The Cabin in the Woods came out in 2012.
At first glance, it could be seen as a comedy, simply because of the tone used, but the themes addressed are ultimately deeper than it seems.
The casting is perfect, the script is brilliant, and there are thousands of horror references for us weirdos !
The movie follows a group of five young people who go on a weekend trip to a cabin in the middle of the woods… so far, nothing too unusual, it follows in the footsteps of Friday the 13th, Cabin Fever, and The Evil Dead, to name a few.
But they have actually been stalked the entire time by a group of scientists and have been chosen as victims in a sacrificial ritual to appease ancient gods.
Choose your own death
Written like that, it doesn’t necessarily sound like greatness, so let me emphasize that this is a perfect film by explaining that they have to choose for themselves how they are going to be killed, without even knowing it…
Put on a necklace? Read a newspaper? Solve a puzzle or touch an object in the basement ?
Well, you’ve just set zombies, killer clowns, a giant snake, or even a rapist tree on your trail (the latter is actually an open reference to The Evil Dead and THAT infamous scene). The order of the murders must follow a specific pattern though.
We get close to the group, who have no idea what’s going on at first, and the scientists, who methodically orchestrate their deaths to prevent the end of the world at the hands of freaking Titans.
Marty is the only character who is not affected by the biochemical alterations : he is protected by the power of weed.
I’m only slightly joking here. His smoking does prevent the alterations from taking place. It’s unusual, yet so simple.
He is the one who discovers the mechanism after being attacked by a zombie child (played by Jodelle Ferland from Silent Hill).
A horror lover’s paradise
And then we are given the greatest scene in the history of horror movies.
The elevator scene.
This is where the royalty-free tribute begins!
We have Hellraiser (well, Hell Lord), vampires, werewolves, witches, zombies, aliens, dolls, fairies, goblins, and hundreds of other creatures from thousands of horror movies. And, of course, the beloved killer unicorn.
I could honestly spend the entire review talking about those monsters, because I love them. We all do.
The elevator scene is just brilliant !
When real-world problems meet horror
The movie also serves as a critique of these films, which turn their characters into clichés.
It’s a mirror reverted back on society. The pretty little blonde has to play on her sexuality, the athletic guy has to be stupid, the dude with glasses has to be the resident nerd, nobody cares about the drug addict, and we have to follow the virgin and chaste protagonist. She is the only one that matters.
It’s very male-gaze coded.
The opening scene showed that she was sleeping with her teacher, but the ritual doesn’t care about that.
The low bodycount is the only thing that they need.
The image of control and having to sacrifice youth in order to survive (as in Japan, where the entity had to kill an entire classroom of children, for example) is very powerful when juxtaposed with the powers that be in so-called civilized countries.
And the scientists you ask ? Well that’s the writers. Ready to sacrifice any characters to appease their audience.
Us.
In the end, we are the Titans, we feed off of the clichés, we revel in the deaths.
Horror has always relied on clichés to get people talking, but many works since the 2010s have made a point of putting psychological horror at the forefront, in order to prove that an important message can be conveyed without gallons of fake blood. But it sticks better with it.
Elevated horror at its finest.
So, what now ? No one wins. Because humanity has run its course, it’s time for the Titans to rule the land again.
I absolutely loved the giant hand smashing the cabin before the credits.
Ash’s hand got revenge on the deadites in the end, right ? Haha
The only thing that no longer works for me is that Josh Weddon‘s name is attached to it.
Criticizing clichés by a walking one is a choice.
But we can’t really do anything about that…
My rating : 4.75/5 bats
🦇🦇🦇🦇✋
(Picture a quarter-eaten bat here for Whedon, the emojis won’t let me do it)