There are plenty of really clever horror movies that pull the rug from under you, and completely change how you perceive the story on a second or third viewing. Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island instantly springs to mind, as well as the entire body of M. Night Shyamalan’s work, though his quality can arguably be a little hit or miss. One that jumps straight into our heads, though, is 2012’s satirical postmodern horror hit, The Cabin in the Woods.
Helmed by Drew Goddard in his directorial debut, and written and produced by the mind behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, Joss Whedon, The Cabin in the Woods is an incredibly astute deconstruction of horror movie tropes with an incredibly creative central driving mystery. Don’t worry, if you’ve not seen it yet, there’ll be no major spoilers here!
In broad strokes, The Cabin in the Woods’ narrative revolves around a handful of friends who decide to take a trip to the titular home away from home for a fun-packed vacay. From here, things get a lot stranger, a lot creepier, and a lot funnier, too. One thing I will say with confidence is: You’ll probably never guess what’ll happen in this one.
But why are we bringing this cult classic up right now? Well, over on a recent Reddit thread, horror fans are absolutely giddy as they relive the highs of such an intelligent feature, which boasts some of the most smartly executed twists and turns in the entirety of horror cinema.
Of course, critics were absolutely floored by the film, as the pic holds a mighty 92 percent on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Regular Joes, on the other hand, were impressed, too, reflected by its 74 percent audience rating as well as its wildfire-like word-of-mouth buzz resulting in a box office haul to the tune of $66.5 million off a $30 million budget.
Starring the MCU’s Chris Hemsworth in one of his first movie roles, The Happening’s Kristen Connelly, Shortland Street’s Anna Hutchison, and Dollhouse’s Fran Kranz, amongst many more familiar faces, The Cabin in the Woods is a star-studded horror treat that’ll stay with you long after the credits have rolled, as re-affirmed by the aforementioned Reddit post. In short, if you’ve not seen it yet, do yourself a favor and fix that, pronto!
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