The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
The
Cabin in the Woods is a kind of tribute to one of the most popular genres of
cinema, the horror movies.
The film was one of the genre's most
acclaimed works by lovers of horror cinema in recent times. In the plot, a
group of five young resolve to spend a weekend in a cabin away from cities. But
as is usual in this type of movie, supernatural things begin to happen and the
lives of these young people are in danger.
This film (with perhaps the most crazy
plot of the story) exposes a deconstruction of the genre, in very fun way, all
the old clichés that we are accustomed without leave to be violent. It makes a
joke on top of the clichés of horror films, with the difference that there is
also, beyond the supernatural factor, the factor technology. The director Drew
Goddard also made scripts for the series Lost (2004-2010) and others, so there
are some similarities, but the main reference is the movie The Evil Dead
(1981), from Sam Raimi.
The Goddard's movie uses many elements that shape a
kind of grammar of the genre: a group of teenagers, a trip to a distant place,
the crazy old man who warns of the risks, the existence of supernatural forces,
the first attacks and early deaths, the struggle for survival and the final
confrontation between the protagonists and monstrosity.
These topics form a kind of basic common core that allows the viewer locate
a particular film within the horror genre, facilitating the understanding and
assimilation of the film.
The difference is that The Cabin in the
Woods expands the possibilities of inspiring fear and horror in the
viewer. It is a tribute to how to make horror movies and all this with a
relatively simple plot: a group of young people who spend a weekend in an
abandoned and distant house. But behind this trip there is a kind of secret
organization that aims to offer young people as a kind of ritual to prevent that
ancient gods wake up and destroy all humanity. For the ritual works, it is
necessary that young people arrive at the cabin and there they awaken some kind
of monstrosity which will torture and decimate them.
The proposal of the plot with its history of ritual
for the preservation of the world, indicates that there is an ample opportunity
to build a horror plot from minimal elements. If there is a vanishing point in
this production is precisely to impress the viewer with a brutalization
increasingly intense and direct the human body. It is not enough, for example,
we know that a certain character died, it is important that this death becomes
visible, with a record increasingly enlarged with blood and more and more
realistic torture. It's all very morbid and without feelings - which can be
defined simply as something sadistically fun.
The Cabin in the Woods uses a surreal humor, that even
seeming disjointed, works perfectly, which makes the experience unforgettable.
Not to mention that the characters are very well elaborated, some with
only one scene are essential to building the team behind of the horrors
offered. The young actors of the cabin are not exceptional, but it's everything
part of the plan, with the excellent text as the guide of the story.
In summary, Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard teamed up to build
an "innovative cliché," a real tribute to the horror movies. They
subverted this movie to the "subgenre", without moderation in the
time to invent bold solutions.
The Cabin in the Woods had a
positive critical reception to achieving a pass rate of 92% from critics. It is
a peculiar pearl that takes a place of honor in the mythical universe of the
supernatural.
