Co-written by Joss Whedon (of whom I am in awe) and Drew Goddard (in his directorial debut), Cabin in the Woods does a fantastic job of pairing the genuine fear I felt watching horror movies in my childhood ‒ I couldn’t sleep properly for weeks after watching (I shit you not) the edited-for-broadcast-television version of Friday the 13th, Part 2 (1981) ‒ with my adult appreciation for homage and the self-referential.
Goddard and Whedon collaborated on Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) and Angel (1999), two television series that affected my world view, which is the highest compliment I know how to pay. I love me some quality television and maybe I will post another series on that, but the topic at hand is film so let’s march on.
Cabin in the Woods starts off with all of the classic horror movie tropes (executed with sincerity and reverence) but then it grows. It becomes all horror movies and a commentary on all horror movies, all the while simultaneously entertaining and terrifying the viewer (in the way all the good ones do), and then sets a new bar with the mother of all endings.
One way that I evaluate movies (or books or plays or albums) is whether or not I’m still thinking about them days later. Another measure is whether or not I learn new things upon subsequent viewings. Cabin in the Woods delivers in spades on both counts. Oh, and they used 200,000 gallons of blood and you will never hear REO Speedwagon’s Roll with the Changes (1978) the same way again.
Bonus fun film fact #1 about Cabin in the Woods: At a fan Q&A, Goddard was asked, “Will there be a sequel?” Goddard replied, “Have you seen the ending to my movie?”
Bonus fun film fact #2 about Cabin in the Woods: Fran Kranz, who plays lovable hero stoner Marty, is so cut that they put baggy clothes on him and covered him up for the lake scene so he wouldn’t show up the other male leads.