more malevolent character pretty well. I could probably have done without the final shot of the film - as many people have said it didn't seem to live up to the Lovecraftian nature of the ancient gods that had been suggested up to this point (although directly showing Cthulhu on screen doesn't usually go that well either). I also think that if it had ended just before you see the giant hand it might have been more interesting to leave that ambiguity over whether the ancient gods were real or if the facility was run by a cult that had kept up this ritual just for the sake of it. The end came at the right point though and its length felt perfect, the amount of stuff in it felt like it should have added up to more than 90 minutes but I can't really think of any sections that dragged. Overall it perhaps isn't as much of a game changer as Scream was back in the day but to me it is the more enjoyable film and always feels like it is celebrating horror rather than mocking it.