The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

Five friends go for a break at a remote cabin, where they get more than they bargained for, discovering the truth behind the cabin in the woods.

Director:

Drew Goddard

Writers:

Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard

Stars:

Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison

20 wins & 33 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kristen Connolly	...	Dana
Chris Hemsworth	...	Curt
Anna Hutchison	...	Jules
Fran Kranz	...	Marty
Jesse Williams	...	Holden
Richard Jenkins	...	Sitterson
Bradley Whitford	...	Hadley
Brian White	...	Truman
Amy Acker	...	Lin
Tim DeZarn	...	Mordecai
Tom Lenk	...	Ronald The Intern
Dan Payne	...	Mathew Buckner
Jodelle Ferland	...	Patience Buckner
Dan Shea	...	Father Buckner
Maya Massar	...	Mother Buckner

Storyline

Five teenagers head off for a weekend at a secluded cabin in the woods. They arrive to find they are quite isolated with no means of communicating with the outside world. When the cellar door flings itself open, they of course go down to investigate. They find an odd assortment of relics and curios, but when one of the women, Dana, reads from a book, she awakens a family of deadly zombie killers. However, there's far more going on than meets the eye.

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Plot Keywords:

cabin in the woods | dark humor | lovecraftian | zombie child | 20th century | 

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Taglines:

You think you know the story.

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong bloody horror violence and gore, language, drug use and some sexuality/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

13 April 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Cabin in the Woods

Filming Locations:

British Columbia Institute of Technology - Aerospace Technology Campus, Vancouver International Airport, 3800 Cessna Drive, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,743,614, 15 April 2012, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$42,073,277

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$70,768,144

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lionsgate, Mutant Enemy, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.40 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The indiscernible signs Tom Lenk holds up on the monitor were intended to be visible and read "Help me. I'm in the utility closet. A dragon bat has my scent. I'm Ronald the Intern." Drew Goddard attempted to zoom in and make them readable to the audience but it simply was not possible.

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Goofs

Negra Model beer does not have a screw top closure. Sitterson can be seen drinking from the bottle, which would clearly require an opener.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Hadley: It's... hormonal. Yeah, I don't... usually fall back on, you know, it's-it's women's issues, but...
Sitterson: But child-proofed how? Gates and stuff?
Hadley: Dude, she did the drawers. We don't even know if this whole fertility thing's gonna work. She screwed in these little jobbies where you can't even open the drawers.
Sitterson: At all?
Hadley: No. They open, you know, like an inch, then you gotta dig your finger in. I mean, it's a nightmare.
Sitterson: I guess sooner or later...
Hadley: Yeah, well, a *lot* later. She did the *upper*...
[...]

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 WTF Endings in Horror Movies (2019)

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Soundtracks

A Rolling Acorn
Traditional

User Reviews

A New Horror Camp

The writers of this film stated that they didn't like how the horror genre has become. Full of unlikable characters that we don't care if they live or die. Cabin in the Woods sounds like a generic horror film with a generic premise and generic horror characters. When you see it closely, it's an intriguing high concept satirical horror film. It may look absurd but it's actually brilliant and smart. It has campy scares and some good laughs. Cabin in the Woods is an enjoyable horror film with an unlikely twist.

Horror movies have lost its suspense because we don't care about the characters and the characters are particularly dumb to make decisions to survive. It make sense in this film. The actors did a great portraying these clichéd characters. Chris Hemsworth and his body already makes a good jock character. Kristen Connolly is pretty likable. Fran Kranz steals the show as the pot headed dude.

Some will say it's generic but it's actually intriguing. I'm not gonna give everything away but I'm gonna say it's a bit absurd but it's smart and inspired. It's also a bit scary, though some of the jump scares didn't work but it's much better when the scares goes campy. I'm not gonna reveal the monsters either. There are ridiculously hilarious moments which lightens the grimness. The thrills and suspense are always there.

At first, you thought it's just another horror film but when you pass through the rest of the film, you will realize that this would be a remarkable experience. I have to agree with one of the critics, "The less you know about Cabin in the Woods, the better". It looks absurd but it's smart and creative. It gave substance to all generic horror movie nonsense. It's Campy, Hilarious, and Fun.