Film Review: The Cabin In The Woods

Film Review: The Cabin in the Woods

Brief Plot Outline

 A group of youths go on vacation to a remote cabin in a wood, which all goes well until they get attacked. They are unaware that the attacks are controlled by a company that have bets on how the inhabitants of the cabin die. 

Which two scenes impressed you the most and why?

The scene in the company’s headquarters where the doors open and all of the creatures that were kept hostage escape. I liked the scene as it was shot to be very manic, with quick cuts as the monsters flew towards the camera, but also had an element of tension made by collision cutting when the last monster comes out of its door. It’s also fun to spot which monster comes from which horror film.

I also liked the scene when the group first drives to the cabin, and you get an establishing shot of them and how remote the area is. Then you get a shot of a bird flying into a force field. I liked this as it gave a small hint as to what is to come, but still left you guessing.

How has watching this film helped you understand the genre of filmmaking? Which features on the genre checklist did you spot in the film? When? How?

This film has helped me understand that including lots of genres in a film can work very well if applied correctly. It adds a twisted edge to the film and makes you feel a lot of different emotions all at once, such as shock to the horror aspects of the film, as well as laughter to the comedy aspects.

The film contained these features of the genre checklist:

Creepy Location: The film was set in a cabin in a remote wood.

Body Horror: Lots of gore happens in the film, caused by the monsters attacking the humans.

Low Key Lighting: Inside the cabin the lighting is very dark which darkens the mood.

Close-ups: Close-ups of characters faces are shown to emphasise their emotions.

Canted Angles: Lots of the monsters attacks are in canted angles to add to the horror effects.

Handheld Camera: These shots were shown usually of the main characters in the film, to add a sense of realism.

Point Of View Shots: These shots were used usually from the main character’s eyes, when a new area is established or they are being attacked.

Slow Moving Monster: Lots of the monsters towards the end of the film are slow moving, yet very dangerous monsters.

Quick Moving Monster: Lots of the monsters towards the end of the film are also fast moving, they are the first ones to emerge from their chambers and run towards the camera.

Female Victim: The female victim in this film is the first to get killed, she is killed whilst having sex in the woods with her boyfriend.

Male Hero: The male hero in this film survives until the end, but may die due to the film having an open ending.

Final Girl: The final girl survives as long as the male, but due to the open ending, may also die but this is not revealed.

Sex/Taboo: In the film, the first person to die dies whilst having sex.

Fear of being trapped: The film’s plot is centred around the main characters in the cabin trying to escape.

Fear of death: Throughout the whole film the characters and trying to avoid death, and show fear through close-ups showing their emotion.

Unhappy ending: The film ends up with potentially all characters dying and in fear whilst this is happening.

Misogyny: The people in the film who conduct the murders of the people in the cabin purposely want the women to die.

Outside of CDI: The film features a secret society, which isn’t an ordinary thing in everyday life.

Which aspects of the film would you like to include in your own trailer?

The remote location of the cabin and the overall isolated feeling it gave set a very creepy tone for the film, and it was very effective.

Which aspects of the film would you like to avoid in your own trailer?

I would like to avoid the fantasy horror aspect. I would like to avoid this because at times I found this to be quite silly, with some of the characters being more funny than scary such as the Unicorn, and not something that could be a realistic scenario. I find personally that realistic horrors scare me more so I would prefer to make a realistic horror. The fantasy horror would also be a lot harder for me to re-create with the skills that I have. 

What was the best aspect/more enjoyable moment in the film? Can you recreate this in your own film? How?

The best and most enjoyable part of the film was the quick montages, as it added to the panic and feelings of the characters in the scene. I could recreate this by having very quick shots with straight cuts to create the hectic feel.

How does the film reflect its institutional or historical context? Analyse two scenes/events that reflect the time which the film was made.

The film had historical context with the current most feared topics by the public, terrorism and the apocalypse. This is shown with the secret society killing people, and the gods coming up to the Earth’s surface at the end of the film, hinting that this will cause an apocalyptic scenario. The film also tied this in with religion which is contextual to current times.

The final scene was the only scene that really reflected this was there was at first the mention of the god’s ritual, and then the action of the gods. The company that controlled the cabin were a secret society which is also contextual as it relates to an illuminate-esqe style society. The cameras that the society uses also reflect the modern day fear of being constantly watched via CCTV, and that you don’t have as much privacy as you think.