THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, A FILM REVIEW BY MEGAN Harris: GINGER NUTS GOES TO UNI

Dir. Drew Goddard, USA, 95 mins

I’m not sure whether it was intended to be funny or sexy but Jules’ makeout scene with the taxidermied wolf was more horrifying than any of the bloodiest scenes in the film, her attempt at being sexy was very cringeworthy.​

Warning: the following contains spoilers.

Filming for The Cabin in the Woods originally began back in 2009 and was scheduled for release the following year. However, due to financial issues MDM were having it was shelved until it was taken up by Lionsgate in 2011 and finally released in 2012. However, the delay ended up working in the film’s favour as Chris Hemsworth was cast as Thor during shooting so by the time the film came out it gained more interest from Hemsworth’s newfound status.

A group of American college students go on what they hope to be a fun filled weekend away in a cabin in the middle of the woods. Little do they know that by the time night falls the five of them will be fighting for their lives as they become part of a carefully orchestrated ritual in an attempt to appease the ancient gods. Terrorised by the Buckner family who are hell bent on hunting each and every one of them it’s on Dana to decide to save the world…or destroy it.

At first, I didn’t like any of the characters as I just thought of them as your typical teen slasher stock characters. We have the athlete, Curt (Chris Hemsworth) and his sexy girlfriend Jules (Anna Hutchison). Dana the awkward virgin - sort of - (Kristen Connolly), the new guy, Holden (Jesse Williams) and Marty (Fran Kranz) the stoner who no one takes seriously. Once I watched more of the film, I realised that these characters were more rounded than they first appeared. This was done purposely both by the scientists in the film to ease the ritual process, as well as the directors of the film to parody the archetype characters of the genre as a whole. Although they were more complex than I first thought, I still didn’t feel much of a connection to most of the characters. In fact, the only person I really liked was Marty although I did feel for Curt and Dana the rest of the characters didn’t do it for me.

This film has been labelled as a comedy horror and where I do agree with this, I think there was definitely a clear split in where these two elements were. The comedy mostly appeared in scenes at the lab at least, for me anyway. Whilst there were some funny moments amongst the teens at the cabin these were few and far between and were mostly around Marty’s character. The comedic aspects of the lab were strategically placed to allow the viewer some relief between the more horrifying scenes.

I’m not sure whether it was intended to be funny or sexy but Jules’ makeout scene with the taxidermied wolf was more horrifying than any of the bloodiest scenes in the film, her attempt at being sexy was very cringeworthy. But, despite being labelled as the whore I feel that this is an unfair statement towards Jules, yes, she attempts to be sexy –  again, very cringey but maybe I wasn’t the target audience - but she is in a happy relationship with her boyfriend and only behaves this way after drinking and the lab’s involvement. The attempts at sex appeal throughout the film could again be parodies of other teen slasher films. The opening scene with Dana in her underwear seems irrelevant to the rest of the scene but if we look at other films of this genre a half-dressed woman being spied on through her window is a common trope.

Marty is also named ‘the fool’ which, considering he seems to have the most sense out of the five of them, doesn’t ring true. Not only does he suggest to the others that they should leave the basement and its artifacts alone, he also figures out that this was not all just an unhappy accident. It’s safe to say that if everyone had listened to him in the beginning there is a good chance that they would’ve had a much more fun weekend.

I am conflicted about how I feel towards the films ending, I am both satisfied but also disappointed as the end felt rather anticlimactic, but I can also understand why it happened the way it did. Throughout the film ancient Gods were alluded to and the people at the lab constantly stressed the importance of the rituals in order to appease them and keep humanity safe but by the end we still haven’t gotten a proper explanation as to who these Gods are and how the yearly rituals came to be. Considering that the opening credits showed multiple ancient ritual/sacrifice scenes, I was hopefully that the ancient world would’ve been given more focus. The end wasn’t what I expected and although I would’ve liked one last final fight to the end rather than the passive finish we got, I did still enjoy it and found it was almost more impactful than more blood considering the amount that was spilled through the rest of the film.

The director, Drew Goddard – also known for Buffy the Vampire Slayer - made good use of sound and lighting; much like how he mixed the comedic elements in with the more horrific scenes to keep the viewers on their toes he did the same with the sounds that were used. In the opening credits we are presented with creepy and intense music but when the film begins it immediately changes to an upbeat tune and the lighting was noticeably lighter creating a feel good mood. Lights and sounds were used well so that they complimented the mood of the scenes evoking specific emotions within the viewer. I also really liked the subtle hints that were threaded through the narrative that after watching the film a second time I really began to notice and understand the significance. I found it really interesting that each of the rituals show in the film were based on other well-known films and monsters for example, the Kyoto ritual is referencing The Ring, Buenos Aires is King Kong, Madrid is Dracula etc
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On first watch I wasn’t a huge lover of the film but despite the fact that horror isn’t my preferred genre – in fact I usually attempt to avoid it at all costs – it is now something I would gladly watch again. It is safe to say that although production got off to a rocky start, the film managed to make a comeback making a worldwide gross of $94,348,403 from a budget of $30,000,000. Overall, I rate this film an 8/10.
 
 
BIO
Megan Harris is an avid bookworm and film watcher who loves anything packed with action and unexpected turns. From a young age she has always been daydreaming of far off lands and daring adventures and at the age of 15 began to write her own tales and poetry which she shares on her Instagram page @meganilonaharris . Her favourite authors are L. J. Smith, Sarah J. Maas and Darren Shan, all of whom inspire her own work.