Monster Mash 2011 Blood-n-Guts Remix
Directed by: Drew Goddard
Filmmaker
Drew Goddard cut his teeth in the industry writing for television shows such as
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and
Angel in the early 2000s, writing and producing the shows
Alias and
Lost mid-decade, and penning the screenplay for the found-footage blockbuster
Cloverfield in 2008, so by the time the talented up-and-comer finally stepped into the director's chair with this brilliant debut in 2011, it was very apparent that he had picked up the skills to wrangle ensemble casts and wow audiences with effects-driven spectacle.
In a five-star buffet of horror tropes,
The Cabin in the Woods tells a formulaic story about a group of increasingly stereotypical young college students on a weekend getaway at the eponymous cabin where they accidentally, yet predictably unleash a living hell upon themselves. Concurrently, a parallel story takes place behind the scenes showing us that a secretive worldwide cabal of technicians is expertly orchestrating the formulaic events and clichéd caricatures of the partiers as a tribute to entertain and satiate the violent delights of ancient, wrathful, blood-lusting gods.
One of my favorite things about meta-horror is how the films wear their passion for the genre on their sleeves, and this action-packed horror-comedy is no different. The Cabin in the Woods could not have been made without a bone-crushingly intense love for all things horror, and this film is Goddard’s own tribute to - and occasional critique of - the genre that birthed him.
The proficient mix of practical effects and CGI that Goddard uses gives the action that palpable physicality that you get from genre classics while maintaining the cutting-edge sense of wonder of modern visual effects. The story ramps up continuously throughout its runtime, raising the stakes higher and higher - and once the main characters catch on to the nefarious scheme, they turn the tables on their puppet masters, where the movie then climaxes in a chaotic orgy of berserk monsters and flying viscera. It's one of the most gloriously insane and morbidly satisfying final fifteen minutes of a movie I've ever seen: The Cabin in the Woods is what Halloween dreams are made of.
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