 Next checking out this movie review video. So this is for the 2011 release the cabin in the woods And this is actually one of my favorite horror films of pretty much all time. I Know that's a lot for some people to hear It wasn't super popular when it came out, but it's kind of gained a cult status after that I have some theories on that. I'll talk about a little bit, but just so people know when I'm releasing this review video It's after I've done a live stream Specifically about this film now I did a live stream about the platform that was on Netflix And I got a lot of really good participation out of that people coming up with some really interesting really cool things So I'm gonna be talking about some kind of different stuff in the live stream than I am with this review So they kind of go together and kind of supplement each other So if you're really interested in the cabin in the woods and you're watching this check out the live stream as well And you know you can skip around in that because it's a live stream be some downtime Anyway, this film was directed by Drew Goddard who did bad times at the L Royale. He actually hasn't directed a whole lot He's been more of a writer. He also was involved in writing this film But he directed bad times at the L Royale. He also wrote Cloverfield Start World War Z and the Martian Was written by Goddard and Joss Whedon obviously a lot of people know Joss Whedon But for those of you who don't He did the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie. He also wrote a bunch of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer show He's also really well known for the beloved show Firefly which only had one season, but was very good He also wrote scripts for Toy Story, Alien Resurrection, Serenity, The Avengers, Avengers Age of Ultron and Justice League The last of those was not good So obviously it starts a young Chris Hemsworth in this and it's very important to note that it came out the same year as Thor he was in Thor and Kevin in the woods came out the same year I think if he was in Thor and then it was like years later They wanted him to do Kevin in the woods that probably would not have happened It's just kind of funny now because he's so well known for his Thor role watching him in a movie like this That's like it's very different Fran Kranz as Marty in this was amazing my favorite character a lot of people's favorite characters is the lovable stoner Who figures it all out? He was in things like Donnie Darko the Village the show Dollhouse Which I've heard really good things about but haven't seen and you might be the killer is the more recent one that is Available on Shudder, I believe and I haven't seen it yet, but I want to because I've heard good things Richard Jenkins is in this who a lot of people will not know him by name, but we'll know him by sight He was in movies like I heart Huckabees, which I love stepbrothers, which is awesome the shape of water Which he was nominated for an Academy Award for let me in which is a remake of? Let the right one in bone Tomahawk, which I've heard a lot of good things about and Kong skull Island Which I didn't think was gonna be good, but it was good It was fun and then Bradley Whitford another one of those guys where you know what he looks like, but you don't know his name He was in movies such as Philadelphia Billy Madison. He was in the show the West Wing, which is crazy popular But I've never watched using get out the post Godzilla King of the Monsters, which I did not like and the Handmaid's Tale So done a lot of good stuff the budget for this was 30 million dollars. It made 66.5 million dollars So it wasn't when it came out in the theaters I remember it being out and I didn't hear a lot about it mainly what I had heard about it is that people didn't like it They were mad about it and and my big theory on why that occurred is because The trailer made it look more of like a straight-up horror film and more so like slasher film and I think a lot of people went into the theater with that expectation and with a lot of people when something doesn't live Up to the expectation or live up to any sort of hype they get mad about it And they immediately write it off as this is a bad film. It sucked Whereas if you go into it not expecting a whole lot you may feel very differently about it So I think that was kind of the issue with the cabin in the woods Is it was portrayed in the trailer as a straight-up like slasher ish type film? But it's not not at all as you know if you're watching this you know that which if you're watching this I will I hope you would have already seen the film because spoilers spoilers spoilers coming because it's an older film Whedon and Goddard actually wrote this script in only three days, which is pretty impressive They had met because they worked on the show's Buffy and in Buffy the vampire slayer and Angel together So then they got together they wrote this in three days They said Joss Whedon has actually on the record said It was meant to be a satire on torture porn and it was also meant to kind of revitalize the slasher film Which if you look at it from that standpoint, I see what they're saying They do kind of make fun of the kind of over-the-top gore and violence and everything so that's the torch porn aspect But it also is very slasher ask Which you know plays really well AFX studio did the practical effects for this that is the company that is owned by Heather Langenkamp and her husband whose name is David Leroy Anderson And then there was some drama with this film actually not just some of the drama in the film but Author Peter Gallagher had filed a lawsuit claiming that the movie ripped off a 2006 book that he had published that book was called The Little White Trip a Night in the Pines The case was then dismissed five months later. So I guess it wasn't a big deal You know could have been one of those instances where he thought well, maybe and maybe this will get more pressed for my book I don't know or maybe it was legitimate in his mind But courts didn't see it that way the artwork and blood in the beginning of this film is very interesting I mean very interesting because it actually gives you drawings of what is actually going to happen in the film it shows all this kind of ritual sacrifice and Stuff like that and and with the way the drawings are done. It indicates that these are very old This is kind of a something that's been going on for a long long long time because it seems like it's you know Pictures kind of taken from museums basically from or archived material that's been found During first watch you're just lost when they're talk talking about the Swedes and how they've never failed I mean really I was very confused the very first time I watched it I've watched it so many times since since I liked it so much but the first time I watch it was so confused because of where it starts it's kind of like it seems like it's this underground office and Jenkins and Whitmore or Whitford are are are just like chit-chatting You're like what is going on here? Where's the cabin? Where's the woods and then they're talking about how the Swedes Have never failed before I say never yeah how the Swedes have never failed before and you're like what are they talking about Because they do a lot of that very early on until you understand what's really going on and there's kind of the big reveal of They're setting things up and they're you know monitoring these college kids as they go to the cabin in the woods There's just all these kind of little things that just seem confusing They seem out of place. You're just like what is going on here? But that's what I like because then it makes it makes there a bit of like a build to the actual reveal of what's really going on And then when you understand what's happening. You're like oh, okay interesting premise But that's once again if you're open to it Basically if you have an expectation, it's just gonna be a straight up horror film You might be very disappointed in it, but you know them talking about that stuff I like how it's just these little things where on a second viewing you know exactly what they're talking about the But the first time around you're just confused and you're like, what are they referring to it? So vague at this point Society needs to crumble. We're just too chicken shit to let it That is a quote that happens in the very beginning of the film when they're kind of riding their little golf cart to their Their station to do their thing that is strong foreshadowing for the film Obviously in the end everything ends it goes to hell that society needs to crumble. We're just too chicken shit to let it No, I'm sorry. That's not when they're driving the golf cart That's when Marty is rolling a joint in the Winnebago. He says that he's kind of espousing all his stoner knowledge And at this point in the film, you're just kind of writing it off as he does a lot of drugs This is how people who do a lot of drugs end up talking. They're all Philosophical and bring down, you know, get off the grid bring down society all this type of stuff So you kind of write it off, but it's crazy because in the end he becomes the hero He becomes well actually does he really become the hero? That's that's a question because In the end the world ends so I assume for everyone else. He is not the hero For him and his friends. He is a hero, but for the rest of the world He is not a hero, which is kind of an interesting thing to think about I love how they clearly lay out how each character does not fit into the typical horror fodder trope But they slowly become that through the chemical influences that have been planted, you know They talk about how, you know, they were planting in it Marty's weed Obviously that didn't work because of his how much weed he has smoked in his life He's kind of resistant to the drug, but they were putting it in the beer They put it in like Jules hair dye, you know things like that But they they do a really good job of very early on kind of showing that these are not your typical Horror movie kill fodder people, you know, like Kurt is a jock. He's not really a jock. He's very very smart when he's talking about Those books from class and he's kind of pointing out to to Dana. He's like, you know, you don't need to read this read This this is what's in the lectures. This is what isn't so he's actually like a super intellectual guy Then you have like Jules who's supposed to be like the dumb blonde bimbo. You immediately find out she's not even blonde She dyed her hair And she's not a bimbo really She's actually smart and a caring person until later when the drugs kick kick in and then Dana, you know You get the idea it's not super overt in the beginning but you get the idea early on that she might not be a virgin even though She's supposed to be the virgin which they have a nice joke in this about, you know, we work with what we have You know, which I think was Sigourney weaver what she said At the end but um, yeah, I just love how they kind of state they give you these things very very early on to let You know immediately. These are not the typical You know death fodder tropes for for your usual horror film So it tells you immediately this is not gonna be your typical horror film This is gonna be very very different and we're trying to make a statement here and they are making a statement The drawing of the professor in the beginning. Yeah, let you know. Yeah, I already talked about that Sorry, the part with the bird hitting the energy fence is confusing one of those other moments where it's like what is going on here? I have no idea until you have a second and further viewings after it And it comes it really comes out of nowhere. It really Catches you off guard. So for that reason it kind of piques your interest even more You're like, okay. What what is this? This is confusing. It's interesting. It's weird It's all these things and you don't see it coming and the cool thing is You kind of like enough happens after that that you end up really kind of forgetting about the energy fence Intel Kurt tries to do the jump in the dirt bike and hits the thing and I think the first time I watched it I may have totally forgotten about it until he actually hits it But there are people who I've watched it with who have been like, oh, no He's gonna jump this that that thing is there that energy fence is that is that what's gonna happen to him, too? But it's a nice moment and it's good that they kind of have enough happened in between The guys in the control room mocking the harbinger that dude Mordecai who's at the gas station the old cute This could be seen as its own moment of foreshadowing because they're taking it too easy at their job They kind of you know show that quite a few times with it But they also aren't taking him seriously and he's the harbinger. So in this moment Within, you know, the horror movie trope the harbinger is supposed to be the one who kind of warns the kids and says where you're going It's very dangerous. Don't go there. So like literally he told them that that things are are going to go bad but they choose to go anyway now the harbinger is on the phone talking to these guys who are setting all this stuff up and Since they're not taking him seriously like the kids and they're not listening to his warnings like the kids It's a foreshadowing that they are doing exactly at that point What these college kids were doing is hearing a warning and choosing to Take it easy to just write it off and here comes disaster because of it. So I thought that was interesting This speaks to a small theme of not taking for granted how things typically go You get two lax and everything could end up falling apart I mean job-wise which is in this film, but you know in life in general and you know In many facets of life really if you get two lax about stuff and you're just like, oh, we've done this so many times There's more of a margin for error because you take it more easy You're not as attentive to things and there are a few things that end up going wrong with this The betting is such a great funny scene in this and it makes you wonder what the bet is basically This is before they really You know have revealed that the that they have to pick one of these items to figure out What shows up to try and kill them and then once you figure that out? You're like, oh, this is funny and then it makes the betting even funnier and and to kind of quickly like look and see all the stuff that's on the board is Really really cool The talk about how the system works and what choices the college kids have to make is Where you see how they're using the horror formula and making an example of it So they this is the kind of reveal of it showing that it's a super super self-aware film You know, it's a very self-aware horror film and they're letting you know that as they're describing Okay, this is kind of how it works. They're describing it to the guy who is the former military who's kind of a security guard now for that company I assume it's a company. It seems like it's a private company to be honest, but maybe it's like in that realm It's like government funded. I don't know but that's a little ambiguous But they're explaining to this guy like giving him the breakdown Which is obviously for the benefit of the audience, but they're basically telling you, you know, this is how it goes This is how it works. These are the decisions that they have to make, you know We're just kind of guiding them in certain ways, but ultimately they have to do these things on their own They have to make these decisions. We give them that extra push to make it happen But at its root they have to do it. They have to, you know, disregard the harbinger. They have to, you know Choose what item they use, you know, they have to make all these moves that get them killed, you know All these things so at the same time, you know All the choices that are being done in the control room are the same type of thing that ends up leading them to total disaster at the very end The characters start going to their tropes when they start drinking the drug beer That's the main part where you really see them changing in personality This helps in choosing their item because cloud cloud The clouding of their judgment at that point I'm assuming you can especially see that in the part where they just disregard When Marty's just like I'm drawing a line in the fucking sand. We're not reading the Latin Which that there are a lot of references in this to Evil Dead, you know Obviously the cabin itself it looks like the cabin from Evil Dead the trapdoor in the cabin also looks like just what was in Evil Dead When they find the thing and they're the diary and they're gonna read the Latin obviously also from Evil Dead and then a buddy who I was watching this with had pointed out to me when they're Doing the bedding and they have the dry-erase board up one of the lines says dead heights and dead heights is the reference to like The zombie type characters who are possessed in Evil Dead So a lot a lot of references to Evil Dead in this which is cool Cuz obviously it's great There is a plot hole in this No sociology majors in college on a full academic scholarship I'm kind of joking a little bit, but I found it was kind of weird that they they said that Kurt You know this is when Marty's kind of breaking down that people are acting differently He's like winded, you know Jules become a celebtard and went and Kurt You know Kurt's not this dumb jock guy like he he got a full scholarship for sociology And I was just like it hit me and I'm like who gets a full scholarship for sociology That's kind of not a typical thing. I think they could have picked something more obvious, but I don't know it's funny It's hilarious when all the guys are glued to the monitors waiting to see boobs occur in this Then they say got to keep the customer satisfied. I thought that was funny, which is true I mean, honestly, this is kind of true. I found with a lot of how males interact with the horror genre especially with older films there's kind of this expectation of Boobs are gonna show up in a horror film, especially if they're women and they're scantily clad And they're gonna get killed like there's always gonna be boobs And I think that's kind of a point that they're making in this film at that point with all these guys standing there at the monitor Just ogling and just waiting like where are the boobs? I feel like that actually happens with a bunch of guys who are into horror films It's just this expectation and it's an expectation that's been built over it being done so much in horror Which this film in general obviously is just about talking about that formula. Let's look at this horror formula Specifically in this film. Let's use this typical horror formula to show you that we don't need to use this typical Horror formula and maybe in fact, we should tear this thing down burn it to the ground destroy the world and rebuild it with something new I like the funny talk about zombie subgenres It's a really cool moment because it's funny where it's just like hey, I had zombies I think as a woman. She's like I had zombies like yes, you had zombies But this is what they say zombie redneck torture family And then you also see there are other versions of zombies on on that dry raceboards So it kind of speaks to how in the horror genre There are a bunch of sub subgenres and it's true like there are subgenres of zombies themselves And that's one of the cool things about horror as a genre in general Which you know, this is kind of pointing out is that there's so many subgenres think about other genres of film How many subgenres within those genres are there really? I feel like horror is the most rich and it has the most fleshed out subgenres It's just something that this film makes me think about the bear trap that is used by I think it's Judah Buckner Is an awesome awesome weapon I love that. That's what they decided to go with the bear trap and this is really good And then also just the zombie redneck torture family as a villain is a cool Kind of new take on zombies and I really liked it. It was it was super cool. I Love the touch of the moment where Dana says she's never had sex and then really realizes that she says it Gets this kind of confused look and it's like, you know, like that's not true She says something to the effect of like no, that's not true That's not what I meant and it's this moment that she's become conscious of the fact that Her behaviors change. She's saying things that aren't true. She's saying things. She wouldn't normally say So it's that kind of moment of her getting a glimpse of Something going wrong, which obviously Marty is seeing a lot more of when he's like flipping out and he's like hearing the voices That's pretty funny It's hilarious when Kurt clothes lines patience Buckner I don't know if people really caught that because it's a kind of a quick thing when he's running and Marty's outside peeing And he's like run run run and they turn around and he like clothes lines the young zombie girl Patience Buckner. I I just I laugh at it every time. It's funny the way they shot it. I enjoy it They almost pump Thorazine into Marty's room But then leave it to Judah and they couldn't avoid it everything Like they're about to pump in the Thorazine to kind of sedate him so he can get killed because he's too with it With what's going on, but they're like no no no hold on Judah Buckner will take care of it And that ends up being their pivotal mistake because they just assume that something they don't control is Going to take care of that when they could have controlled it and tipped it more in their favor Which why wouldn't you at that point to be honest because they've done it continually throughout the film You know with drugging them with you know releasing the pheromones to get Kurt and Jules to lay down and start having sex in them in the woods all those things You just assume Marty is dead and it was a great idea to kind of set that up because you just assume He's dead because he gets pulled over the little hill of dirt And then you hear like the stabbing noise and you see blood fly up and you assume Oh, he's done and not only you as an audience member assume that but the guys in the control room obviously assume that because they're like Oh at this point. It's just Dana. We're good until they get that call from upstairs They talk about how you used to be able to just throw a girl into a volcano. I don't know if anyone caught that It's it's a real quick thing. I think this speaks to the change and how much becomes involved in satisfying horror audiences It has to be more extreme and more gory. I really think this is them kind of making that statement that They've been having to do this ritual sacrifice for a long time But it was much easier before because the demands of the audience at that point were much more simple But over time it's kind of grown and grown and grown as they get used to what you've been doing They need something similar and the same but also a little bit new at the same time So it used to be so simple that you could just take a woman throw her in the volcano. There's your sacrifice We're all good now. It's way more elaborate as you can see by you know, what they're setting up in this film And I just thought that was a cool moment Is it wrong that I laugh when Kurt hits the energy fence? People can answer that down in the comments. I always laugh when he hits that energy fence. I don't know why it's funny to me I think part of it is like how he kind of like tumbles down. I don't know. I mean, I know the the little like Sparks are from the actual dirt bike, but he's falling with it The reveal of all the creatures in the elevators is unbelievably fun And then the mass mayhem when they're all let go is even more fun Just seeing what they came up with for creature designs and creature types was really really cool And that starts with the elevators and it continues with when they all start getting released from the elevators And my buddy even said he was like look He likes in particular the second wave like you think that maybe everything's been released and then They the elevators come up again, and there's even more and you're like, oh my gosh This is even crazier it takes it from crazy mayhem to even more crazy mayhem and it's just fun The ending of this film is so much fun because it's so nuts. It's gory. It's violent. It's insane There's a lot to look at it's it keeps you pumped it keeps you interested at least it does for me The cut to the beer being pulled from the cooler is an amazing cut scene Where you know Dana's trying to escape the Winnebago that went underwater and she's you know getting towards the top And they immediately cut to one of them pulling a beer out of a cooler and Celebrating because they think they've achieved everything they needed to The part where the guy says he's almost rooting for Dana and then gets distracted by partying is much like the horror audience attitude He's kind of talking about oh man, I really feel for her I kind of wanted to make it and then he realizes people come in to start partying and he goes tequila is my lady my lady Which is funny, but at the same time I think it's potentially making a point of how it is for us horror fans is When we're watching the film like we feel for the person, but at the same time We're also wanting the kill scene like we want to see how they're gonna do it they we need that body that body count to tick up and I think this is kind of a point of that because he's acting that way Getting Sigourney Weaver was great for this she was the pivotal final girl Which is what this formula is predicated on basically, you know Dana's the idea of she's got to be the final girl She's got to go through hell and Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in Alien Same thing really good alien and aliens Were the good the real good ones, but yeah, I just thought it was cool They could get Sigourney Weaver for that because it meant a lot Quote it's time to give someone else a chance At the end tearing down the horror formula and letting someone new step in that was kind of my question Do you think that's kind of what they meant by that go ahead and put a comment down there? And then just kind of some some ideas to wrap up. There's so much comedy gold in this film It makes it unbelievably fun in my opinion. I don't know if you would then classify it as a horror comedy I think you could make that argument that it is a horror comedy at that point I haven't seen a horror film that's this self-aware since scream And if you can think of another horror film that is extremely self-aware like that That's actually not a horror comedy put it down there or like an overt one because I can feel I feel like you know Tucker and Dale versus evil like to a degree. It's it's pretty self-aware, but you know scary movie Obviously unbelievably self-aware because it's all about making fun of how horror films are but um Yeah, put some comments down there. Can you think of any other ones that are really self-aware? I Love how this film uses the horror movie formula to show how dumb that formula kind of is saying We don't have to stick this way though We think that this is really what the audience wants, but sometimes it's time to just tear it all down Let the world end or the horror film world and then let's start it anew. Let's do something new something fresh Let's take it in our own hands The gods could be seen as the big studios and could be seen at the audience I don't know what people's thoughts are on that maybe put a comment down there on what you think Do you think it's them kind of talking about studios being a problem? Because they're saying that horror films need to be done a certain way and use a certain formula Or do you think that's mainly driven by the audience or is that a combination of the two? I could see it all three ways Tear it all down and start anew even though not following the formula is said to become Armageddon Is it really what comes after the fall out of this? That's a big question and once again if you want to put some comments down here about that all good So obviously I've already said I like this film quite a bit. So On a five-star scale with half stars in play. I'm giving it five stars out of five I think this is an outstanding film. It looks really great. It was directed really well. Obviously the acting is awesome It's great cinematography directing acting music is great the premise is great The script is unbelievable and especially since it was done in three days. I mean it makes you think it's an Intellectual film. It's funny at the same time it wraps so much in into one film that it is impressive So I'm giving it five stars out of five and yeah, tell me your thoughts comments down there Do me the quick favor of hitting the subscribe button I would really appreciate that to keep me going if you're already subscribed hit the thumbs up And if you are gonna subscribe or if you're already subscribed make sure you hit the notification bell So you know when I'm putting up videos But more importantly when I'm doing live streams because that's the big thing if you want to participate But thanks everyone for checking this out and until next time keep it brutal