Whedon's Moving to Cabin in the Woods

[jnmx2000]

lol the whole thing with the kills is intentional. you're not supposed to get the gory deaths your used to. This isn't saw, this is telling you how much of a joke they think the saw films are. Which is why they go the anti gore rout when they are actually in the woods. Which is kind of one of the reasons I actually like this film.

[WildcatNC]

Saw this again tonight. Really love this movie. Was looking for more nuggets this time around.

[Wolfwood]

Originally Posted by jnmx2000

lol the whole thing with the kills is intentional. you're not supposed to get the gory deaths your used to. This isn't saw, this is telling you how much of a joke they think the saw films are. Which is why they go the anti gore rout when they are actually in the woods. Which is kind of one of the reasons I actually like this film.

I gotta disagree there cause the type of films this movie is parodying (i.e Friday the 13th) were pretty gory films in their own right. Saw and Hostel took it to an extreme, but the crazy films of the 80s had some brutal stuff in their day.

[DACrowe]

So we checked this out last night.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It was a very fun romp. I would hesitate to call it a horror movie though, because it was never scary, nor did it ever attempt to be. It was almost like a cinematic thesis paper by Joss Whedon written on the horror genre that cites everything from Sam Raimi and Tobe Hooper and George Romero to ancient civilizations such as the Mayans and the Egyptians.

In that sense it is a joy to watch. However, I do feel that the jokes could have been a bit more finely tuned. A lot of it seemed to boil down to playing the clichés while telling the audience "Hey, look it's a cliché!" and then patting itself on the back. I don't think it ever really twisted them, so much as reveled in them.

Speaking of twists, the last week I've heard nothing but how "this movie has so many twists" and avoided spoilers like the plague. However, it really doesn't. There's an A storyline (kids in the woods) and a B storyline (you know what it is) that is literally revealed in the first five minutes. That's fine. I'm not against the reveal, because it led to some great comedy like when they're betting on what item the kids will pick or dancing to their music. But in the end, it's not really a twist that the two storylines converge in the third act.

Movies I spotted references to:

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (original)
Friday the 13th (both versions)
Evil Dead
Evil Dead 2
The Hills Have Eyes
The Ring
The Grudge
Hellraiser
Night of the Living Dead
The Strangers
Pan's Labyrinth
Halloween
Scream

I enjoyed the movie, but I didn't love it like some. For me, a great meta-comedy both can deconstruct a genre or subject and then build onto it to make a genre movie that is usually better than most of the movies it's satirizing. For example I love Scream, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and Kick-Ass. This to me gets about 3/4 of the way there, but doesn't quite finish it to blow me away. As it stands, it is a fun little movie that certainly makes horror movie clichés even more fun and obvious. But it's not an all-time favorite like some of the best meta-films that I have seen.

[Majik1387]

It definitely had a lot of Lovecraft-ian inspiration towards the end as well.

[psylockolussus]

This movie was awesome

It reminded me of Drag Me to Hell (another Horror movie that I loved).

[the_ultimate_evil]

it was a good movie, not the great cinema experience i had read in some reviews but it was enjoyable, and some of the easter eggs were a nice touch. bit sadly they didn't show the old gods really wanted to see cthulhu( i know it wouldnt be him but a wink to the mythos)

and am i the only one who wanted to see what was happening in the likes of sweeden and the other sites

[chamber-music]

Saw this movie the other night it was alright. Not as original as some reviews had lead me to believe and I didn't find it that scary or that funny but there was some cool scenes.

I liked the post-modern knowing style. Like Buffy and and Angel Whedon knows the genres tropes and cliches.

This movie reminded me of Thirteen Ghosts and the initiative era Buffy.

[DarkSovereignty]

Originally Posted by the_ultimate_evil

what was happening in the likes of sweeden and the other sites

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

you get brief glimpses on the screens. i forget which country it was but one of the was attacked by a giant king king-esque gorilla

[Figs]

Originally Posted by DACrowe

Movies I spotted references to:

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (original)
Friday the 13th (both versions)
Evil Dead
Evil Dead 2
The Hills Have Eyes
The Ring
The Grudge
Hellraiser
Night of the Living Dead
The Strangers
Pan's Labyrinth
Halloween
Scream

I'm trying to figure out what the references to Pan's Labyrinth, Halloween and Scream are.

[chamber-music]

The female evil spirits in The Ring, The Grudge and J-Horror in general are Onryo (a vengeful spirit that wears White burial kimono, have Wild, unkempt long black hair) from Japanese folklore.

The Western equivalent is the white lady (Ghost).

[CaptainStacy]

My wife and i saw it today and absolutely loved it! Although i had it figured out about a third of the way in, i still enjoyed it quite a bit!

I make the mistake of dismissing it opening weekend, because it looked like the usual crap trying to pass for horror these days, but word of mouth got me to go, and i'm really glad i did.

I'd give it 4/5 stars!

[DACrowe]

Originally Posted by Figs

I'm trying to figure out what the references to Pan's Labyrinth, Halloween and Scream are.

Those were more general. But I think the "virgin" being the lone survivor girl stems from Halloween. That or Black Christmas. The stoner/geeky kid whose the comic relief being completely hip and in on the formula and what's going on (the Randy character) is from Scream and I thought the ballerina with the face-mouth was very Del Toro.

Perhaps I'm off and other horror aficionados can explain the ballerina better to me. That's what came to me.

[CaptainStacy]

Originally Posted by DACrowe

That's fine. I'm not against the reveal, because it led to some great comedy like when they're betting on what item the kids will pick or dancing to their music.

I thought the speaker phone scene was hysterical.

[Figs]

Originally Posted by chamber-music

The female evil spirits in The Ring, The Grudge and J-Horror in general are Onryo (a vengeful spirit that wears White burial kimono, have Wild, unkempt long black hair) from Japanese folklore.

The Western equivalent is the white lady (Ghost).

I got that right off the bat too.

Originally Posted by DACrowe

Those were more general. But I think the "virgin" being the lone survivor girl stems from Halloween. That or Black Christmas. The stoner/geeky kid whose the comic relief being completely hip and in on the formula and what's going on (the Randy character) is from Scream and I thought the ballerina with the face-mouth was very Del Toro.

Now that I think about it, that does have a Del Toro vibe to it.

Originally Posted by CaptainStacy

I thought the speaker phone scene was hysterical.

That was great. It got the most laughs from the audience both times I saw the movie.

[Majik1387]

I know the face of the ballerina girl was based off some real life creature, once I find a pic I'll share it(unless someone beats me to it if they remember it).

[Specter313]

Originally Posted by Majik1387

I know the face of the ballerina girl was based off some real life creature, once I find a pic I'll share it(unless someone beats me to it if they remember it).

Are you thinking of a lamprey?

[Majik1387]

Yes thank you! That's not the pic I was thinking of though. Time for Google

[nightwing06]

The Cabin in the Woods starts off with the basic horror plot,college age group heads to a cabin for fun times,meet a creepy guy along the way.He says some cryptic stuff about the cabin...blah blah blah.I should have know TCITW would be anything but basic with Joss Whedon as a co writer.
With it's plot twists,and unique turns TCITW is entertaining and then some.
The last half reminded me of some of my horror favorites like Wax Work,Phantasm and The Evil Dead.
Director Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon provide so much the film gets a bit jumbled towards the end,but that doesnt stop it from being a fun and involving film.In fact its so involving ,when the character Marty Mikalski (Fran Kranz ) talks about a wish he has ,i found myself saying me too man!!
Scale of 1-10 an 8

[ShadowBoxer]

Originally Posted by Majik1387

And are we forgetting everything from the finale?

None of it in any act of the movie felt uninspired.

Yea the ending with all the monsters on the lose was awesome, but none of the kills were memorable (at least to me).

[henzINNIT]

Originally Posted by DACrowe

So we checked this out last night.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It was a very fun romp. I would hesitate to call it a horror movie though, because it was never scary, nor did it ever attempt to be. It was almost like a cinematic thesis paper by Joss Whedon written on the horror genre that cites everything from Sam Raimi and Tobe Hooper and George Romero to ancient civilizations such as the Mayans and the Egyptians.

In that sense it is a joy to watch. However, I do feel that the jokes could have been a bit more finely tuned. A lot of it seemed to boil down to playing the clichés while telling the audience "Hey, look it's a cliché!" and then patting itself on the back. I don't think it ever really twisted them, so much as reveled in them.

Speaking of twists, the last week I've heard nothing but how "this movie has so many twists" and avoided spoilers like the plague. However, it really doesn't. There's an A storyline (kids in the woods) and a B storyline (you know what it is) that is literally revealed in the first five minutes. That's fine. I'm not against the reveal, because it led to some great comedy like when they're betting on what item the kids will pick or dancing to their music. But in the end, it's not really a twist that the two storylines converge in the third act.

Movies I spotted references to:

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (original)
Friday the 13th (both versions)
Evil Dead
Evil Dead 2
The Hills Have Eyes
The Ring
The Grudge
Hellraiser
Night of the Living Dead
The Strangers
Pan's Labyrinth
Halloween
Scream

I enjoyed the movie, but I didn't love it like some. For me, a great meta-comedy both can deconstruct a genre or subject and then build onto it to make a genre movie that is usually better than most of the movies it's satirizing. For example I love Scream, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and Kick-Ass. This to me gets about 3/4 of the way there, but doesn't quite finish it to blow me away. As it stands, it is a fun little movie that certainly makes horror movie clichés even more fun and obvious. But it's not an all-time favorite like some of the best meta-films that I have seen.

One of the monster containers has a Boomer from the Left 4 Dead. I thought that was pretty cool.

[DACrowe]

Originally Posted by ShadowBoxer

Yea the ending with all the monsters on the lose was awesome, but none of the kills were memorable (at least to me).

Not even death by unicorn or even merman?

[DACrowe]

Also, I have a question. I keep seeing people talking about the molesting tree from Evil Dead. Where was it in the movie? I really do not remember seeing that.

[Evil Twin]

Originally Posted by DACrowe

Also, I have a question. I keep seeing people talking about the molesting tree from Evil Dead. Where was it in the movie? I really do not remember seeing that.

It's not actually in the movie, merely on the whiteboard that they're placing bets on.

It's interesting that you wrote almost the exact same review I did.

[Figs]

Originally Posted by DACrowe

Also, I have a question. I keep seeing people talking about the molesting tree from Evil Dead. Where was it in the movie? I really do not remember seeing that.

Originally Posted by Evil Twin

It's not actually in the movie, merely on the whiteboard that they're placing bets on.

It's interesting that you wrote almost the exact same review I did.

Actually, the second time I saw the movie I noticed it. In one of the scenes with the elevators some of it's larger branches come out of the left set of elevators.

One of my friends also pointed out that the twins from The Shining are in the movie as well.