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{{short description|2011 science fiction comedy horror film by Drew Goddard}} | |||
{{About|the 2011 science fiction film|the song by Rodney Atkins|Take a Back Road}} | |||
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}} | |||
{{Infobox film | {{Infobox film | ||
| name = The Cabin in the Woods | | name = The Cabin in the Woods | ||
| image = |
| image = The Cabin in the Woods (2012) theatrical poster.jpg | ||
| image_size = 215px | |||
| alt = <!-- see WP:ALT --> | | alt = <!-- see WP:ALT --> | ||
| caption = Theatrical release poster | | caption = Theatrical release poster | ||
| director = ] | | director = ] | ||
| |
| writer = ]<br>Drew Goddard | ||
| |
| producer = Joss Whedon | ||
| starring = Kristen Connolly |
| starring = {{plainlist|<!--Per poster billing--> | ||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
}} | |||
| music = ] | |||
| cinematography = ] | | cinematography = ] | ||
| editing = ] | | editing = ] | ||
| |
| music = ] | ||
| studio = ] (uncredited)<br>] (uncredited)<br>] | |||
| distributor = ] | |||
| distributor = ] | |||
| released = {{Film date|2012|04|13|}}<ref name = "Lionsgate Schedules Release Date">{{cite web|url=http://collider.com/the-cabin-in-the-woods-release-date/103740/|title=Lionsgate Schedules THE CABIN IN THE WOODS for April 13, 2012|work=Collider|accessdate=July 21, 2011}}</ref> | |||
| released = {{Film date|2011|12||]|2012|04|13|United States}}<!-- FIRST AND US RELEASE ONLY PER WP:FILMRELEASE. --> | |||
| runtime = 95 minutes <!-- Theatrical runtime: 94:54 --><ref>{{cite web|title=''THE CABIN IN THE WOODS'' (15)|url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/CFF284624/|work=]|date=2012-03-22|accessdate=2012-04-13}}</ref> | |||
| runtime = 95 minutes<!-- Theatrical runtime: 94:54 --><ref>{{cite web |title=The Cabin in the Woods|url=https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/cabin-woods-2012-0 |work=] |date=March 22, 2012 |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201162445/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/cabin-woods-2012-0 |archive-date=December 1, 2018|url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
| country = {{Film US}} | |||
| country = {{Plainlist| | |||
* United States | |||
* Canada | |||
}} | |||
| language = English | | language = English | ||
| budget = $30 million<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Blauvelt|first=Christian|url=https://ew.com/article/2012/04/12/box-office-preview-cabin-in-the-woods-and-three-stooges-take-on-the-hunger-games |title=Box office preview: 'Cabin in the Woods' and 'Three Stooges' take on 'The Hunger Games' |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=April 12, 2012 |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227040716/https://ew.com/article/2012/04/12/box-office-preview-cabin-in-the-woods-and-three-stooges-take-on-the-hunger-games/ |archive-date=December 27, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
| budget = $30 million | |||
| gross = | | gross = $69.9 million<ref name="BOM"/> | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''''The Cabin in the Woods''''' is a 2012 ] co-written and directed by ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/36801/joss-whedons-cabin-woods-feature-creatures |title=Joss Whedon's The Cabin in the Woods to Feature Creatures? |publisher=Dreadcentral.com |date= |accessdate=2010-10-04}}</ref> and co-written and produced by ]. It stars ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. The film was released on April 13, 2012. | |||
'''''The Cabin in the Woods''''' is a 2011 ]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nguyen |first=Jessie |date=December 18, 2022 |title=10 Movies That Fans Don't Realize Were Sci-fi |url=https://collider.com/movies-that-fans-dont-realize-were-sci-fi/ |access-date=January 13, 2023 |website=] |archive-date=December 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221228231731/https://collider.com/movies-that-fans-dont-realize-were-sci-fi/ |url-status=live }}</ref> <!--- DO NOT CHANGE THE GENRE WITHOUT DISCUSSION ON THE TALK PAGE. THERE ARE NUMEROUS SOURCES CALLING THIS FILM A HORROR COMEDY --->]<!--- DO NOT CHANGE THE GENRE WITHOUT DISCUSSION ON THE TALK PAGE. THERE ARE NUMEROUS SOURCES CALLING THIS FILM A HORROR COMEDY ---> film directed by ] in his ], produced by ], and written by Whedon and Goddard.<ref>{{cite web |last=Barton |first=Steve |date=April 6, 2010 |title=Joss Whedon's The Cabin in the Woods to Feature Creatures?|url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/16650/joss-whedon-s-the-cabin-in-the-woods-to-feature-creatures/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226234511/https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/16650/joss-whedon-s-the-cabin-in-the-woods-to-feature-creatures/ |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |publisher=]}}</ref> It stars ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. The plot follows a group of college students who retreat to a remote cabin in the woods where they fall victim to a variety of monsters while technicians manipulate events from an underground facility for a global purpose. | |||
==Plot== | |||
<!-- Please review ] before adding material. --> | |||
Two technicians in a sophisticated industrial facility—Richard Sitterson (]) and Steve Hadley (])—are getting ready for an unknown operation. | |||
Goddard and Whedon, who previously worked together on '']'' and '']'', wrote the screenplay in three days,<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Whedon |first1=Joss |title=The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companion |last2=Goddard |first2=Drew |last3=Bernstein |first3=Abbie |publisher=Titan Books |year=2012 |isbn=9781848565241 |location=London |page= |author-link=Joss Whedon |author-link2=Drew Goddard}}</ref>{{Rp|page=13}} describing it as an attempt to "revitalize" the ] genre and as a critical satire on ]. The special effects, monster costumes, special makeup, and prosthetic makeup for the film were done by AFX Studio.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wickedhorror.com/top-horror-lists/ten-things-probably-didnt-know-cabin-woods/ |title=Things You Probably Didn't Know about Cabin in the Woods |last=Doupé |first=Tyler |date=June 5, 2014 |website=WickedHorror.com |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226232608/https://wickedhorror.com/top-horror-lists/ten-things-probably-didnt-know-cabin-woods/ |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Filming took place in ], British Columbia, from March to May 2009 on an estimated budget of $30 million. | |||
Meanwhile, five college students—Dana (Kristen Connolly), Curt (]), Jules (]), Marty (]), and Holden (])—drive out for a vacation to a remote cabin in the woods, while the technicians keep an eye on the students with hidden cameras. | |||
The film was originally slated for release on October 23, 2009, which was later delayed to February 5, 2010,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/9655/goodard-s-cabin-moves-to-2010/ | title=Goodard's Cabin Moves to 2010 | date=5 December 2008 | access-date=January 29, 2023 | archive-date=March 21, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321071507/https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/9655/goodard-s-cabin-moves-to-2010/ | url-status=live }}</ref> by ] (MGM) and ] (UA), but was indefinitely shelved due to financial difficulties. In 2011, ] picked up the distribution rights. The film premiered in December 2011 at the ] film festival in ] and was released in the United States on April 13, 2012, to critical and commercial success. It grossed $66.5 million worldwide, and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its screenplay, tone, and performances. | |||
At the cabin, the friends party until they find a cellar full of creepy old artifacts. Dana reads an incantation from an old diary, which causes zombies to rise from the grave, and it is also seen that the technicians have been excitedly betting on which of a long list of different monsters would be chosen. | |||
== Plot == | |||
Curt and Jules go outside to have sex while the technicians manipulate events via drugs flowing from vents, to bring about their desired conclusion. Zombies attack the lovers and Jules is killed. Meanwhile, in the cabin, the paranoid Marty begins to feel as if things are being controlled by "]s" and goes outside, where he runs into the fleeing Curt and a zombie. The friends attempt to barricade the cabin against the zombies while the technicians attempt to bring about their deaths. Marty finds a surveillance camera in his room, confirming his paranoid fantasies, but he is attacked and presumably killed. Holden, Dana, and Curt flee in their RV. | |||
<!-- Per WP:FILMPLOT, plot summaries for feature films should be between 400 and 700 words. --> | |||
In an underground laboratory, engineers Gary Sitterson and Steve Hadley discuss a mysterious ritual, after a similar operation in ] just ended in failure, leaving only their facility and one in Japan to undertake the process, and with the latter holding a perfect record. | |||
American college students Dana Polk, Jules Louden, Curt Vaughan, Holden McCrea, and Marty Mikalski are spending their weekend at Curt's cousin's cabin in the woods. From the lab, Sitterson and Hadley remotely control the cabin and manipulate the students by intoxicating them with mind-altering drugs. In the cabin's cellar, the group finds bizarre objects, including the diary of Patience Buckner, a cabin resident abused by her sadistic family. Dana recites ]s from the diary and inadvertently summons the zombified Matthew and Judah Buckner. | |||
They get as far as a long mountain tunnel but the technicians blow up the tunnel and the escape route is blocked. Curt uses his motorbike to jump the gap in the exit and runs into an enormous force field that kills him. Holden and Dana realize something much greater is happening than they had believed. Dana now believes Marty's talk of "puppeteers." A zombie kills Holden and the RV crashes into the lake. The technicians drink in celebration that they have completed the "ritual," while the screens in the background show Dana fighting for her life with the zombie. The party soon stops when a phone call from "upstairs" informs them that Marty is still alive, and he rescues Dana. | |||
Hadley releases ]s to induce Curt and Jules to have sex outside. They are attacked by the Buckners and Jules is decapitated while Curt escapes. Marty discovers concealed surveillance equipment in his room before being stabbed and dragged off by Judah. The lab workers learn that the site in Japan has also failed, meaning that the American rite is "humanity's last hope". Curt, Holden, and Dana attempt to escape in their ], but Sitterson triggers a tunnel collapse to block them. Curt attempts to jump a ravine on his motorcycle to seek help on the other side, but crashes into a ] and falls to his death. Dana then realizes that their experience is staged and controlled. Holden is killed by Matthew while driving the RV, causing it to crash into the lake. Dana manages to escape, but she is quickly found and brutally attacked by Matthew. | |||
It turns out that Marty came across a hidden control box near the cabin from which he was able to access an elevator with glass walls. He and Dana take it down to the facility where the technicians are, and as they do so, they pass by a number of monsters, each of which corresponds to an artifact from the cellar. Their glass elevator is but one of many pods, each containing its own monster. Dana and Marty escape the elevator but are cornered by a SWAT team. To escape, they release the monsters in all the pods, who start killing off everyone in the facility. | |||
The lab employees celebrate the success of the rite, believing that Dana is the only survivor. Having previously dismembered Judah, Marty returns and helps Dana escape from Matthew. He takes her to a hidden elevator, and they descend into the lab and discover a large collection of different monsters in cages. Dana correlates them with the objects in the cellar and realizes that the objects determine which monsters are released. Cornered by security personnel, the pair release all the monsters, which wreak havoc and slaughter the staff; Hadley is killed by a ] and Dana accidentally stabs Sitterson. | |||
Dana and Marty find a large crypt with strange tablets and meet the "Director" (]). She tells them the reason for the ritual is to appease gods called "The Ancient Ones" who live beneath the facility and want the annual sacrifice of five young people who comprise certain archetypes: The Athlete, The Whore, The Scholar, The Fool, and The Virgin. The Ancient Ones will rise and destroy the world unless the ritual is completed, meaning that Marty must die before sunrise. The Director urges Dana to kill Marty in order to save all of humanity. | |||
Dana and Marty discover an ancient temple, where they are confronted by the facility's director. She explains that worldwide annual rituals of human sacrifice are held to appease the Ancient Ones, a group of cruel subterranean deities. Each region has its own ritual, and the American ritual involves the sacrifice of five ]: the whore (Jules), the athlete (Curt), the scholar (Holden), the fool (Marty), and the virgin (Dana). The order is arbitrary as long as the whore dies first and ]. | |||
Dana aims her gun at Marty but hesitates. The Director tries to kill Marty while Dana is attacked by a ]. Marty saves her and the Director is attacked by a zombie. Marty knocks the zombie and the Director off the platform and into the abode of the Ancient Ones. | |||
The director urges Dana to kill Marty and complete the ritual, but as Dana considers it, a werewolf suddenly mauls her. Marty shoots the werewolf and scares it off, but the director attacks him. Patience arrives and kills the director before Marty kicks them both into the pit below. Deciding that humanity is not worth saving, Dana and Marty apologize to each other and share a ] as the temple floor collapses and a giant hand emerges from the ground, destroying the facility and the cabin.<!-- Please view ] before adding material. --> | |||
Marty sits and comforts Dana while also lighting a joint. He then remarks that this course of action might be for the best, that it might be better for someone else to get a chance at life. Morning comes and Marty and Dana hold each other as a gigantic hand from one of the Ancient Ones rises up and destroys the facility and cabin. | |||
<!-- Please review ] before adding material. --> | |||
==Cast== | == Cast == | ||
{{Cast listing| | |||
* Kristen Connolly as Dana Polk<ref name="nytimes_movies">{{cite news |url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/455109/The-Cabin-in-the-Woods/overview |title=The Cabin in the Woods |accessdate=13 April 2012 |work=] |publisher=] | first=Brooks | last=Barnes}}</ref><ref name=five>{{cite web |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a149103/five-more-go-to-cabin-in-the-woods.html|title=Five more go to 'Cabin In The Woods'|accessdate=10 March 2009 |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |date=10 March 2009 |work=]}}</ref><ref name="HollywoodReporter_20090121">{{cite web |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3ife1903a36d09a1d81140b973c2f4f580 |title=Two feel Joss Whedon's 'Cabin' pressure |accessdate=21 January 2009 |last=Kit |first=Borys |coauthors=Jay A. Fernandez |date=21 January 2009 |work=] |publisher=]}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref><ref name="HollywoodReporter_20090322">{{cite web |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i2ded48a3101e540b34683468469732f4 |title='Stomp the Yard' actor lands two film roles |accessdate=23 March 2009 |last=Fernandez |first=Jay A. |date=22 March 2009 |work=] |publisher=]}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> | |||
* ] as Dana Polk, a college student designated as "The Virgin" | |||
* ] as Curt Vaughan | |||
* ] as Curt Vaughan, a sociology major designated as "The Athlete" | |||
* ] as Jules Louden | |||
* ] as Jules Louden, a pre-medical college student and Curt's girlfriend, designated as "The Whore" | |||
* ] as Marty Mikalski | |||
* ] as Marty Mikalski, a college student designated as "The Fool" | |||
* ] as Holden McCrea | |||
* ] as Holden McCrea, Curt's football teammate, designated as "The Scholar" | |||
* ] as Richard Sitterson | |||
* ] as Gary Sitterson, one of the Facility's technicians | |||
* ] as Steve Hadley | |||
* ] as Steve Hadley, one of the Facility's technicians | |||
* ] as Truman | |||
* ] as Daniel Truman, the Facility's control room security officer | |||
* ] as Wendy Lin<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/19712 |title='The Cabin in the Woods' a Creature Feature?! |publisher=Bloody-disgusting.com |date= |accessdate=2010-10-04}}</ref> | |||
* ] as Wendy Lin, one of the Facility's technicians | |||
* ] as The Director/Herself | |||
* ] as The Director<!--Only credited as The Director-->, the unnamed leader of the Facility | |||
* Tim de Zarn as Mordecai | |||
* ] as Mordecai, a gas station owner who works for the Facility (designated as "The Harbinger") | |||
* ] as Patience Buckner | |||
* ] as Ronald the Intern, the Facility's intern | |||
* Matt Drake as Judah Buckner | |||
* ] as Mathew Buckner | * ] as Mathew Buckner | ||
* ] as |
* ] as Patience Buckner | ||
* ] as |
* ] as Father Buckner | ||
}} | |||
==Production== | == Production == | ||
===Filming=== | |||
The project began ] in March 2009 and completed on May 29, 2009, in ], ], ]. ] co-wrote the script with '']'' screenwriter ], who also directed the film, marking his directorial debut. Goddard previously worked with Whedon on both '']'' and '']'' as a writer. | |||
An international co-production film between the United States and Canada, ] began on March 9, 2009, in ],<ref>{{cite web |date=February 7, 2009 |title=Goddard Starts "Mordecai" In Vancouver|url=http://www.vancouverfilm.net/2009/02/goddard-starts-mordecai-in-vancouver.html |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190115103508/http://www.vancouverfilm.net/2009/02/goddard-starts-mordecai-in-vancouver.html|archive-date=January 15, 2019 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |website=VancouverFilm.net}}</ref> and concluded in May 2009. ] co-wrote the script with '']'' screenwriter ], who also directed the film, marking his directorial debut. Goddard previously worked with Whedon on '']'' and '']'' as a writer. | |||
Whedon described the film as an attempt to revitalize the horror genre. He called it a "loving hate letter" to the genre, continuing:<ref>{{cite web |last= |first= |date=June 6, 2013 |title=Joss Whedon talks The Cabin in the Woods|url=http://www.totalfilm.com/news/joss-whedon-talks-the-cabin-in-the-woods |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222033050/https://gamesradar.com/joss-whedon-talks-the-cabin-in-the-woods/ |archive-date=February 22, 2016 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |website=] |publisher=}}</ref> | |||
] filed for ] on November 3, 2010, but the film was still released as one of MGM's last pre-] films in development. | |||
{{blockquote|... it's a serious critique of what we love and what we don't about horror movies. I love being scared. I love that mixture of thrill, of horror, that objectification/identification thing of wanting definitely for the people to be all right but at the same time hoping they'll go somewhere dark and face something awful. The things that I don't like are kids acting like idiots, the devolution of the horror movie into torture porn and into a long series of sadistic comeuppances. Drew and I both felt that the pendulum had swung a little too far in that direction.}} | |||
Whedon described the film as an attempt to revitalize the horror genre which he, along with director/co-writer Goddard, felt had "devolved" with the introduction of "]". He called it a "loving hate letter" to the genre continuing | |||
{{quote|On another level it's a serious critique of what we love and what we don't about horror movies. I love being scared. I love that mixture of thrill, of horror, that objectification/identification thing of wanting definitely for the people to be all right but at the same time hoping they’ll go somewhere dark and face something awful. The things that I don't like are kids acting like idiots, the devolution of the horror movie into torture porn and into a long series of sadistic comeuppances. Drew and I both felt that the pendulum had swung a little too far in that direction.<ref>http://www.totalfilm.com/news/joss-whedon-talks-the-cabin-in-the-woods</ref>}} | |||
Concerning the sheer number of creatures to be designed and made for the film, AFX Studio's ] estimated that "close to a thousand" people were turned into one of around 60 different monster types.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=152}} The task necessitated renting a much larger facility to use as a workspace, as a crew of around 60 people were recruited. The producers told them to commence work on December 15, 2008, ahead of the official January 1, 2009, start date. They only completed the work by the March 9, 2009, production date because, as Anderson stated "We had nearly seventy people at peak, but in effect we had a hundred and forty people, because everybody had at least two jobs...it was crazy, but people had an incredible time...none of us are ever going to forget it, and we're never all going to be in the same room again."<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=153}} | |||
==Release== | |||
''The Cabin in the Woods'' was slated for ] on February 5, 2010<ref name=five/><ref name="SciFiWire_20090107">{{cite web |url=http://scifiwire.com/2009/01/joss-whedon-is-now-working-with-tom-cruise-horrors-yes.php |title=Joss Whedon is now working with Tom Cruise. Horrors? Yes! |accessdate=13 January 2009 |last=Lee |first=Patrick |date=7 January 2009 |work=] |publisher=SCI FI}}</ref> and then delayed until January 14, 2011 so the film could be converted to 3D.<ref name=delayed>{{cite web |url=http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=59907 |title=Whedon's Cabin in the Woods Going 3D in '11 |accessdate=9 October 2009 |date=9 October 2009 |work=Comingsoon.net}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fangoria.com/home/news/9-film-news/4230-whedons-cabin-moves-ahead-a-yearinto-the-third-dimension.html |title=Whedon’s CABIN moves ahead a year…into the third dimension|publisher=Fangoria}}</ref> However, on June 17, 2010, MGM announced that the film would be delayed indefinitely due to ongoing financial difficulties at the studio.<ref name="Delay">{{cite web|url=http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Joss-Whedon-s-Cabin-In-The-Woods-May-Be-MGM-s-Next-Casualty-19078.html |title=Joss Whedon's Cabin in the Woods may be MGM's next casualty |publisher=Cinemablend.com |date=2010-06-17 |accessdate=2010-10-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.deadline.com/2010/06/mgm-to-morph-into-a-pure-production-play/#more-50490 |title=MGM To Morph Into A Pure Production Play? |publisher=Deadline.com}}</ref> | |||
The underground complex, elevators, and the control room were all sets, but for several wide shots, the ]'s Aerospace building was used. Production designer Martin Whist referred to ] and commented: "It's very high-tech industrial, and it's a brand new building, never been shot in before...I wanted to be without any controls...to almost feel like a glamorized freight elevator...The lobby I wanted to look slightly utilitarian, contemporary and institutional...sharp and almost characterless."<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|pages=134–137}} | |||
On March 16, 2011, the '']'' reported the following: "New (MGM) chief executives ] and ] are seeking to sell both (a) ''Red Dawn'' (remake) and the horror film ''The Cabin in the Woods,'' the last two pictures produced under a previous regime, as they try to reshape the 87-year-old company."<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-china-red-dawn-20110316,0,995726.story | work=Los Angeles Times | first1=Ben | last1=Fritz | first2=John | last2=Horn | title=Reel China: Hollywood tries to stay on China's good side | date=16 March 2011}}</ref> A distribution sale to ] was announced on April 28, 2011,<ref name="Lions Gate">{{cite web |url=http://www.deadline.com/2011/04/joss-whedons-cabin-in-the-woods-with-thors-chris-hemsworth-goes-to-lionsgate|title=Joss Whedon's 'Cabin In The Woods' With 'Thor's Chris Hemsworth Going To Lionsgate |accessdate=6 May 2011}}</ref> with some industry news outlets reporting plans for a Halloween 2011 release.<ref name="Halloween 2011 release">{{cite web |url=http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=18929| title=The Cabin in the Woods Coming October 28? | accessdate=15 May 2011}}</ref> On July 20, 2011, Lionsgate announced that they had acquired the distribution rights to the film and set a release date of April 13, 2012.<ref name = "Lionsgate Schedules Release Date"/> | |||
===Downloadable content=== | |||
The film had its ] at the ] film festival on Friday, March 9, 2012.<ref name="SXSW Cabin in the Woods Premiere">{{cite web |url=http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/03/10/sxsw-cabin-in-the-woods-premiere/| title=SXSW: 'Cabin in the Woods' kills at premiere. Just don't talk about it! | accessdate=2 April 2012}}</ref> | |||
A tie-in of the film with the video game '']'' had been planned, with the game seeing ] based on the movie's settings. However, due to MGM's financial problems, the game content was cancelled, but ] allowed the studio to use monsters from ''Left 4 Dead 2'' to populate the monster cells at the end of the film.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/gaming/2012/9/21/3371046/left-4-dead-2-almost-featured-the-cabin-in-the-woods-dlc |title='Left 4 Dead 2' almost featured 'The Cabin in the Woods' DLC |first=Megan |last=Farokhmanesh |date=September 21, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |work=]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219044505/https://www.polygon.com/gaming/2012/9/21/3371046/left-4-dead-2-almost-featured-the-cabin-in-the-woods-dlc |archive-date=December 19, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
== |
== Release == | ||
''The Cabin in the Woods'' was slated for ] on February 5, 2010 (before that, it was slated for release on October 23, 2009),<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/9655/goodard-s-cabin-moves-to-2010/ | title=Goodard's Cabin Moves to 2010 | date=5 December 2008 | access-date=January 29, 2023 | archive-date=March 21, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321071507/https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/9655/goodard-s-cabin-moves-to-2010/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="five">{{cite web |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a149103/five-more-go-to-cabin-in-the-woods |title=Five more go to 'Cabin in the Woods' |access-date=December 26, 2018 |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |date=October 3, 2009 |work=]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227085109/https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a149103/five-more-go-to-cabin-in-the-woods/ |archive-date=December 27, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="SciFiWire_20090107">{{cite web |last=Lee |first=Patrick |date=December 14, 2012 |title=Joss Whedon is now working with Tom Cruise. Horrors? Yes!|url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/joss_whedon_is_now_working_with_tom_cruise_horrors_yes |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227042117/https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/joss_whedon_is_now_working_with_tom_cruise_horrors_yes |archive-date=December 27, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |work=]}}</ref> and then delayed until January 14, 2011, so the film could be converted to 3D.<ref name="delayed">{{cite web |last=Douglas |first=Edward |date=October 9, 2009 |title=Whedon's Cabin in the Woods Going 3D in '11|url=https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/59907-whedons-cabin-in-the-woods-going-3d-in-11 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023041903/https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/59907-whedons-cabin-in-the-woods-going-3d-in-11 |archive-date=October 23, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |work=]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Gingold |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Gingold |date=October 9, 2009 |title=Whedon's CABIN moves ahead a year…into the Third Dimension |url=http://www.fangoria.com/home/news/9-film-news/4230-whedons-cabin-moves-ahead-a-yearinto-the-third-dimension.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091014054341/http://www.fangoria.com/home/news/9-film-news/4230-whedons-cabin-moves-ahead-a-yearinto-the-third-dimension.html |archive-date=October 14, 2009 |publisher=]}}</ref> However, on June 17, 2010, MGM announced that the film would be delayed indefinitely due to ongoing financial difficulties at the studio.<ref name="Delay">{{cite web |last=Tyler |first=Josh |date=June 17, 2010 |title=Joss Whedon's Cabin In The Woods May Be MGM's Next Casualty |url=https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Joss-Whedon-s-Cabin-In-The-Woods-May-Be-MGM-s-Next-Casualty-19078.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022153144/https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Joss-Whedon-s-Cabin-In-The-Woods-May-Be-MGM-s-Next-Casualty-19078.html |archive-date=October 22, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |website=] |publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2010/06/mgm-to-morph-into-a-pure-production-play-50490 |title=MGM To Morph Into A Pure Production Play? |website=] |last=Fleming |first=Mike Jr. |date=June 29, 2010 |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116175625/https://deadline.com/2010/06/mgm-to-morph-into-a-pure-production-play-50490/ |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | |||
''The Cabin in the Woods'' has received extreme critical acclaim; based on 140 reviews collected by ], the film currently holds a 93% approval rating from critics, with an average score of 7.9/10. The reviewers for ] praised the film, calling it a "game-changer" and saying it was on par with classic genre-bending horror films like '']''.<ref>http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cabin_in_the_woods/</ref> | |||
On March 16, 2011, the '']'' reported the following: "New (MGM) chief executives ] and ] are seeking to sell both '']'' and the horror film ''The Cabin in the Woods,'' the last two pictures produced under a previous regime, as they try to reshape the 87-year-old company."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fritz |first1=Ben |last2=Horn |first2=John |date=March 16, 2011 |title=Reel China: Hollywood tries to stay on China's good side |work=]|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-china-red-dawn-20110316-story.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227040606/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-china-red-dawn-20110316-story.html |archive-date=December 27, 2018}}</ref> A distribution sale to ] was announced on April 28, 2011,<ref name="Lions Gate">{{cite web |last=Fleming |first=Mike Jr. |date=April 28, 2011 |title=Joss Whedon's 'Cabin In The Woods' With 'Thor's Chris Hemsworth Going To Lionsgate|url=https://deadline.com/2011/04/joss-whedons-cabin-in-the-woods-with-thors-chris-hemsworth-goes-to-lionsgate-126778|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325121446/https://deadline.com/2011/04/joss-whedons-cabin-in-the-woods-with-thors-chris-hemsworth-goes-to-lionsgate-126778/ |archive-date=March 25, 2019 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |website=]}}</ref> with some industry news outlets reporting plans for a Halloween 2011 release.<ref name="Halloween 2011 release">{{cite web |last=Turek |first=Ryan |date=April 29, 2011 |title=The Cabin in the Woods Coming October 28?|url=http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=18929 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110830040025/http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=18929 |archive-date=August 30, 2011 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |website=] |publisher=}}</ref> On July 20, 2011, Lionsgate announced that they had acquired the distribution rights to the film and set a release date of April 13, 2012.<ref name="USRelease">{{cite web |last=Bettinger |first=Brendan |date=July 20, 2011 |title=Lionsgate Schedules The Cabin in the Woods for April 13, 2012 |url=https://collider.com/the-cabin-in-the-woods-release-date/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226233148/http://collider.com/the-cabin-in-the-woods-release-date/ |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |work=]}}</ref> Goddard described the deal as "a dream," stating "there's no question that Lionsgate is the right home for ''Cabin''...you look at all the films that inspired ''Cabin'' – most of them were released by Lionsgate in the first place!"<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=40}} In an interview with ''Creative Screenwriting'', Goddard focused on the advantages of the delayed release, saying, "Lionsgate came along and they were the best possible home for that movie. Had the bankruptcy not happened, we wouldn't have been in the right fit with the right people. Yes, it took two years longer than we wish it would've taken, but Lionsgate didn't make us change a frame and believed in what we were trying to do. If I had complained too much when MGM went bankrupt, we could have hurt ourselves. We just held firm that we believed in the movie and that we would find the right home and time, and it did. It's hard, but you have to be very patient in Hollywood."<ref>{{cite web |last=McKittrick |first=Christopher |author-link=Christopher McKitterick |date=January 5, 2016 |title=Life Goes On: Drew Goddard on The Martian|url=https://creativescreenwriting.com/life-goes-on-drew-goddard-on-the-martian/ |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190102160458/https://creativescreenwriting.com/life-goes-on-drew-goddard-on-the-martian/ |archive-date=January 2, 2019 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |website=Creative Screenwriting |publisher=International Screenwriters’ Association |publication-place=Los Angeles, California}}</ref> | |||
Film critic ] gave ''The Cabin in the Woods'' three stars out of four, and commented "''The Cabin in the Woods'' has been constructed almost as a puzzle for horror fans to solve. Which conventions are being toyed with? Which authors and films are being referred to? Is the film itself an act of criticism?"<ref>http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120411/REVIEWS/120419993/</ref> | |||
A surprise early screening of the film was held at the ] in December 2011, attracting highly positive reactions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/bnat-13-recap-hobbit-cabin-woods-grey-ghost-rider-spirit-vengeance/ |title=BNAT 13 Recap: The Hobbit, The Grey, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance And More |last=Lussier |first=Germain |date=December 12, 2011 |website=] |access-date=July 21, 2020 |archive-date=July 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200722055141/https://www.slashfilm.com/bnat-13-recap-hobbit-cabin-woods-grey-ghost-rider-spirit-vengeance/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/cabin-woods-joss-whedon-ode-horror-scares-buzz-genre-fans-article-1.1056805 |title='Cabin in the Woods,' Joss Whedon's ode to horror, scares up buzz among genre fans |last=Sacks |first=Ethan |date=April 8, 2012 |website=] |access-date=July 21, 2020 |archive-date=July 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200722063146/https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/cabin-woods-joss-whedon-ode-horror-scares-buzz-genre-fans-article-1.1056805 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Haffner |first=Michael |title='Cabin in the Woods' Screened in Austin Over the Weekend at BNAT|url=http://www.destroythebrain.com/movies/movie-news/cabin-in-the-woods-screened-in-austin-over-the-weekend-at-bnat |date=December 12, 2011 |publisher=Destroy The Brain |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226232951/http://www.destroythebrain.com/movies/movie-news/cabin-in-the-woods-screened-in-austin-over-the-weekend-at-bnat |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> The film later screened on March 9, 2012, at the ] film festival, also in Austin.<ref name="SXSWPremiere">{{cite magazine |last=Vary |first=Adam B. |date=March 10, 2012 |title=SXSW: 'Cabin in the Woods' kills at premiere. Just don't talk about it!|url=https://ew.com/article/2012/03/10/sxsw-cabin-in-the-woods-premiere/ |url-status=live |magazine=]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226232756/https://ew.com/article/2012/03/10/sxsw-cabin-in-the-woods-premiere/ |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018}}</ref> | |||
==References== | |||
{{Reflist|2}} | |||
== |
===Home media=== | ||
''The Cabin in the Woods'' was released on ] and ] in North America on September 18, 2012.<ref name="HomeRelease">{{cite web |last=Landy |first=Tom |date=June 29, 2012 |title='The Cabin in the Woods' Dated for Blu-ray|url=https://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Lionsgate/Disc_Announcements/The_Cabin_in_the_Woods_Dated_for_Blu-ray_/9720 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226232831/https://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Lionsgate/Disc_Announcements/The_Cabin_in_the_Woods_Dated_for_Blu-ray_/9720 |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |website=High-Def Digest |publisher=Internet Brands |publication-place=Los Angeles, California}}</ref> Both the DVD and Blu-ray feature an audio commentary by Goddard and Whedon, several featurettes, a documentary about the making of the film, and a Q&A session at the 2012 ] convention.<ref>{{cite web |last=West |first=Kelly |date=July 6, 2012 |title=Cabin In The Woods Blu-Ray/DVD Bonus Content Announced |url=https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Cabin-Woods-Blu-Ray-DVD-Bonus-Content-Announced-31762.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226232850/https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Cabin-Woods-Blu-Ray-DVD-Bonus-Content-Announced-31762.html |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |website=] |publisher=}}</ref> | |||
* {{Official website|http://discoverthecabininthewoods.com//}} | |||
* {{IMDb title|1259521|The Cabin in the Woods}} | |||
* {{allrovi movie|463538|The Cabin in the Woods}} | |||
* {{mojo title|cabininthewoods|The Cabin in the Woods}} | |||
* {{rotten-tomatoes|1200439|The Cabin in the Woods}} | |||
* {{metacritic film|the-cabin-in-the-woods|The Cabin in the Woods}} | |||
== Reception == | |||
=== Box office === | |||
''The Cabin in the Woods'' grossed $42.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $24.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $66.5 million, against a production budget of $30 million.<ref name="BOM">{{cite web |title=The Cabin in the Woods (2012)|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=cabininthewoods.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116033611/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=cabininthewoods.htm |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |work=] |publisher=}}</ref> | |||
The film opened in North America on April 13, 2012, opening with $5.5 million and went on to gross $14.7 million in its opening weekend at 2,811 theaters, finishing third at the box office.<ref>{{cite web |last=Subers |first=Ray |date=April 14, 2012 |title=Friday Report: 'Hunger Games' Beats 'Stooges,' 'Cabin' |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3419&p=s.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116033935/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3419&p=s.htm |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |work=] |publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Weekend Box Office: April 13-15, 2012 |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2012&wknd=15&p=.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116033553/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2012&wknd=15&p=.htm |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |work=] |publisher=}}</ref> ''The Cabin in the Woods'' closed in theaters on July 12, 2012, with $42.0 million. In total earnings, its highest-grossing countries after North America were the United Kingdom ($8.5 million), France ($2.4 million), and Russia ($2.3 million).<ref>{{cite web |title=The Cabin in the Woods |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=cabininthewoods.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116035126/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=cabininthewoods.htm |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |work=] |publisher=}}</ref> | |||
===Critical response=== | |||
The review aggregator website ] gave the film a rating of {{RT data|score}}, based on 294 reviews, with an average rating of {{RT data|average}}. The site's critical consensus reads, "''The Cabin in the Woods'' is an astonishing meta-feat, capable of being funny, strange, and scary — frequently all at the same time."<ref>{{cite web |title=The Cabin in the Woods (2011)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cabin_in_the_woods |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020084516/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cabin_in_the_woods/ |archive-date=October 20, 2019 |access-date={{RT data|access date}} |website=] |publisher=}}</ref> On ], the film achieved an average score of 72 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-cabin-in-the-woods |title=The Cabin in the Woods |publisher=] |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711113414/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-cabin-in-the-woods |archive-date=July 11, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Audiences polled by ] gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Smith |first1=Grady |title=Box office report: 'Hunger Games' wins with $21.5M, passes $500M worldwide; 'Three Stooges' and 'Cabin in the Woods' debut decently |url=https://ew.com/article/2012/04/15/box-office-report-hunger-games-three-stooges-cabin-in-the-woods/ |magazine=] |access-date=May 1, 2022 |date=April 15, 2012 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501200907/https://ew.com/article/2012/04/15/box-office-report-hunger-games-three-stooges-cabin-in-the-woods/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
] of the '']'' gave the film three out of four stars, saying that "''The Cabin in the Woods'' has been constructed almost as a puzzle for horror fans to solve. Which conventions are being toyed with? Which authors and films are being referred to? Is the film itself an act of criticism?"<ref>{{cite web|last=Ebert|first=Roger|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-cabin-in-the-woods-2012 |title=The Cabin in the Woods |access-date=December 26, 2018 |date=April 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230114319/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-cabin-in-the-woods-2012 |archive-date=December 30, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> ] of '']'' gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, calling it "fiendishly funny". Travers praised Kristen Connolly and Fran Kranz for their performances, and wrote, "By turning splatter formula on its empty head, ''Cabin'' shows you can unleash a fire-breathing horror film without leaving your brain or your heart on the killing floor."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-cabin-in-the-woods-122574/ |title=The Cabin in the Woods |last=Travers |first=Peter |magazine=] |date=April 12, 2012 |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226232757/https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-cabin-in-the-woods-122574/ |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Cinema Blend's Editor in Chief, Katey Rich, gave the film 4.5 out of 5 stars and wrote: | |||
{{Blockquote|"Even when the story sticks firmly in standard horror territory, this particular group of attractive kids is especially fun to spend time with... You'll have to see it, and you ''really'' have to see it if you love horror, hate horror, or have any interest in seeing how the genre can function as a playground for something completely fresh. Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford are involved, though in roles that are more fun to discover as you go along-- they do get a lot of the best jokes, though, and their scenes show a lot of Goddard's skill in handling the rhythm of a scene."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cinemablend.com/reviews/The-Cabin-in-the-Woods-5775.html |last=Rich |first=Katey |date=May 27, 2016 |title=The Cabin in the Woods |publisher=Cinema Blend |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226233118/https://www.cinemablend.com/reviews/The-Cabin-in-the-Woods-5775.html |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>}} | |||
Jenkins and Whitford were also admired by '']'' ("Whitford and Jenkins clearly delight in the verbose script") and by '']'', whose reviewer (granting 9 of 10 stars) called ''Cabin'' "a smart sendup of horror movies and mythology...with a peculiar relish that testifies to the moviemakers' love of genre film... a smart, sarcastic and deliriously fun journey into the belly of the horror beast." He cited the "witty banter, creative twists" and "clippy, quippy dialog that lifted '']'' and ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' to cult status."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2012/04/review-cabin-in-the-woods/ |last=Wallace |first=Lewis |date=April 13, 2012 |title=Review: ''Cabin in the Woods'' Rips Horror a New One |magazine=] |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227040733/https://www.wired.com/2012/04/review-cabin-in-the-woods/ |archive-date=December 27, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Ann Hornaday of '']'', giving the movie 3 of 4 stars, wrote: | |||
{{Blockquote|"A fiendishly clever brand of meta-level genius propels ''The Cabin in the Woods'', a pulpy, deceivingly insightful send-up of horror movies that elicits just as many knowing chuckles as horrified gasps. comes not only to praise the slasher-, zombie- and gore-fests of yore but to critique them, elaborating on their grammatical elements and archetypal figures even while searching for ways to put them to novel use. The danger in such a loftily ironic approach is that everything in the film appears with ready-made quotation marks around it... But by then, the audience will have picked up on the infectiously goofy vibe of an enterprise that, from its first sprightly moments, clearly has no intention of taking itself too seriously."<ref>{{cite news |last=Hornaday |first=Ann |title=The Cabin in the Woods: Editorial Review |newspaper=] |date=April 13, 2012|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/the-cabin-in-the-woods,1158786.html |access-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222231423/http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/the-cabin-in-the-woods,1158786.html |archive-date=December 22, 2015}}</ref>}} | |||
Eric Goldman, writing for ], called the movie "an incredibly clever and fun take on classic horror movie tropes."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2012/04/12/the-cabin-in-the-woods-review |last=Goldman |first=Eric |date=April 12, 2012 |title=The Cabin in the Woods Review |publisher=] |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226233033/https://www.ign.com/articles/2012/04/12/the-cabin-in-the-woods-review |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> '']'' said, "The cliches come at an onslaught pace" in "a wonderfully conceived story that gives a bigger than life and fascinating explanation for why so many horror movie cliches exist in the first place... By the time the ride is over, director Drew Goddard and co-writers Goddard and Joss Whedon will change course three or four times, nodding and winking but never losing momentum."<ref>{{cite news |last=Hartlaub |first=Peter |title='Cabin in the Woods,' review |work=] |date=August 6, 2013|url=https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Cabin-in-the-Woods-review-3477920.php |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226232824/https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Cabin-in-the-Woods-review-3477920.php |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Of the screenplay by Goddard and Whedon, a ] reviewer praised "these horror hipsters' acidic, postmodern designs on one of the movie industry's hoariest, least respected staples... the dialogue is always a notch or three smarter and snappier than you'd expect."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/04/13/showbiz/movies/cabin-in-the-woods-review |last=Charity |first=Tom |date=April 13, 2012 |title=Review: 'Cabin in the Woods' is sheer horror heaven |publisher=] |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226232911/https://www.cnn.com/2012/04/13/showbiz/movies/cabin-in-the-woods-review |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Keith Phipps of ''The A.V. Club'' addressed "...the difficult challenge of putting across a satirical film with a serious body count. ''Cabin'' touches on everything from '']'' and '']'' to the mechanized mutilations of the '']'' series while digging deeper into the ] roots of horror in an attempt to reveal what makes the genre work... It's an exercise in ] that, while providing grisly fun, never distances viewers. And it's entertaining, while asking the same ] of viewers and characters alike: Why come to a place you knew all along was going to be so dark and dangerous?"<ref name="AV">{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/the-cabin-in-the-woods-1798172361 |last=Phipps |first=Keith |date=April 12, 2012 |title=The Cabin In The Woods |publisher=] |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227040629/https://film.avclub.com/the-cabin-in-the-woods-1798172361 |archive-date=December 27, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
In a more mixed review, ] of '']'', calling herself "a wised-up viewer," gave the film a "B−" grade and said, "The movie's biggest surprise may be that the story we think we know from modern scary cinema—that horror is a fun, cosmic game, not much else—here turns out to be pretty much the whole enchilada." She shrugged off the talents of Whitford and Jenkins: "These two experienced actors provide the film's adult-level entertainment."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2012/04/23/cabin-woods/|title=The Cabin in the Woods |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=April 23, 2012 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |last=Schwarzbaum |first=Lisa|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181117002306/https://ew.com/article/2012/04/23/cabin-woods/ |archive-date=November 17, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Betsy Sharkey of the '']'' believed that the film "is an inside joke" and also said, "The laughs come easily, the screams not so much."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2012-apr-13-la-et-cabin-in-the-woods-20120413-story.html |last=Sharkey |first=Betsy |work=Los Angeles Times |title=Review: 'The Cabin in the Woods' is Joss Whedon's inside joke |date=April 13, 2012 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102205537/http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/13/entertainment/la-et-cabin-in-the-woods-20120413 |archive-date=January 2, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> David Rooney of '']'' remarked, "It's just too bad the movie is never much more than a hollow exercise in self-reflexive cleverness that's not nearly as ingenious as it seems to think."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/cabin-woods-film-review-298129 |last=Rooney |first=David |work=The Hollywood Reporter |title=The Cabin in the Woods: Film Review |date=March 9, 2012 |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227040712/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/cabin-woods-film-review-298129 |archive-date=December 27, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
] of '']'' said, "Novelty and genre traditionalism often fight to a draw. Too much overt cleverness has a way of spoiling dumb, reliable thrills. And despite the evident ingenuity and strenuous labor that went into it, ''The Cabin in the Woods'' does not quite work." Scott added: | |||
{{Blockquote|"Some of the pleasure of the first (and best) part of ''The Cabin in the Woods'' comes from trying to see just over the narrative horizon and figure out what these incompatible sets of clichés have to do with each other. Two distinct kinds of movie are being yoked, by violence, together, and the performers inhabit their familiar roles with unusual wit."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/13/movies/the-cabin-in-the-woods-by-drew-goddard-and-joss-whedon.html?ref=movies&_r=0 |title=Taking a Chain Saw to Horror Movie Clichés |work=] |date=April 12, 2012 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |first=A.O. |last=Scott |author-link=A.O. Scott|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226233111/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/13/movies/the-cabin-in-the-woods-by-drew-goddard-and-joss-whedon.html?ref=movies&_r=0 |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>}} | |||
===Accolades=== | |||
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="font-size: 100%;" | |||
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;" | |||
! scope="col" | Award | |||
! scope="col" | Date of ceremony | |||
! scope="col" | Category | |||
! scope="col" | Nominee(s) | |||
! scope="col" | Result | |||
|- | |||
! scope="row" | ] | |||
| June 2013 | |||
| ]<ref>{{Cite web|title=2012 Bram Stoker Awards Winners & Nominees – The Bram Stoker Awards|url=https://www.thebramstokerawards.com/uncategorized/2012-bram-stoker-awards-winners-nominees/|access-date=2022-01-24|language=en-US|website=]|archive-date=June 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603142336/https://www.thebramstokerawards.com/uncategorized/2012-bram-stoker-awards-winners-nominees/|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
| ] and ] | |||
| {{won}} | |||
|- | |||
! scope="row" | ] | |||
|November 3, 2013 | |||
|Best Screenplay<ref name="bfs; awards and nominations">{{cite web|date=November 3, 2013|title=Winners of the British Fantasy Awards 2013|url=http://www.britishfantasysociety.co.uk/british-fantasy-awards/winners-of-the-british-fantasy-awards-2013/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227005909/http://www.britishfantasysociety.co.uk/british-fantasy-awards/winners-of-the-british-fantasy-awards-2013/|archive-date=December 27, 2018|access-date=December 26, 2018|publisher=britishfantasysociety.co.uk}}</ref> | |||
|]<br>] | |||
| {{won}} | |||
|- | |||
! scope="row" rowspan="2" | Central Ohio Film Critics Association<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cofca.org/awards-2012/ |title=Awards 2012 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |publisher=Central Ohio Film Critics Association|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226233015/https://cofca.org/awards-2012/ |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
| rowspan="2" | January 3, 2013 | |||
| Best Original Screenplay | |||
| Drew Goddard<br>Joss Whedon | |||
| {{draw|Runner-up}} | |||
|- | |||
| colspan="2" | Best Picture | |||
| {{draw|5th place}} | |||
|- | |||
! scope="row" | ] | |||
| ] | |||
| Most Promising Filmmaker | |||
| Drew Goddard | |||
| {{nom}} | |||
|- | |||
! scope="row" | ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://detroitfilmcritics.com/awards/the-2012-detroit-film-critics-society-awards/ |title=The 2012 Detroit Film Critics Society Awards |date=December 14, 2012 |publisher=DetroitFilmCritics.com |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140118072756/http://detroitfilmcritics.com/awards/the-2012-detroit-film-critics-society-awards/ |archive-date=January 18, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
| December 14, 2012 | |||
| Best Screenplay | |||
| Drew Goddard<br>Joss Whedon | |||
| {{nom}} | |||
|- | |||
! scope="row" | ] | |||
| ] | |||
| colspan="2" | ] | |||
| {{nom}} | |||
|- | |||
! scope="row" rowspan="4" | ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fangoriaarchive.com/the-2013-fangoria-chainsaw-awards-results/ |title=The 2013 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards Results! |publisher=Fangoria |date=June 13, 2013 |first=Michael |last=Gingold |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226232851/http://fangoriaarchive.com/the-2013-fangoria-chainsaw-awards-results/ |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
| rowspan="4" | June 13, 2013 | |||
| Best Screenplay | |||
| Drew Goddard<br>Joss Whedon | |||
| {{won}} | |||
|- | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | |||
| ] | |||
| {{won}} | |||
|- | |||
| colspan="2" | Best Wide-Release Film | |||
| {{won}} | |||
|- | |||
| Best Makeup/Creature FX | |||
| ] | |||
| {{won}} | |||
|- | |||
! scope="row" rowspan="2" | ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goldentrailer.com/gta13-nominees/ |title=GTA13 NOMINEES (2012) |access-date=December 26, 2018|publisher=GoldenTrailer.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917201156/http://www.goldentrailer.com/gta13-nominees/ |archive-date=September 17, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | |||
| rowspan="2" | May 31, 2012 | |||
| colspan="2" | Best Horror TV Spot | |||
| {{won}} | |||
|- | |||
| colspan="2" | Best Standee for Feature Film | |||
| {{nom}} | |||
|- | |||
! scope="row" | ] | |||
| September 1, 2013 | |||
| ] | |||
| Drew Goddard<br>Joss Whedon | |||
| {{nom}} | |||
|- | |||
! scope="row" | Kansas City Film Critics Circle<ref>{{cite web|url=https://uproxx.com/hitfix/the-master-ang-lee-win-with-kansas-city-film-critics-circle/ |title='The Master,' 'Ang Lee' win with Kansas City Film Critics Circle |work=] |date=December 16, 2012 |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226233142/https://uproxx.com/hitfix/the-master-ang-lee-win-with-kansas-city-film-critics-circle/ |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
| December 16, 2012 | |||
| colspan="2" | Best Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror Film | |||
| {{won}} | |||
|- | |||
! scope="row" | ]<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/golden-reel-nominees-413536 |title=Sound Editors Announce Golden Reel Nominees |journal=] |date=January 17, 2013 |first=Carolyn |last=Giardina |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116035440/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/golden-reel-nominees-413536 |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
| February 17, 2013 | |||
| Best Sound Editing – Music in a Feature Film | |||
| Clint Bennett (supervising music editor)<br>Tony Lewis (music editor)<br>Julie Pearce (music editor) | |||
| {{nom}} | |||
|- | |||
! scope="row" | ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| Joss Whedon<br>Drew Goddard | |||
| {{nom}} | |||
|- | |||
! scope="row" | Phoenix Film Critics Society<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2012/12/les-miserables-leads-phoenix-film-critics-nominations-42519/ |title='Les Miserables' Leads Phoenix Film Critics Nominations |publisher=IndieWire |date=December 12, 2012 |first=Peter |last=Knegt |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820111719/https://www.indiewire.com/2012/12/les-miserables-leads-phoenix-film-critics-nominations-42519/ |archive-date=August 20, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanownews.com/story/20371777/argo-top-phoenix-film-critics-society-2012-annual-awards |title='Argo' tops Phoenix Film Critics Society 2012 annual awards |publisher=] |first=Dave |last=Ramsey |date=December 18, 2012 |access-date=December 26, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130722090456/http://www.americanownews.com/story/20371777/argo-top-phoenix-film-critics-society-2012-annual-awards |archive-date=July 22, 2013}}</ref> | |||
| December 18, 2012 | |||
| colspan="2" | Overlooked Film of the Year | |||
| {{nom}} | |||
|- | |||
! scope="row" | ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| Drew Goddard<br>Joss Whedon | |||
| {{nom}} | |||
|- | |||
! scope="row" rowspan="2" | ] | |||
| rowspan="2" | ] | |||
| colspan="2" | ] | |||
| {{won}} | |||
|- | |||
| ] | |||
| Drew Goddard<br>Joss Whedon | |||
| {{nom}} | |||
|- | |||
! scope="row" | ] | |||
| ] | |||
| Best First Feature | |||
| Drew Goddard | |||
| {{nom}} | |||
|- | |||
|} | |||
== Lawsuit == | |||
On April 13, 2015, author Peter Gallagher filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in California federal court against the makers of the film.<ref name="copyright infringement">{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/joss-whedon-lionsgate-hit-copyright-788854 |title=Joss Whedon, Lionsgate Hit With Copyright Lawsuit Over 'The Cabin in the Woods' |first=Austin |last=Siegemund-Broka |date=April 14, 2015 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=December 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226232707/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/joss-whedon-lionsgate-hit-copyright-788854 |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Gallagher claimed that due to the similarities between the film and his 2006 novel ''The Little White Trip: A Night in the Pines'', ] and ] had used his work without permission. The lawsuit demanded $10 million in damages.<ref name="similarities">{{cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/joss-whedon-lionsgate-hit-with-10-million-cabin-in-the-woods-copyright-lawsuit/ |title=Joss Whedon, Lionsgate Hit With $10 Million 'Cabin in the Woods' Copyright Lawsuit |first=Tim |last=Kenneally |date=April 14, 2015 |publisher=TheWrap |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226120832/https://www.thewrap.com/joss-whedon-lionsgate-hit-with-10-million-cabin-in-the-woods-copyright-lawsuit/ |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Whedon and Goddard were named as defendants, along with the production company ] and distributor ].<ref name="copyright infringement" /><ref name="defendants">{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/04/15/joss-whedon-lionsgate-facing-lawsuit-over-the-cabin-in-the-woods |title=Joss Whedon, Lionsgate Facing Lawsuit Over The Cabin in the Woods |first=Luke |last=Reilly |date=April 14, 2015 |publisher=IGN |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226233228/https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/04/15/joss-whedon-lionsgate-facing-lawsuit-over-the-cabin-in-the-woods |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> The case was dismissed five months later.<ref name="dismissed">{{cite web|url=https://ew.com/article/2015/09/14/cabin-in-the-woods-lawsuit-dismissed/ |title=Cabin in the Woods lawsuit against Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard dismissed |first=Oliver |last=Gettell |date=September 14, 2015 |publisher=EW.com |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226233002/https://ew.com/article/2015/09/14/cabin-in-the-woods-lawsuit-dismissed/ |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
== References == | |||
{{Reflist}} | |||
== External links == | |||
{{wikiquote}} | |||
* {{IMDb title}} | |||
* {{Mojo title}} | |||
* {{Metacritic film}} | |||
* {{Rotten Tomatoes}} | |||
* {{ISFDB title|1214400}} | |||
{{Drew Goddard}} | |||
{{Joss Whedon}} | {{Joss Whedon}} | ||
{{Saturn Award for Best Horror or Thriller Film 2011–2030}} | |||
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Latest revision as of 11:08, 12 January 2025
2011 science fiction comedy horror film by Drew Goddard This article is about the 2011 science fiction film. For the song by Rodney Atkins, see Take a Back Road.
The Cabin in the Woods | |
---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Drew Goddard |
Written by | Joss Whedon Drew Goddard |
Produced by | Joss Whedon |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Peter Deming |
Edited by | Lisa Lassek |
Music by | David Julyan |
Production companies | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (uncredited) United Artists (uncredited) Mutant Enemy Productions |
Distributed by | Lionsgate |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 95 minutes |
Countries |
|
Language | English |
Budget | $30 million |
Box office | $69.9 million |
The Cabin in the Woods is a 2011 science fiction comedy horror film directed by Drew Goddard in his directorial debut, produced by Joss Whedon, and written by Whedon and Goddard. It stars Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, and Bradley Whitford. The plot follows a group of college students who retreat to a remote cabin in the woods where they fall victim to a variety of monsters while technicians manipulate events from an underground facility for a global purpose.
Goddard and Whedon, who previously worked together on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, wrote the screenplay in three days, describing it as an attempt to "revitalize" the slasher film genre and as a critical satire on torture porn. The special effects, monster costumes, special makeup, and prosthetic makeup for the film were done by AFX Studio. Filming took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, from March to May 2009 on an estimated budget of $30 million.
The film was originally slated for release on October 23, 2009, which was later delayed to February 5, 2010, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and United Artists (UA), but was indefinitely shelved due to financial difficulties. In 2011, Lionsgate picked up the distribution rights. The film premiered in December 2011 at the Butt-Numb-A-Thon film festival in Austin, Texas and was released in the United States on April 13, 2012, to critical and commercial success. It grossed $66.5 million worldwide, and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its screenplay, tone, and performances.
Plot
In an underground laboratory, engineers Gary Sitterson and Steve Hadley discuss a mysterious ritual, after a similar operation in Stockholm just ended in failure, leaving only their facility and one in Japan to undertake the process, and with the latter holding a perfect record.
American college students Dana Polk, Jules Louden, Curt Vaughan, Holden McCrea, and Marty Mikalski are spending their weekend at Curt's cousin's cabin in the woods. From the lab, Sitterson and Hadley remotely control the cabin and manipulate the students by intoxicating them with mind-altering drugs. In the cabin's cellar, the group finds bizarre objects, including the diary of Patience Buckner, a cabin resident abused by her sadistic family. Dana recites incantations from the diary and inadvertently summons the zombified Matthew and Judah Buckner.
Hadley releases pheromones to induce Curt and Jules to have sex outside. They are attacked by the Buckners and Jules is decapitated while Curt escapes. Marty discovers concealed surveillance equipment in his room before being stabbed and dragged off by Judah. The lab workers learn that the site in Japan has also failed, meaning that the American rite is "humanity's last hope". Curt, Holden, and Dana attempt to escape in their RV, but Sitterson triggers a tunnel collapse to block them. Curt attempts to jump a ravine on his motorcycle to seek help on the other side, but crashes into a force field and falls to his death. Dana then realizes that their experience is staged and controlled. Holden is killed by Matthew while driving the RV, causing it to crash into the lake. Dana manages to escape, but she is quickly found and brutally attacked by Matthew.
The lab employees celebrate the success of the rite, believing that Dana is the only survivor. Having previously dismembered Judah, Marty returns and helps Dana escape from Matthew. He takes her to a hidden elevator, and they descend into the lab and discover a large collection of different monsters in cages. Dana correlates them with the objects in the cellar and realizes that the objects determine which monsters are released. Cornered by security personnel, the pair release all the monsters, which wreak havoc and slaughter the staff; Hadley is killed by a merman and Dana accidentally stabs Sitterson.
Dana and Marty discover an ancient temple, where they are confronted by the facility's director. She explains that worldwide annual rituals of human sacrifice are held to appease the Ancient Ones, a group of cruel subterranean deities. Each region has its own ritual, and the American ritual involves the sacrifice of five archetypes: the whore (Jules), the athlete (Curt), the scholar (Holden), the fool (Marty), and the virgin (Dana). The order is arbitrary as long as the whore dies first and the virgin dies last or survives.
The director urges Dana to kill Marty and complete the ritual, but as Dana considers it, a werewolf suddenly mauls her. Marty shoots the werewolf and scares it off, but the director attacks him. Patience arrives and kills the director before Marty kicks them both into the pit below. Deciding that humanity is not worth saving, Dana and Marty apologize to each other and share a joint as the temple floor collapses and a giant hand emerges from the ground, destroying the facility and the cabin.
Cast
- Kristen Connolly as Dana Polk, a college student designated as "The Virgin"
- Chris Hemsworth as Curt Vaughan, a sociology major designated as "The Athlete"
- Anna Hutchison as Jules Louden, a pre-medical college student and Curt's girlfriend, designated as "The Whore"
- Fran Kranz as Marty Mikalski, a college student designated as "The Fool"
- Jesse Williams as Holden McCrea, Curt's football teammate, designated as "The Scholar"
- Richard Jenkins as Gary Sitterson, one of the Facility's technicians
- Bradley Whitford as Steve Hadley, one of the Facility's technicians
- Brian White as Daniel Truman, the Facility's control room security officer
- Amy Acker as Wendy Lin, one of the Facility's technicians
- Sigourney Weaver as The Director, the unnamed leader of the Facility
- Tim de Zarn as Mordecai, a gas station owner who works for the Facility (designated as "The Harbinger")
- Tom Lenk as Ronald the Intern, the Facility's intern
- Dan Payne as Mathew Buckner
- Jodelle Ferland as Patience Buckner
- Dan Shea as Father Buckner
Production
Filming
An international co-production film between the United States and Canada, principal photography began on March 9, 2009, in Vancouver, and concluded in May 2009. Joss Whedon co-wrote the script with Cloverfield screenwriter Drew Goddard, who also directed the film, marking his directorial debut. Goddard previously worked with Whedon on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel as a writer.
Whedon described the film as an attempt to revitalize the horror genre. He called it a "loving hate letter" to the genre, continuing:
... it's a serious critique of what we love and what we don't about horror movies. I love being scared. I love that mixture of thrill, of horror, that objectification/identification thing of wanting definitely for the people to be all right but at the same time hoping they'll go somewhere dark and face something awful. The things that I don't like are kids acting like idiots, the devolution of the horror movie into torture porn and into a long series of sadistic comeuppances. Drew and I both felt that the pendulum had swung a little too far in that direction.
Concerning the sheer number of creatures to be designed and made for the film, AFX Studio's David LeRoy Anderson estimated that "close to a thousand" people were turned into one of around 60 different monster types. The task necessitated renting a much larger facility to use as a workspace, as a crew of around 60 people were recruited. The producers told them to commence work on December 15, 2008, ahead of the official January 1, 2009, start date. They only completed the work by the March 9, 2009, production date because, as Anderson stated "We had nearly seventy people at peak, but in effect we had a hundred and forty people, because everybody had at least two jobs...it was crazy, but people had an incredible time...none of us are ever going to forget it, and we're never all going to be in the same room again."
The underground complex, elevators, and the control room were all sets, but for several wide shots, the British Columbia Institute of Technology's Aerospace building was used. Production designer Martin Whist referred to Stanley Kubrick and commented: "It's very high-tech industrial, and it's a brand new building, never been shot in before...I wanted to be without any controls...to almost feel like a glamorized freight elevator...The lobby I wanted to look slightly utilitarian, contemporary and institutional...sharp and almost characterless."
Downloadable content
A tie-in of the film with the video game Left 4 Dead 2 had been planned, with the game seeing downloadable content based on the movie's settings. However, due to MGM's financial problems, the game content was cancelled, but Valve allowed the studio to use monsters from Left 4 Dead 2 to populate the monster cells at the end of the film.
Release
The Cabin in the Woods was slated for wide release on February 5, 2010 (before that, it was slated for release on October 23, 2009), and then delayed until January 14, 2011, so the film could be converted to 3D. However, on June 17, 2010, MGM announced that the film would be delayed indefinitely due to ongoing financial difficulties at the studio.
On March 16, 2011, the Los Angeles Times reported the following: "New (MGM) chief executives Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum are seeking to sell both Red Dawn and the horror film The Cabin in the Woods, the last two pictures produced under a previous regime, as they try to reshape the 87-year-old company." A distribution sale to Lionsgate was announced on April 28, 2011, with some industry news outlets reporting plans for a Halloween 2011 release. On July 20, 2011, Lionsgate announced that they had acquired the distribution rights to the film and set a release date of April 13, 2012. Goddard described the deal as "a dream," stating "there's no question that Lionsgate is the right home for Cabin...you look at all the films that inspired Cabin – most of them were released by Lionsgate in the first place!" In an interview with Creative Screenwriting, Goddard focused on the advantages of the delayed release, saying, "Lionsgate came along and they were the best possible home for that movie. Had the bankruptcy not happened, we wouldn't have been in the right fit with the right people. Yes, it took two years longer than we wish it would've taken, but Lionsgate didn't make us change a frame and believed in what we were trying to do. If I had complained too much when MGM went bankrupt, we could have hurt ourselves. We just held firm that we believed in the movie and that we would find the right home and time, and it did. It's hard, but you have to be very patient in Hollywood."
A surprise early screening of the film was held at the Butt-Numb-A-Thon in December 2011, attracting highly positive reactions. The film later screened on March 9, 2012, at the South by Southwest film festival, also in Austin.
Home media
The Cabin in the Woods was released on DVD and Blu-ray in North America on September 18, 2012. Both the DVD and Blu-ray feature an audio commentary by Goddard and Whedon, several featurettes, a documentary about the making of the film, and a Q&A session at the 2012 WonderCon convention.
Reception
Box office
The Cabin in the Woods grossed $42.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $24.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $66.5 million, against a production budget of $30 million.
The film opened in North America on April 13, 2012, opening with $5.5 million and went on to gross $14.7 million in its opening weekend at 2,811 theaters, finishing third at the box office. The Cabin in the Woods closed in theaters on July 12, 2012, with $42.0 million. In total earnings, its highest-grossing countries after North America were the United Kingdom ($8.5 million), France ($2.4 million), and Russia ($2.3 million).
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a rating of 92%, based on 294 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Cabin in the Woods is an astonishing meta-feat, capable of being funny, strange, and scary — frequently all at the same time." On Metacritic, the film achieved an average score of 72 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three out of four stars, saying that "The Cabin in the Woods has been constructed almost as a puzzle for horror fans to solve. Which conventions are being toyed with? Which authors and films are being referred to? Is the film itself an act of criticism?" Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, calling it "fiendishly funny". Travers praised Kristen Connolly and Fran Kranz for their performances, and wrote, "By turning splatter formula on its empty head, Cabin shows you can unleash a fire-breathing horror film without leaving your brain or your heart on the killing floor."
Cinema Blend's Editor in Chief, Katey Rich, gave the film 4.5 out of 5 stars and wrote:
"Even when the story sticks firmly in standard horror territory, this particular group of attractive kids is especially fun to spend time with... You'll have to see it, and you really have to see it if you love horror, hate horror, or have any interest in seeing how the genre can function as a playground for something completely fresh. Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford are involved, though in roles that are more fun to discover as you go along-- they do get a lot of the best jokes, though, and their scenes show a lot of Goddard's skill in handling the rhythm of a scene."
Jenkins and Whitford were also admired by The A.V. Club ("Whitford and Jenkins clearly delight in the verbose script") and by Wired, whose reviewer (granting 9 of 10 stars) called Cabin "a smart sendup of horror movies and mythology...with a peculiar relish that testifies to the moviemakers' love of genre film... a smart, sarcastic and deliriously fun journey into the belly of the horror beast." He cited the "witty banter, creative twists" and "clippy, quippy dialog that lifted Firefly and Buffy the Vampire Slayer to cult status."
Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post, giving the movie 3 of 4 stars, wrote:
"A fiendishly clever brand of meta-level genius propels The Cabin in the Woods, a pulpy, deceivingly insightful send-up of horror movies that elicits just as many knowing chuckles as horrified gasps. comes not only to praise the slasher-, zombie- and gore-fests of yore but to critique them, elaborating on their grammatical elements and archetypal figures even while searching for ways to put them to novel use. The danger in such a loftily ironic approach is that everything in the film appears with ready-made quotation marks around it... But by then, the audience will have picked up on the infectiously goofy vibe of an enterprise that, from its first sprightly moments, clearly has no intention of taking itself too seriously."
Eric Goldman, writing for IGN, called the movie "an incredibly clever and fun take on classic horror movie tropes." SF Gate said, "The cliches come at an onslaught pace" in "a wonderfully conceived story that gives a bigger than life and fascinating explanation for why so many horror movie cliches exist in the first place... By the time the ride is over, director Drew Goddard and co-writers Goddard and Joss Whedon will change course three or four times, nodding and winking but never losing momentum." Of the screenplay by Goddard and Whedon, a CNN reviewer praised "these horror hipsters' acidic, postmodern designs on one of the movie industry's hoariest, least respected staples... the dialogue is always a notch or three smarter and snappier than you'd expect."
Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club addressed "...the difficult challenge of putting across a satirical film with a serious body count. Cabin touches on everything from The Evil Dead and Friday the 13th to the mechanized mutilations of the Saw series while digging deeper into the Lovecraftian roots of horror in an attempt to reveal what makes the genre work... It's an exercise in metafiction that, while providing grisly fun, never distances viewers. And it's entertaining, while asking the same question of viewers and characters alike: Why come to a place you knew all along was going to be so dark and dangerous?"
In a more mixed review, Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly, calling herself "a wised-up viewer," gave the film a "B−" grade and said, "The movie's biggest surprise may be that the story we think we know from modern scary cinema—that horror is a fun, cosmic game, not much else—here turns out to be pretty much the whole enchilada." She shrugged off the talents of Whitford and Jenkins: "These two experienced actors provide the film's adult-level entertainment."
Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times believed that the film "is an inside joke" and also said, "The laughs come easily, the screams not so much." David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter remarked, "It's just too bad the movie is never much more than a hollow exercise in self-reflexive cleverness that's not nearly as ingenious as it seems to think."
A.O. Scott of The New York Times said, "Novelty and genre traditionalism often fight to a draw. Too much overt cleverness has a way of spoiling dumb, reliable thrills. And despite the evident ingenuity and strenuous labor that went into it, The Cabin in the Woods does not quite work." Scott added:
"Some of the pleasure of the first (and best) part of The Cabin in the Woods comes from trying to see just over the narrative horizon and figure out what these incompatible sets of clichés have to do with each other. Two distinct kinds of movie are being yoked, by violence, together, and the performers inhabit their familiar roles with unusual wit."
Accolades
Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bram Stoker Award | June 2013 | Best Screenplay | Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard | Won |
British Fantasy Award | November 3, 2013 | Best Screenplay | Joss Whedon Drew Goddard |
Won |
Central Ohio Film Critics Association | January 3, 2013 | Best Original Screenplay | Drew Goddard Joss Whedon |
Runner-up |
Best Picture | 5th place | |||
Chicago Film Critics Association | December 17, 2012 | Most Promising Filmmaker | Drew Goddard | Nominated |
Detroit Film Critics Society | December 14, 2012 | Best Screenplay | Drew Goddard Joss Whedon |
Nominated |
Empire Award | March 24, 2013 | Best Horror | Nominated | |
Fangoria Chainsaw Award | June 13, 2013 | Best Screenplay | Drew Goddard Joss Whedon |
Won |
Best Supporting Actor | Fran Kranz | Won | ||
Best Wide-Release Film | Won | |||
Best Makeup/Creature FX | David LeRoy Anderson | Won | ||
Golden Trailer Award | May 31, 2012 | Best Horror TV Spot | Won | |
Best Standee for Feature Film | Nominated | |||
Hugo Award | September 1, 2013 | Best Dramatic Presentation – Long Form | Drew Goddard Joss Whedon |
Nominated |
Kansas City Film Critics Circle | December 16, 2012 | Best Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror Film | Won | |
Motion Picture Sound Editors | February 17, 2013 | Best Sound Editing – Music in a Feature Film | Clint Bennett (supervising music editor) Tony Lewis (music editor) Julie Pearce (music editor) |
Nominated |
Online Film Critics Society | December 24, 2012 | Best Original Screenplay | Joss Whedon Drew Goddard |
Nominated |
Phoenix Film Critics Society | December 18, 2012 | Overlooked Film of the Year | Nominated | |
San Diego Film Critics Society | December 11, 2012 | Best Original Screenplay | Drew Goddard Joss Whedon |
Nominated |
Saturn Award | June 26, 2013 | Best Horror or Thriller Film | Won | |
Best Writing | Drew Goddard Joss Whedon |
Nominated | ||
Toronto Film Critics Association | December 18, 2012 | Best First Feature | Drew Goddard | Nominated |
Lawsuit
On April 13, 2015, author Peter Gallagher filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in California federal court against the makers of the film. Gallagher claimed that due to the similarities between the film and his 2006 novel The Little White Trip: A Night in the Pines, Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard had used his work without permission. The lawsuit demanded $10 million in damages. Whedon and Goddard were named as defendants, along with the production company Mutant Enemy Productions and distributor Lionsgate. The case was dismissed five months later.
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External links
- The Cabin in the Woods at IMDb
- The Cabin in the Woods at Box Office Mojo
- The Cabin in the Woods at Metacritic
- The Cabin in the Woods at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Cabin in the Woods title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
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- 2011 films
- 2011 black comedy films
- 2011 comedy horror films
- 2011 directorial debut films
- 2010s American films
- 2010s Canadian films
- 2010s English-language films
- 2010s monster movies
- 2010s parody films
- 2010s satirical films
- 2010s teen comedy films
- 2010s teen horror films
- American black comedy films
- American comedy horror films
- American films about revenge
- American parody films
- American satirical films
- American teen comedy films
- American teen horror films
- American werewolf films
- Apocalyptic films
- Canadian black comedy films
- Canadian comedy horror films
- Canadian films about revenge
- Canadian parody films
- Canadian satirical films
- Canadian teen comedy films
- Canadian teen horror films
- Canadian werewolf films
- English-language Canadian films
- Films about human sacrifice
- Films about mermaids
- Films about vacationing
- Films directed by Drew Goddard
- Films involved in plagiarism controversies
- Films produced by Joss Whedon
- Films scored by David Julyan
- Films set in forests
- Films set in subterranea
- Films set in the United States
- Films shot in Vancouver
- Films with screenplays by Drew Goddard
- Films with screenplays by Joss Whedon
- Kraken in popular culture
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- Parodies of horror
- Saturn Award–winning films
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- English-language comedy horror films
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