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The Cabin in the Woods

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The Cabin in the Woods
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDrew Goddard
Written byDrew Goddard
Joss Whedon
Produced byJoss Whedon
StarringKristen Connolly
Chris Hemsworth
Anna Hutchison
Fran Kranz
Jesse Williams
Richard Jenkins
Bradley Whitford
CinematographyPeter Deming
Edited byLisa Lassek
Music byDavid Julyan
Production
company		Mutant Enemy Productions
Distributed byLionsgate
Release date
  • April 13, 2012 (2012-04-13)
Running time95 minutes
CountryTemplate:Film US
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30 million

The Cabin in the Woods is a 2012 horror film co-written and directed by Drew Goddard and co-written and produced by Joss Whedon. It stars Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, Jesse Williams, Anna Hutchison, and Fran Kranz. The film was released on April 13, 2012.

Plot

In a large, unidentified facility, two scientists - Richard Sitterson (Jenkins) and Steve Hadley (Whitford) - are preparing for an unknown operation.

Meanwhile, five friends; Dana (Connolly), Curt (Chris Hemsworth), Jules (Anna Hutchison), Marty (Fran Kranz), and Holden (Jesse Williams), drive out to a remote cabin in the woods - supposedly being bought by Curt's cousin - for a vacation. As they near the location of the cabin, they stop for gas and meet the gas station's owner Mordecai (de Zarn). After giving them the gas and insulting Jules, he calls Sitterson and Hadley. Other workers in the facility get ready to initiate their operation and watch CCTV footage of the five setting up in the cabin. After finding a that one of the rooms features a one-way mirror, the friends begin to party by drinking, smoking and playing truth or dare.

While playing, a cellar door opens up abruptly and Dana is dared to explore. They find mysterious artifacts in the cellar, and each seems drawn to a particular item. Meanwhile, the scientists and technicians place bets on what will attack the people in the cabin. Dana eventually reads the diary of a daughter of a strange, self-mutilating family, reads a spell in Latin (despite Marty's objections) and unwittingly raises the family from the dead. The scientists then manipulates the teens' behavior by administering drugs through air ducts and subliminal messages. They get Curt and Jules outside to have sex and when they begin, the couple are attacked by the zombies and Jules is decapitated. Marty begins to feel like they are being controlled by "puppeteers" and meets Curt outside and the friends begin to barricade against the zombies. They are locked in their rooms and Marty is taken and presumably killed. Holden helps Dana escape by the one-way mirror and they escape the cabin to head to the vehicle, heading for the tunnel.

The scientists begin to worry when a glitch prevents the tunnel from blowing up, giving the survivors a chance to escape. Sitterson is able to get to the glitch area and fix the problem, which blows up the tunnel and gives the teens no chance of escape. Curt attempts to use a motorbike to jump the gap between the exit road and is able to get enough speed but is killed instantly by the invisible force field which causes him to crash and fall. Holden and Dana leave in the RV and attempt to find another exit with Dana now believing Marty's talk of "puppeteers". As they are driving though, the zombie is able to kill Holden and they crash into the lake while Dana escapes, now apparently the Final Girl. A zombie attacks her harshly while the scientists then begin to drink and party in celebration that they have completed the "ritual". The party soon stops when a phone call informs them that Marty survived and caused the glitch. Just as Dana is about to be killed, Marty rescues her by tripping the zombie and knocking it into the water.

While the others were trying to escape, Marty discovered a wire box in which he is able to access an elevator. They take it down to the center where the scientists are and also pass by a number of monsters in glass cells, and realize that the "puppeteers" were letting them decide their fate. They are stopped by a guard but are able to knock him out and escape, stealing the guard's gun and the knife from one of the zombies. Armed guards are sent to get them and Dana and Marty are cornered. In a last effort to escape, they release all the monsters who rampage through the complex, killing guards and technicians. Every person is killed along with Hadley and Lin. Sitterson stays alive and escapes by a secret trap door in the floor. He begins to run off before being stabbed accidentally by Dana who was able to find the other entrance. Before Sitterson dies, he tells Dana, "Kill him."

Dana and Marty find a large crypt with strange tablets and then meet the "Director" (Sigourney Weaver), an older woman in a suit with black gloves. She then tells them the reason for the ritual is for gods called "The Ancient Ones" who are large sentient beings who live under the facility and want the sacrifice of young people of particular types; The Athlete, The Whore, The Fool, The Scholar and The Virgin. Dana says she is not a virgin, and the director says, "We work with what we have." If the ritual is not complete, the ancient ones will rise and destroy the world. To complete it, the Fool (Marty) must die, though the Virgin (Dana) may or may not live.

Dana is tempted to shoot Marty but does not in the end. The Director attacks Marty and tries to kill him while Dana is attacked by a werewolf. Marty saves her but the Director gets the upper hand and steals the gun from him. Before shooting though, a zombie from the first batch kills her and Marty knocks them off the platform. He sits and comforts Dana while also lighting a blunt. He then remarks that this course of action might be for the best and "let someone else get a chance." Morning comes and Marty and Dana hold each other as a hand from The Ancient One rises up and destroys the facility and cabin as the movie ends.


Cast

Production

The project began filming in March 2009 and completed on May 29, 2009, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 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 both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel as a writer.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy on November 3, 2010, but the film was still released as one of MGM's last pre-Spyglass films in development.

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 "torture porn". He called it a "loving hate letter" to the genre continuing

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 alright 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.

Release

The Cabin in the Woods was slated for wide release on February 5, 2010 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 (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." A distribution sale to Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation 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.

The film had its world premiere at the South by Southwest film festival on March 9, 2012.

Reception

The Cabin in the Woods has received critical acclaim; based on 140 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently holds a 93% approval rating from critics, with an average score of 7.9/10. The reviewers for Spill.com praised the film, calling it a "game-changer" and saying it was on par with classic genre-bending horror films like Evil Dead II.

Film critic Roger Ebert 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?"

References

  1. ^ "Lionsgate Schedules THE CABIN IN THE WOODS for April 13, 2012". Collider. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
  2. "THE CABIN IN THE WOODS (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 2012-03-22. Retrieved 2012-04-13.
  3. "Joss Whedon's The Cabin in the Woods to Feature Creatures?". Dreadcentral.com. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
  4. Barnes, Brooks. "The Cabin in the Woods". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  5. ^ Reynolds, Simon (10 March 2009). "Five more go to 'Cabin In The Woods'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 10 March 2009.
  6. Kit, Borys (21 January 2009). "Two feel Joss Whedon's 'Cabin' pressure". The Hollywood Reporter. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 21 January 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  7. Fernandez, Jay A. (22 March 2009). "'Stomp the Yard' actor lands two film roles". The Hollywood Reporter. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
  8. "'The Cabin in the Woods' a Creature Feature?!". Bloody-disgusting.com. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
  9. http://www.totalfilm.com/news/joss-whedon-talks-the-cabin-in-the-woods
  10. Lee, Patrick (7 January 2009). "Joss Whedon is now working with Tom Cruise. Horrors? Yes!". Sci Fi Wire. SCI FI. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
  11. "Whedon's Cabin in the Woods Going 3D in '11". Comingsoon.net. 9 October 2009. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
  12. "Whedon's CABIN moves ahead a year…into the third dimension". Fangoria.
  13. "Joss Whedon's Cabin in the Woods may be MGM's next casualty". Cinemablend.com. 2010-06-17. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
  14. "MGM To Morph Into A Pure Production Play?". Deadline.com.
  15. Fritz, Ben; Horn, John (16 March 2011). "Reel China: Hollywood tries to stay on China's good side". Los Angeles Times.
  16. "Joss Whedon's 'Cabin In The Woods' With 'Thor's Chris Hemsworth Going To Lionsgate". Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  17. "The Cabin in the Woods Coming October 28?". Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  18. "SXSW: 'Cabin in the Woods' kills at premiere. Just don't talk about it!". Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  19. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cabin_in_the_woods/
  20. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120411/REVIEWS/120419993/

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