I have a confession – last night was the first time I saw
Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon’s The Cabin in the Woods. Believe me, I hang my
head in shame whilst writing this admittance. Now, however, I can sit bolt upright
with a big grin on my face after experiencing such a brilliant film. I enjoyed
it so much in fact, that I feel compelled to write this somewhat love letter to
a film that is well... a love letter in itself, a declaration of adoration for
the horror genre.
For those of you who have not seen it (I won’t lambast you
as I don’t really have a leg to stand on here) the film follows the basic
premise of five teens taking a vacation to a cabin... in the woods (funnily
enough). Whilst there they manage to unearth some deadly goings on and all hell
ensues, as each teen is ultimately killed off one by one. Pretty formulaic no? Well
herein lies the brilliance in the film – Goddard and Whedon not only recognise
this traditional horror formula but wave it in our faces and play with it for the entirety of the film .
From the beginning we
are introduced to Gary Sitterson and Steve Hadley (wonderfully played by Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford), who are technicians or ‘gamemasters’ manning a soulless control room. They (to a certain
extent) control the fate of said teens, moulding them into stereotypes (slut,
jock, joker, nerd and virgin) and induce pheromones that ultimately make them hornier and stupider (heaven forbid they actually stick together in a crisis). Basically
every horror cliché is knowingly implemented in order to cause the inevitable demise of
our beloved teenage protagonists (or so we are led to think). Now, I know what
you’re thinking and yes – Wes Craven did do this with Scream in 1996. However,
his postmodern take was primarily on the slasher sub-genre. Goddard and Whedon
cover it all.
The death of each teen is caused by the zombified Buckner
family, an undead crew the teens unknowingly raised themselves. Whilst I love a bit of zombie action as much as the next person, it
albeit felt anti-climactic. That is until two surviving teens manage to break
into the control facility and let loose every horror creation you could ever
think of via a "system purge". An all matter of carnage ensues creating the most entertaining
sequence of the film - so entertaining that I featured it below. Fair enough, the ending of the film may spoil the whole experience
for some but for me it didn’t – I was still reeling with enjoyment over a
Merman eating Hadley. In fact, I will still reeling with enjoyment over the
preceeding 80 minutes or so.
As a film I believe it was totally miss-marketed and
therefore underrated. It’s not your typical horror film as most punters
believed, nor is it a “game-changer”. It’s an intellectual, postmodern homage
intertwining every horror cliche and monster into the narrative. That, and it's all spectacularly delivered via brilliant script and enjoyable performances (particularly
by Jenkins and Whitford). There is no literal breaking of the “fourth wall” but Goddard and
Whedon know we are there and are having fun with us. Well, trying to anyway.
For those unfamiliar with the horror genre, the subtext and intertextual
references will be totally lost on them. The influx of all things monstrous at
the end will no doubt appear silly and definitely not terrifying (although that
in itself is entirely subjective. For instance, if you have a fear of clowns or
extremely toothy sugar plum fairies, odds are you will get a bit frightened).
To horror afficionado’s, however, it’s a celebration, a love letter, a joyous game of who’s-who in the horror
genre as we revel in their destruction.
The film is also wonderfully comical. The chemistry and
one-liners from Hadley and Sitterson shine throughout and a scene transition
within which the “final girl” reaches her apparent demise, but in the background
whilst control room workers celebrate, is the epitome of sadistic comedy.
Wiry Girl: That's not fair! I had zombies too!
Sitterson: Yes, you had "Zombies." But this is "Zombie Redneck Torture Family." Entirely separate thing. It's like the difference between an elephant and an elephant seal.
As much as it is a love letter to the horror genre, it in
some ways, is also a critique. The film highlights generic issues of senseless
nudity via a scene in which men eagerly await a pair of boobs (“Does it really
matter if we see...?” “Got to keep the customer satisfied...”). The five teens
are also caricatures of the contemporary vacuous types that go hand in hand
with the genre. Goddard and Whedon, furthermore, denounce the genres recent devolution in to torture porn territory by not
including it whatsoever.
Equally, there are a
few criticisms toward the film itself. The use of CGI detracts from the experience
and appears noticeably out of place. Also, as I have already touched upon, the
ending was perhaps a step too far. The sadist in me would have preferred an
even more nihilistic approach, with the film ending at Dana (our surviving ‘virgin’)
shooting Marty (the ‘joker’). Critics have expressed a disliking toward the
films self-referential nature and lack of scares. However, I disagree. I may be
biased as a horror fanatic, but there are enough thrills and spills to
entertain everyone. Furthermore a little intelligence and self-reflexivity never
hurt anyone... apart from those in the film of course.
I completely understand that some may hate this film,
finding it pretentious, silly and not even remotely scary. But hell, in
essence it’s two grown fan boys writing a love letter to the hyperdiegetic
world of horror, and boy... did I enjoy reading it.
What are your thoughts on The Cabin in the Woods? Post a comment!
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