“The Cabin in the Woods” is a 2012 horror film written and directed by Drew Goddard. The film combines elements of the classic slasher film with an original meta-level and a dash of black humour.
The story revolves around a group of five college students who want to spend a weekend in a remote cabin in the woods. Once there, they encounter eerie phenomena and are quickly attacked by a variety of monstrous creatures. What the group doesn’t know, however, is that they are part of a highly unusual experiment being conducted by a secret government organisation.
The film’s insane ideas manifest themselves primarily in the conception of the experiment itself. The government organisation stages the events in the hut to fulfil a sacrificial ritual tradition of saving humanity from the awakening of ancient gods. The actions of the college students are monitored and manipulated by a group of scientists who will do anything to ensure that the ritual is successful.
The madcap ideas in “The Cabin in the Woods” include a variety of absurd elements. For example, there is an assortment of stereotypical characters that deliberately conform to genre expectations, such as the athletic hero, the innocent virgin, the fool, the pretty boy and the clever intellectual. These characters are deliberately placed in the situation where they are attacked by the creatures.
Furthermore, there is an extensive collection of monsters that are released during the experiment. These creatures range from zombies and demons to werewolves and ghost clowns. Each creature has its own backstory and origin, leading to a variety of absurd and eerie moments.
