Misplaced Pages

The Cabin in the Woods: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 15:26, 19 September 2016 edit156.57.242.52 (talk) Undid revision 740092547 by 186.29.211.32 (talk)unconstructive← Previous edit Latest revision as of 08:08, 22 December 2024 edit undoSporkBot (talk | contribs)Bots1,244,917 editsm Remove template per TFD outcome 
(487 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|2011 science fiction comedy horror film by Drew Goddard}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox film {{Infobox film
| name = The Cabin in the Woods | name = The Cabin in the Woods
| image = The Cabin in the Woods (2012) theatrical poster.jpg | image = The Cabin in the Woods (2012) theatrical poster.jpg
| image_size = 215px
| alt = <!-- see WP:ALT --> | alt = <!-- see WP:ALT -->
| caption = Theatrical release poster | caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = ] | director = ]
| producer = ] | writer = ]<br>Drew Goddard
| writer = {{Plainlist| | producer = Joss Whedon
| starring = {{plainlist|<!--Per poster billing-->
* Joss Whedon
* Drew Goddard
}}
| starring = {{Plainlist|
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
Line 20: Line 18:
* ] * ]
}} }}
| music = ]
| cinematography = ] | cinematography = ]
| editing = ] | editing = ]
| studio = ] | music = ]
| studio = ] (uncredited)<br>] (uncredited)<br>]
| distributor = ] | distributor = ]
| released = {{Film date|2012|3|9|]|2012|04|13|United States}}<!-- FIRST AND US RELEASE ONLY PER WP:FILMRELEASE. --> | released = {{Film date|2011|12||]|2012|04|13|United States}}<!-- FIRST AND US RELEASE ONLY PER WP:FILMRELEASE. -->
| runtime = 95 minutes<!-- Theatrical runtime: 94:54 --><ref>{{cite web|title=The Cabin in the Woods (15)|url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/CFF284624/|work=]|date=March 22, 2012|accessdate=April 13, 2012}}</ref> | runtime = 95 minutes<!-- Theatrical runtime: 94:54 --><ref>{{cite web |title=The Cabin in the Woods|url=https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/cabin-woods-2012-0 |work=] |date=March 22, 2012 |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201162445/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/cabin-woods-2012-0 |archive-date=December 1, 2018|url-status=live }}</ref>
| country = United States | country = {{Plainlist|
* United States
* Canada
}}
| language = English | language = English
| budget = $30 million<ref>{{cite web|last=Blauvelt |first=Christian |url=http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/04/12/box-office-preview-cabin-in-the-woods-and-three-stooges-take-on-the-hunger-games/ |title=Box office preview: 'Cabin in the Woods' and 'Three Stooges' take on 'The Hunger Games'|work=Entertainment Weekly |date=April 12, 2012 |accessdate=April 27, 2012}}</ref> | budget = $30 million<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Blauvelt|first=Christian|url=https://ew.com/article/2012/04/12/box-office-preview-cabin-in-the-woods-and-three-stooges-take-on-the-hunger-games |title=Box office preview: 'Cabin in the Woods' and 'Three Stooges' take on 'The Hunger Games' |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=April 12, 2012 |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227040716/https://ew.com/article/2012/04/12/box-office-preview-cabin-in-the-woods-and-three-stooges-take-on-the-hunger-games/ |archive-date=December 27, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| gross = $69.9 million<ref name="BOM"/>
| gross = $66.5 million<ref name="BOM">{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=cabininthewoods.htm |title=The Cabin in the Woods (2012) |work=Box Office Mojo |publisher=Internet Movie Database|accessdate=December 30, 2012}}</ref>
}} }}
'''''The Cabin in the Woods''''' is a 2012 American <!--- DO NOT CHANGE THE GENRE WITHOUT DISCUSSION ON THE TALK PAGE. THERE ARE NUMEROUS SOURCES CALLING THIS FILM A HORROR COMEDY --->]<!--- DO NOT CHANGE THE GENRE WITHOUT DISCUSSION ON THE TALK PAGE. THERE ARE NUMEROUS SOURCES CALLING THIS FILM A HORROR COMEDY ---> film directed by ] in his ], produced by ], and written by Whedon and Goddard.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/36801/joss-whedons-cabin-woods-feature-creatures |title=Joss Whedon's The Cabin in the Woods to Feature Creatures? |publisher=Dreadcentral.com |accessdate=October 4, 2010}}</ref> The film stars ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. The plot follows a group of college students who retreat to a remote forest cabin where they fall victim to backwoods zombies, and two scientists who manipulate the ongoing events from an underground facility. Goddard and Whedon, having worked together previously on '']'' and '']'', wrote the screenplay in three days,<ref>{{cite book |title=The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companion |year=2012 |publisher=Titan Books |location= |isbn=9781848565241 |page=13 }}</ref> describing it as an attempt to "revitalize" the ] genre and as a critical satire on ].


'''''The Cabin in the Woods''''' is a 2011 ]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nguyen |first=Jessie |date=December 18, 2022 |title=10 Movies That Fans Don't Realize Were Sci-fi |url=https://collider.com/movies-that-fans-dont-realize-were-sci-fi/ |access-date=January 13, 2023 |website=] |archive-date=December 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221228231731/https://collider.com/movies-that-fans-dont-realize-were-sci-fi/ |url-status=live }}</ref> <!--- DO NOT CHANGE THE GENRE WITHOUT DISCUSSION ON THE TALK PAGE. THERE ARE NUMEROUS SOURCES CALLING THIS FILM A HORROR COMEDY --->]<!--- DO NOT CHANGE THE GENRE WITHOUT DISCUSSION ON THE TALK PAGE. THERE ARE NUMEROUS SOURCES CALLING THIS FILM A HORROR COMEDY ---> film directed by ] in his ], produced by ], and written by Whedon and Goddard.<ref>{{cite web |last=Barton |first=Steve |date=April 6, 2010 |title=Joss Whedon's The Cabin in the Woods to Feature Creatures?|url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/16650/joss-whedon-s-the-cabin-in-the-woods-to-feature-creatures/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226234511/https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/16650/joss-whedon-s-the-cabin-in-the-woods-to-feature-creatures/ |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |publisher=]}}</ref> It stars ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. The plot follows a group of college students who retreat to a remote cabin in the woods where they fall victim to a variety of monsters while technicians manipulate events from an underground facility for a global purpose.
Filming took place in ], ] from March to May 2009 on an estimated budget of $30 million. The film was originally slated for release on February 5, 2010 by ] and ], but was indefinitely shelved due to ongoing financial difficulties. In 2011, ] picked up the distribution rights. The film premiered on March 9, 2012 at the ] film festival in ] and was released in the United States on April 13, 2012, grossing over $66 million worldwide.


Goddard and Whedon, who previously worked together on '']'' and '']'', wrote the screenplay in three days,<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Whedon |first1=Joss |title=The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companion |last2=Goddard |first2=Drew |last3=Bernstein |first3=Abbie |publisher=Titan Books |year=2012 |isbn=9781848565241 |location=London |page= |author-link=Joss Whedon |author-link2=Drew Goddard}}</ref>{{Rp|page=13}} describing it as an attempt to "revitalize" the ] genre and as a critical satire on ]. The special effects, monster costumes, special makeup, and prosthetic makeup for the film were done by AFX Studio.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wickedhorror.com/top-horror-lists/ten-things-probably-didnt-know-cabin-woods/ |title=Things You Probably Didn't Know about Cabin in the Woods |last=Doupé |first=Tyler |date=June 5, 2014 |website=WickedHorror.com |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226232608/https://wickedhorror.com/top-horror-lists/ten-things-probably-didnt-know-cabin-woods/ |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Filming took place in ], British Columbia, from March to May 2009 on an estimated budget of $30 million.
==Plot==
<!-- Per WP:FilmPlot, plot summaries for feature films should be between 400 and 700 words. -->
In a ] underground facility, senior technicians Gary Sitterson (]) and Steve Hadley (]) discuss plans for a mysterious ritual. A similar operation undertaken by their counterparts in ] has just ended in failure.


The film was originally slated for release on October 23, 2009, which was later delayed to February 5, 2010,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/9655/goodard-s-cabin-moves-to-2010/ | title=Goodard's Cabin Moves to 2010 | date=5 December 2008 | access-date=January 29, 2023 | archive-date=March 21, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321071507/https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/9655/goodard-s-cabin-moves-to-2010/ | url-status=live }}</ref> by ] (MGM) and ] (UA), but was indefinitely shelved due to financial difficulties. In 2011, ] picked up the distribution rights. The film premiered in December 2011 at the ] film festival in ] and was released in the United States on April 13, 2012, to critical and commercial success. It grossed $66.5 million worldwide, and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its screenplay, tone, and performances.
American college students Dana Polk (]), Holden McCrea (]), Marty Mikalski (]), Jules Louden (]), and Curt Vaughan (]) are spending their weekend at a seemingly deserted cabin in the forest, a cabin recently acquired by Vaughan's cousin. From their underground facility, where they possess significant technological control over the area in which the cabin is situated, Sitterson and Hadley manipulate the teenagers by intoxicating them with mind-altering drugs that hinder rational thinking and increase ]. They take bets from the different facility departments on what kind of monster will attack the teenagers and discuss the failures of similar rituals in other nations.


== Plot ==
In the cabin's cellar, the group finds many bizarre objects, including the diary of Patience Buckner, a cabin resident abused by her sadistic family. Dana recites ]s from the journal, inadvertently summoning the ] Buckner family despite Mikalski's warnings. By releasing ], Hadley successfully induces Curt and Jules to have sex. Attacked by the marauding Buckner zombies, Jules is decapitated while Curt escapes to alert the group. Marty, a frequent ] smoker, discovers concealed surveillance equipment before being dragged off by one of the Buckners and apparently killed. Later, the Facility workers learn that the ritual in ] has also ended in failure, ending Japan's streak of success, and confirming that the American ritual is humanity's last hope. It becomes apparent that the ritual involves blood sacrifice.
<!-- Per WP:FILMPLOT, plot summaries for feature films should be between 400 and 700 words. -->
In an underground laboratory, engineers Gary Sitterson and Steve Hadley discuss a mysterious ritual, after a similar operation in ] just ended in failure, leaving only their facility and one in Japan to undertake the process, and with the latter holding a perfect record.


American college students Dana Polk, Jules Louden, Curt Vaughan, Holden McCrea, and Marty Mikalski are spending their weekend at Curt's cousin's cabin in the woods. From the lab, Sitterson and Hadley remotely control the cabin and manipulate the students by intoxicating them with mind-altering drugs. In the cabin's cellar, the group finds bizarre objects, including the diary of Patience Buckner, a cabin resident abused by her sadistic family. Dana recites ]s from the diary and inadvertently summons the zombified Matthew and Judah Buckner.
Curt, Holden, and Dana attempt to escape in their ], but Sitterson triggers a tunnel collapse to hinder their flight. Curt jumps a ravine on his motorcycle in an attempt to flee and alert the authorities, only to crash into a ]d ], killing him. Holden and Dana retreat to the RV to plan their next move, but one of the Buckners, hiding within all along, stabs Holden as they are driving away, resulting in the RV crashing and sinking into a lake. Dana escapes and swims ashore and is beset in turn. As she is attacked, Sitterson, Hadley, and their staff celebrate her impending death and the successful completion of their ritual, viewing the events from their underground facility.


Hadley releases ]s to induce Curt and Jules to have sex outside. They are attacked by the Buckners and Jules is decapitated while Curt escapes. Marty discovers concealed surveillance equipment in his room before being stabbed and dragged off by Judah. The lab workers learn that the site in Japan has also failed, meaning that the American rite is "humanity's last hope". Curt, Holden, and Dana attempt to escape in their ], but Sitterson triggers a tunnel collapse to block them. Curt attempts to jump a ravine on his motorcycle to seek help on the other side, but crashes into a ] and falls to his death. Dana then realizes that their experience is staged and controlled. Holden is killed by Matthew while driving the RV, causing it to crash into the lake. Dana manages to escape, but she is quickly found and brutally attacked by Matthew.
The celebration is interrupted by a phone call from "downstairs" pointing out that Mikalski has survived. His heavy marijuana use has apparently rendered him immune to Sitterson and Hadley's manipulations. He rescues Dana and shows her to a hidden elevator he discovered under a grave. They take the elevator into the underground facility, where a menagerie of monsters, utilized by Sitterson and Hadley, are imprisoned. Dana correlates them with the knickknacks in the cabin's basement and realizes that those items gave victims the opportunity to choose the circumstances that will lead to their deaths during the ritual. Cornered by the facility's security personnel, she and Marty release the multitude of monsters, including ]s, a ], a giant snake, ], a ], and a ], among others, who wreak havoc and slaughter the staff.


The lab employees celebrate the success of the rite, believing that Dana is the only survivor. Having previously dismembered Judah, Marty returns and helps Dana escape from Matthew. He takes her to a hidden elevator, and they descend into the lab and discover a large collection of different monsters in cages. Dana correlates them with the objects in the cellar and realizes that the objects determine which monsters are released. Cornered by security personnel, the pair release all the monsters, which wreak havoc and slaughter the staff; Hadley is killed by a ] and Dana accidentally stabs Sitterson.
Fleeing further, Dana and Marty discover a temple where they are confronted by The Director. She explains that, every year, worldwide rituals are held to appease the Ancient Ones; malevolent beings living beneath the surface of the earth, one of them under their own Facility. The Ancient Ones are kept in perpetual slumber through their annual ], shown to be unique to the tropes of each region. The American slasher film ritual requires the killing of five young people embodying certain archetypes: the whore (Jules), the athlete (Curt), the scholar (Holden), the fool (Marty), and the virgin (Dana). The order in which intended victims perish is flexible, so long as the Whore dies first and ]. The Director urges Dana to shoot Marty, completing the ritual and thus saving humanity. But the standoff is interrupted by a Werewolf that attacks Dana. The zombie Patience Buckner suddenly appears and kills the Director. Deciding that humanity is not worth saving, Dana and Marty share a ] as an Ancient One stirs, its giant hand emerging from beneath the temple floor, destroying the cabin and the Facility and killing them.<!-- Please review ] before adding material. -->


Dana and Marty discover an ancient temple, where they are confronted by the facility's director. She explains that worldwide annual rituals of human sacrifice are held to appease the Ancient Ones, a group of cruel subterranean deities. Each region has its own ritual, and the American ritual involves the sacrifice of five ]: the whore (Jules), the athlete (Curt), the scholar (Holden), the fool (Marty), and the virgin (Dana). The order is arbitrary as long as the whore dies first and ]. The director urges Dana to kill Marty and complete the ritual, but as Dana considers it, a werewolf suddenly mauls her. Marty shoots the werewolf and scares it off, but the director attacks him. Patience arrives and kills the director before Marty kicks them both into the pit below.
==Cast==

{{div col|2}}
Deciding that humanity is not worth saving, Dana and Marty apologize to each other and share a ]. The temple floor collapses and a giant hand emerges from the ground, destroying the facility and the cabin.<!-- Please view ] before adding material. -->
* ] as Dana Polk<ref name="nytimes_movies">{{cite news |url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/455109/The-Cabin-in-the-Woods/overview |title=The Cabin in the Woods |accessdate=April 13, 2012 |work=The New York Times |publisher=] | first=Brooks | last=Barnes}}</ref><ref name=five>{{cite web |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a149103/five-more-go-to-cabin-in-the-woods.html|title=Five more go to 'Cabin in the Woods'|accessdate=March 10, 2009 |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |date=March 10, 2009 |work=]}}</ref><ref name="HollywoodReporter_20090121">{{cite web |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3ife1903a36d09a1d81140b973c2f4f580 |title=Two feel Joss Whedon's 'Cabin' pressure |accessdate=January 21, 2009 |last=Kit |first=Borys |author2=Jay A. Fernandez |date=January 21, 2009 |work=] |publisher=]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090228161143/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3ife1903a36d09a1d81140b973c2f4f580?|archivedate=February 28, 2009}}</ref><ref name="HollywoodReporter_20090322">{{cite web |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i2ded48a3101e540b34683468469732f4 |title='Stomp the Yard' actor lands two film roles |accessdate=March 23, 2009 |last=Fernandez |first=Jay A. |date=March 22, 2009 |work=] |publisher=]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326051601/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i2ded48a3101e540b34683468469732f4|archivedate=March 26, 2009}}</ref>

* ] as Curt Vaughan
== Cast ==
* ] as Jules Louden
{{Cast listing|
* ] as Marty Mikalski
* ] as Dana Polk, a college student designated as "The Virgin"
* ] as Holden McCrea
* ] as Curt Vaughan, a sociology major designated as "The Athlete"
* ] as Gary Sitterson<!-- Credited as Sitterson & the novel says Gary. So it's Gary Sitterson. -->
* ] as Jules Louden, a pre-medical college student and Curt's girlfriend, designated as "The Whore"
* ] as Steve Hadley
* ] as Marty Mikalski, a college student designated as "The Fool"
* ] as Daniel Truman
* ] as Holden McCrea, Curt's football teammate, designated as "The Scholar"
* ] as Wendy Lin
* ] as Gary Sitterson, one of the Facility's technicians
* ] as The Director<!--Only credited as The Director-->
* ] as Steve Hadley, one of the Facility's technicians
* ] as Mordecai
* ] as Daniel Truman, the Facility's control room security officer
* ] as Anna Patience Buckner
* ] as Wendy Lin, one of the Facility's technicians
* Matt Drake as Judah Buckner
* ] as The Director<!--Only credited as The Director-->, the unnamed leader of the Facility
* ] as Mordecai, a gas station owner who works for the Facility (designated as "The Harbinger")
* ] as Ronald the Intern, the Facility's intern
* ] as Mathew Buckner * ] as Mathew Buckner
* ] as Patience Buckner
* ] as Father Buckner * ] as Father Buckner
}}
* Maya Massar as Mother Buckner
* ] as Ronald
{{div col end}}


==Production== == Production ==
===Filming===
With a production budget of $30 million, ] began on March 9, 2009 in ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vancouverfilm.net/2009/02/goddard-starts-mordecai-in-vancouver.html|title=Goddard Starts "Mordecai" In Vancouver- March 9...|publisher=Vancouver Film|date=February 7, 2010|accessdate=August 30, 2012}}</ref> and concluded in May 2009. ] co-wrote the script with '']'' screenwriter ], who also directed the film, marking his directorial debut. Goddard previously worked with Whedon on '']'' and '']'' as a writer.
An international co-production film between the United States and Canada, ] began on March 9, 2009, in ],<ref>{{cite web |date=February 7, 2009 |title=Goddard Starts "Mordecai" In Vancouver|url=http://www.vancouverfilm.net/2009/02/goddard-starts-mordecai-in-vancouver.html |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190115103508/http://www.vancouverfilm.net/2009/02/goddard-starts-mordecai-in-vancouver.html|archive-date=January 15, 2019 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |website=VancouverFilm.net}}</ref> and concluded in May 2009. ] co-wrote the script with '']'' screenwriter ], who also directed the film, marking his directorial debut. Goddard previously worked with Whedon on '']'' and '']'' as a writer.


Whedon described the film as an attempt to revitalize the horror genre. He called it a "loving hate letter" to the genre, continuing:<ref>{{cite web |last= |first= |date=June 6, 2013 |title=Joss Whedon talks The Cabin in the Woods|url=http://www.totalfilm.com/news/joss-whedon-talks-the-cabin-in-the-woods |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222033050/https://gamesradar.com/joss-whedon-talks-the-cabin-in-the-woods/ |archive-date=February 22, 2016 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |website=] |publisher=}}</ref>
Whedon described the film as an attempt to revitalize the horror genre which he, along with director/co-writer Goddard, felt had "devolved" with the introduction of ]. He called it a "loving hate letter" to the genre, continuing:
{{quote|On another level it's a serious critique of what we love and what we don't about horror movies. I love being scared. I love that mixture of thrill, of horror, that objectification/identification thing of wanting definitely for the people to be all right but at the same time hoping they’ll go somewhere dark and face something awful. The things that I don't like are kids acting like idiots, the devolution of the horror movie into torture porn and into a long series of sadistic comeuppances. Drew and I both felt that the pendulum had swung a little too far in that direction.<ref>{{cite web|last=Film |first=Total |url=http://www.totalfilm.com/news/joss-whedon-talks-the-cabin-in-the-woods |title=Joss Whedon talks The Cabin in the Woods |publisher=TotalFilm.com |accessdate=April 17, 2012}}</ref>}}


{{blockquote|... it's a serious critique of what we love and what we don't about horror movies. I love being scared. I love that mixture of thrill, of horror, that objectification/identification thing of wanting definitely for the people to be all right but at the same time hoping they'll go somewhere dark and face something awful. The things that I don't like are kids acting like idiots, the devolution of the horror movie into torture porn and into a long series of sadistic comeuppances. Drew and I both felt that the pendulum had swung a little too far in that direction.}}
Concerning the sheer number of creatures to be designed and made for the film, AFX Studio's ] estimated that "close to a thousand" people were turned into one of around 60 different monster types.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companion |year=2012 |publisher=Titan Books |location= |isbn=9781848565241 |page=152 }}</ref> The task necessitated renting a much larger facility to use as a workspace, as a crew of around 60 people were recruited. The producers told them to commence work on December 15, 2008, ahead of the official January 1, 2009 start date. They only completed the work by the March 9, 2009 production date because, as Anderson stated "We had nearly seventy people at peak, but in effect we had a hundred and forty people, because everybody had at least two jobs...it was crazy, but people had an incredible time...none of us are ever going to forget it, and we're never all going to be in the same room again."<ref>{{cite book |title=The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companion |year=2012 |publisher=Titan Books |location= |isbn=9781848565241 |page=153 }}</ref>


Concerning the sheer number of creatures to be designed and made for the film, AFX Studio's ] estimated that "close to a thousand" people were turned into one of around 60 different monster types.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=152}} The task necessitated renting a much larger facility to use as a workspace, as a crew of around 60 people were recruited. The producers told them to commence work on December 15, 2008, ahead of the official January 1, 2009, start date. They only completed the work by the March 9, 2009, production date because, as Anderson stated "We had nearly seventy people at peak, but in effect we had a hundred and forty people, because everybody had at least two jobs...it was crazy, but people had an incredible time...none of us are ever going to forget it, and we're never all going to be in the same room again."<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=153}}
The underground complex, elevators, and the control room were all sets, but for several wide shots, the ]'s Aerospace building was used. Production designer Martin Whist referenced ] and commented: "It's very high-tech industrial, and it's a brand new building, never been shot in before...I wanted to be without any controls...to almost feel like a glamorized freight elevator...The lobby I wanted to look slightly utilitarian, contemporary and institutional...sharp and almost characterless."<ref>{{cite book |title=The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companion |year=2012 |publisher=Titan Books |location= |isbn=9781848565241 |pages=134–137 }}</ref> Goddard called the control room "mission control at NASA", with production design aimed at grounding the room's look in "the reality of governments and institutions".


The underground complex, elevators, and the control room were all sets, but for several wide shots, the ]'s Aerospace building was used. Production designer Martin Whist referred to ] and commented: "It's very high-tech industrial, and it's a brand new building, never been shot in before...I wanted to be without any controls...to almost feel like a glamorized freight elevator...The lobby I wanted to look slightly utilitarian, contemporary and institutional...sharp and almost characterless."<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|pages=134–137}}
==Release==
]
''The Cabin in the Woods'' was slated for ] on February 5, 2010<ref name=five/><ref name="SciFiWire_20090107">{{cite web |url=http://scifiwire.com/2009/01/joss-whedon-is-now-working-with-tom-cruise-horrors-yes.php |title=Joss Whedon is now working with Tom Cruise. Horrors? Yes! |accessdate=January 13, 2009 |last=Lee |first=Patrick |date=January 7, 2009 |work=] |publisher=SCI FI}}</ref> and then delayed until January 14, 2011 so the film could be converted to 3D.<ref name=delayed>{{cite web |url=http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=59907 |title=Whedon's Cabin in the Woods Going 3D in '11 |accessdate=October 9, 2009 |date=October 9, 2009 |work=Comingsoon.net}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fangoria.com/home/news/9-film-news/4230-whedons-cabin-moves-ahead-a-yearinto-the-third-dimension.html |title=Whedon's CABIN moves ahead a year…into the Third Dimension |publisher= Fangoria}}</ref> However, on June 17, 2010, MGM announced that the film would be delayed indefinitely due to ongoing financial difficulties at the studio.<ref name="Delay">{{cite web|url=http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Joss-Whedon-s-Cabin-In-The-Woods-May-Be-MGM-s-Next-Casualty-19078.html |title=Joss Whedon's Cabin in the Woods may be MGM's next casualty |publisher=Cinemablend.com |date=June 17, 2010 |accessdate=October 4, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.deadline.com/2010/06/mgm-to-morph-into-a-pure-production-play/#more-50490 |title=MGM To Morph Into A Pure Production Play? |publisher=Deadline.com|last=Fleming|first=Mike|date=June 29, 2010|accessdate=August 31, 2012}}</ref>


===Downloadable content===
On March 16, 2011, the '']'' reported the following: "New (MGM) chief executives ] and ] are seeking to sell both '']'' and the horror film ''The Cabin in the Woods,'' the last two pictures produced under a previous regime, as they try to reshape the 87-year-old company."<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-china-red-dawn-20110316,0,995726.story | work=Los Angeles Times | first1=Ben | last1=Fritz | first2=John | last2=Horn | title=Reel China: Hollywood tries to stay on China's good side | date=March 16, 2011}}</ref> A distribution sale to ] was announced on April 28, 2011,<ref name="Lions Gate">{{cite web |url=http://www.deadline.com/2011/04/joss-whedons-cabin-in-the-woods-with-thors-chris-hemsworth-goes-to-lionsgate|title=Joss Whedon's 'Cabin in the Woods' With 'Thor's Chris Hemsworth Going To Lionsgate |last=Fleming|first=Mike|work=Deadline|date=April 28, 2011|accessdate=May 6, 2011}}</ref> with some industry news outlets reporting plans for a Halloween 2011 release.<ref name="Halloween 2011 release">{{cite web |url=http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=18929| title=The Cabin in the Woods Coming October 28? |publisher=Shock Till you Drop|accessdate=May 15, 2011}}</ref> On July 20, 2011, Lionsgate announced that they had acquired the distribution rights to the film and set a release date of April 13, 2012.<ref name="USRelease">{{cite web|url=http://collider.com/the-cabin-in-the-woods-release-date/103740/|title=Lionsgate Schedules THE CABIN IN THE WOODS for April 13, 2012|work=Collider|accessdate=July 21, 2011}}</ref> Goddard described the deal as "a dream," stating "there's no question that Lionsgate is the right home for ''Cabin''...you look at all the films that inspired ''Cabin'' – most of them were released by Lionsgate in the first place!"<ref>{{cite book |title=The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companion |year=2012 |publisher=Titan Books |location= |isbn=9781848565241 |page=40 }}</ref> In an interview with ''Creative Screenwriting'', Goddard focused on the advantages of the delayed release, saying, "Lionsgate came along and they were the best possible home for that movie. Had the bankruptcy not happened, we wouldn't have been in the right fit with the right people. Yes, it took two years longer than we wish it would've taken, but Lionsgate didn't make us change a frame and believed in what we were trying to do. If I had complained too much when MGM went bankrupt, we could have hurt ourselves. We just held firm that we believed in the movie and that we would find the right home and time, and it did. It's hard, but you have to be very patient in Hollywood."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://creativescreenwriting.com/life-goes-on-drew-goddard-on-the-martian/|title=Life Goes On: Drew Goddard on The Martian|last=McKittrick|first=Christopher|date=August 20, 2015|publisher=Creative Screenwriting|accessdate=August 20, 2015}}</ref>
A tie-in of the film with the video game '']'' had been planned, with the game seeing ] based on the movie's settings. However, due to MGM's financial problems, the game content was cancelled, but ] allowed the studio to use monsters from ''Left 4 Dead 2'' to populate the monster cells at the end of the film.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/gaming/2012/9/21/3371046/left-4-dead-2-almost-featured-the-cabin-in-the-woods-dlc |title='Left 4 Dead 2' almost featured 'The Cabin in the Woods' DLC |first=Megan |last=Farokhmanesh |date=September 21, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |work=]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219044505/https://www.polygon.com/gaming/2012/9/21/3371046/left-4-dead-2-almost-featured-the-cabin-in-the-woods-dlc |archive-date=December 19, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>


== Release ==
The ] was on March 9, 2012 at the ] film festival in Austin, Texas.<ref name="SXSWPremiere">{{cite web |url=http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/03/10/sxsw-cabin-in-the-woods-premiere/| title=SXSW: 'Cabin in the Woods' kills at premiere. Just don't talk about it! | work=Entertainment Weekly|last=Vary|first=Adam B.|accessdate=April 2, 2012}}</ref>
''The Cabin in the Woods'' was slated for ] on February 5, 2010 (before that, it was slated for release on October 23, 2009),<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/9655/goodard-s-cabin-moves-to-2010/ | title=Goodard's Cabin Moves to 2010 | date=5 December 2008 | access-date=January 29, 2023 | archive-date=March 21, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321071507/https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/9655/goodard-s-cabin-moves-to-2010/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="five">{{cite web |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a149103/five-more-go-to-cabin-in-the-woods |title=Five more go to 'Cabin in the Woods' |access-date=December 26, 2018 |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |date=October 3, 2009 |work=]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227085109/https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a149103/five-more-go-to-cabin-in-the-woods/ |archive-date=December 27, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="SciFiWire_20090107">{{cite web |last=Lee |first=Patrick |date=December 14, 2012 |title=Joss Whedon is now working with Tom Cruise. Horrors? Yes!|url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/joss_whedon_is_now_working_with_tom_cruise_horrors_yes |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227042117/https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/joss_whedon_is_now_working_with_tom_cruise_horrors_yes |archive-date=December 27, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |work=]}}</ref> and then delayed until January 14, 2011, so the film could be converted to 3D.<ref name="delayed">{{cite web |last=Douglas |first=Edward |date=October 9, 2009 |title=Whedon's Cabin in the Woods Going 3D in '11|url=https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/59907-whedons-cabin-in-the-woods-going-3d-in-11 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023041903/https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/59907-whedons-cabin-in-the-woods-going-3d-in-11 |archive-date=October 23, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |work=]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Gingold |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Gingold |date=October 9, 2009 |title=Whedon's CABIN moves ahead a year…into the Third Dimension |url=http://www.fangoria.com/home/news/9-film-news/4230-whedons-cabin-moves-ahead-a-yearinto-the-third-dimension.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091014054341/http://www.fangoria.com/home/news/9-film-news/4230-whedons-cabin-moves-ahead-a-yearinto-the-third-dimension.html |archive-date=October 14, 2009 |publisher=]}}</ref> However, on June 17, 2010, MGM announced that the film would be delayed indefinitely due to ongoing financial difficulties at the studio.<ref name="Delay">{{cite web |last=Tyler |first=Josh |date=June 17, 2010 |title=Joss Whedon's Cabin In The Woods May Be MGM's Next Casualty |url=https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Joss-Whedon-s-Cabin-In-The-Woods-May-Be-MGM-s-Next-Casualty-19078.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022153144/https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Joss-Whedon-s-Cabin-In-The-Woods-May-Be-MGM-s-Next-Casualty-19078.html |archive-date=October 22, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |website=] |publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2010/06/mgm-to-morph-into-a-pure-production-play-50490 |title=MGM To Morph Into A Pure Production Play? |website=] |last=Fleming |first=Mike Jr. |date=June 29, 2010 |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116175625/https://deadline.com/2010/06/mgm-to-morph-into-a-pure-production-play-50490/ |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


On March 16, 2011, the '']'' reported the following: "New (MGM) chief executives ] and ] are seeking to sell both '']'' and the horror film ''The Cabin in the Woods,'' the last two pictures produced under a previous regime, as they try to reshape the 87-year-old company."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fritz |first1=Ben |last2=Horn |first2=John |date=March 16, 2011 |title=Reel China: Hollywood tries to stay on China's good side |work=]|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-china-red-dawn-20110316-story.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227040606/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-china-red-dawn-20110316-story.html |archive-date=December 27, 2018}}</ref> A distribution sale to ] was announced on April 28, 2011,<ref name="Lions Gate">{{cite web |last=Fleming |first=Mike Jr. |date=April 28, 2011 |title=Joss Whedon's 'Cabin In The Woods' With 'Thor's Chris Hemsworth Going To Lionsgate|url=https://deadline.com/2011/04/joss-whedons-cabin-in-the-woods-with-thors-chris-hemsworth-goes-to-lionsgate-126778|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325121446/https://deadline.com/2011/04/joss-whedons-cabin-in-the-woods-with-thors-chris-hemsworth-goes-to-lionsgate-126778/ |archive-date=March 25, 2019 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |website=]}}</ref> with some industry news outlets reporting plans for a Halloween 2011 release.<ref name="Halloween 2011 release">{{cite web |last=Turek |first=Ryan |date=April 29, 2011 |title=The Cabin in the Woods Coming October 28?|url=http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=18929 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110830040025/http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=18929 |archive-date=August 30, 2011 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |website=] |publisher=}}</ref> On July 20, 2011, Lionsgate announced that they had acquired the distribution rights to the film and set a release date of April 13, 2012.<ref name="USRelease">{{cite web |last=Bettinger |first=Brendan |date=July 20, 2011 |title=Lionsgate Schedules The Cabin in the Woods for April 13, 2012 |url=https://collider.com/the-cabin-in-the-woods-release-date/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226233148/http://collider.com/the-cabin-in-the-woods-release-date/ |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |work=]}}</ref> Goddard described the deal as "a dream," stating "there's no question that Lionsgate is the right home for ''Cabin''...you look at all the films that inspired ''Cabin'' – most of them were released by Lionsgate in the first place!"<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=40}} In an interview with ''Creative Screenwriting'', Goddard focused on the advantages of the delayed release, saying, "Lionsgate came along and they were the best possible home for that movie. Had the bankruptcy not happened, we wouldn't have been in the right fit with the right people. Yes, it took two years longer than we wish it would've taken, but Lionsgate didn't make us change a frame and believed in what we were trying to do. If I had complained too much when MGM went bankrupt, we could have hurt ourselves. We just held firm that we believed in the movie and that we would find the right home and time, and it did. It's hard, but you have to be very patient in Hollywood."<ref>{{cite web |last=McKittrick |first=Christopher |author-link=Christopher McKitterick |date=January 5, 2016 |title=Life Goes On: Drew Goddard on The Martian|url=https://creativescreenwriting.com/life-goes-on-drew-goddard-on-the-martian/ |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190102160458/https://creativescreenwriting.com/life-goes-on-drew-goddard-on-the-martian/ |archive-date=January 2, 2019 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |website=Creative Screenwriting |publisher=International Screenwriters’ Association |publication-place=Los Angeles, California}}</ref>
===Home media===
''The Cabin in the Woods'' was released on ] & ] in North America on September 18, 2012.<ref name="HomeRelease">{{cite web|url=http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Lionsgate/Disc_Announcements/The_Cabin_in_the_Woods_Dated_for_Blu-ray_/9720|title='The Cabin in the Woods' Dated for Blu-ray|publisher=High-Def Digest|date=June 29, 2012|accessdate=August 30, 2012}}</ref> Both the DVD and Blu-ray feature an audio commentary by Goddard and Whedon, several featurettes, a documentary about the making of the film, and a Q&A session at the 2012 ] convention.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Cabin-Woods-Blu-Ray-DVD-Bonus-Content-Announced-31762.html|title=Cabin In The Woods Blu-Ray/DVD Bonus Content Announced|publisher=Cinema Blend|last=West|first=Kelly|date=July 6, 2012|accessdate=August 30, 2012}}</ref>


A surprise early screening of the film was held at the ] in December 2011, attracting highly positive reactions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/bnat-13-recap-hobbit-cabin-woods-grey-ghost-rider-spirit-vengeance/ |title=BNAT 13 Recap: The Hobbit, The Grey, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance And More |last=Lussier |first=Germain |date=December 12, 2011 |website=] |access-date=July 21, 2020 |archive-date=July 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200722055141/https://www.slashfilm.com/bnat-13-recap-hobbit-cabin-woods-grey-ghost-rider-spirit-vengeance/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/cabin-woods-joss-whedon-ode-horror-scares-buzz-genre-fans-article-1.1056805 |title='Cabin in the Woods,' Joss Whedon's ode to horror, scares up buzz among genre fans |last=Sacks |first=Ethan |date=April 8, 2012 |website=] |access-date=July 21, 2020 |archive-date=July 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200722063146/https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/cabin-woods-joss-whedon-ode-horror-scares-buzz-genre-fans-article-1.1056805 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Haffner |first=Michael |title='Cabin in the Woods' Screened in Austin Over the Weekend at BNAT|url=http://www.destroythebrain.com/movies/movie-news/cabin-in-the-woods-screened-in-austin-over-the-weekend-at-bnat |date=December 12, 2011 |publisher=Destroy The Brain |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226232951/http://www.destroythebrain.com/movies/movie-news/cabin-in-the-woods-screened-in-austin-over-the-weekend-at-bnat |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> The film later screened on March 9, 2012, at the ] film festival, also in Austin.<ref name="SXSWPremiere">{{cite magazine |last=Vary |first=Adam B. |date=March 10, 2012 |title=SXSW: 'Cabin in the Woods' kills at premiere. Just don't talk about it!|url=https://ew.com/article/2012/03/10/sxsw-cabin-in-the-woods-premiere/ |url-status=live |magazine=]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226232756/https://ew.com/article/2012/03/10/sxsw-cabin-in-the-woods-premiere/ |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018}}</ref>
==Reception==

===Home media===
''The Cabin in the Woods'' was released on ] and ] in North America on September 18, 2012.<ref name="HomeRelease">{{cite web |last=Landy |first=Tom |date=June 29, 2012 |title='The Cabin in the Woods' Dated for Blu-ray|url=https://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Lionsgate/Disc_Announcements/The_Cabin_in_the_Woods_Dated_for_Blu-ray_/9720 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226232831/https://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Lionsgate/Disc_Announcements/The_Cabin_in_the_Woods_Dated_for_Blu-ray_/9720 |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |website=High-Def Digest |publisher=Internet Brands |publication-place=Los Angeles, California}}</ref> Both the DVD and Blu-ray feature an audio commentary by Goddard and Whedon, several featurettes, a documentary about the making of the film, and a Q&A session at the 2012 ] convention.<ref>{{cite web |last=West |first=Kelly |date=July 6, 2012 |title=Cabin In The Woods Blu-Ray/DVD Bonus Content Announced |url=https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Cabin-Woods-Blu-Ray-DVD-Bonus-Content-Announced-31762.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226232850/https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Cabin-Woods-Blu-Ray-DVD-Bonus-Content-Announced-31762.html |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |website=] |publisher=}}</ref>


===Box office=== == Reception ==
=== Box office ===
''The Cabin in the Woods'' earned $42,073,277 in North America, along with $23,829,690 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $65,902,967.<ref name="BOM"/>
''The Cabin in the Woods'' grossed $42.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $24.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $66.5 million, against a production budget of $30 million.<ref name="BOM">{{cite web |title=The Cabin in the Woods (2012)|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=cabininthewoods.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116033611/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=cabininthewoods.htm |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |work=] |publisher=}}</ref>


The film opened in North America on April 13, 2012, opening with $5.5 million and went on to gross $14.7 million in its opening weekend in the United States at 2,811 theaters, taking the number three spot.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3419&p=s.htm|last=Subers|first=Ray|date=April 14, 2012|title=Friday Report: 'Hunger Games' Beats 'Stooges,' 'Cabin'|work=Box Office Mojo|publisher=Internet Movie Database|accessdate=August 30, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2012&wknd=15&p=.htm|title=Weekend Box Office Results for April 13–15, 2012|work=Box Office Mojo|publisher=Internet Movie Database|accessdate=August 30, 2012}}</ref> ''The Cabin in the Woods'' closed in theaters on July 12, 2012 with $42.0 million. In total earnings, its highest-grossing countries after North America were the United Kingdom ($8.5 million), France ($2.4 million) and Russia ($2.3 million).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=cabininthewoods.htm|title=The Cabin in the Woods (2012) International Box Office Results|work=Box Office Mojo|publisher=Internet Movie Database|accessdate=August 31, 2012}}</ref> The film opened in North America on April 13, 2012, opening with $5.5 million and went on to gross $14.7 million in its opening weekend at 2,811 theaters, finishing third at the box office.<ref>{{cite web |last=Subers |first=Ray |date=April 14, 2012 |title=Friday Report: 'Hunger Games' Beats 'Stooges,' 'Cabin' |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3419&p=s.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116033935/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3419&p=s.htm |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |work=] |publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Weekend Box Office: April 13-15, 2012 |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2012&wknd=15&p=.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116033553/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2012&wknd=15&p=.htm |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |work=] |publisher=}}</ref> ''The Cabin in the Woods'' closed in theaters on July 12, 2012, with $42.0 million. In total earnings, its highest-grossing countries after North America were the United Kingdom ($8.5 million), France ($2.4 million), and Russia ($2.3 million).<ref>{{cite web |title=The Cabin in the Woods |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=cabininthewoods.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116035126/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=cabininthewoods.htm |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |work=] |publisher=}}</ref>


===Critical response=== ===Critical response===
The review aggregator website ] gave the film a rating of {{RT data|score}}, based on 294 reviews, with an average rating of {{RT data|average}}. The site's critical consensus reads, "''The Cabin in the Woods'' is an astonishing meta-feat, capable of being funny, strange, and scary — frequently all at the same time."<ref>{{cite web |title=The Cabin in the Woods (2011)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cabin_in_the_woods |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020084516/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cabin_in_the_woods/ |archive-date=October 20, 2019 |access-date={{RT data|access date}} |website=] |publisher=}}</ref> On ], the film achieved an average score of 72 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-cabin-in-the-woods |title=The Cabin in the Woods |publisher=] |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711113414/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-cabin-in-the-woods |archive-date=July 11, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Audiences polled by ] gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Smith |first1=Grady |title=Box office report: 'Hunger Games' wins with $21.5M, passes $500M worldwide; 'Three Stooges' and 'Cabin in the Woods' debut decently |url=https://ew.com/article/2012/04/15/box-office-report-hunger-games-three-stooges-cabin-in-the-woods/ |magazine=] |access-date=May 1, 2022 |date=April 15, 2012 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501200907/https://ew.com/article/2012/04/15/box-office-report-hunger-games-three-stooges-cabin-in-the-woods/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
<!-- WHEN UPDATING THE REVIEW AGGREGATE SCORES, PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU UPDATE EVERY FIELD IN THE CITATION PARAMETER, INCLUDING THE ACCESS DATE. -->
The review aggregator website ] gave the film a rating of 92%, based on 253 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "''The Cabin in the Woods'' is an astonishing meta-feat, capable of being funny, strange, and scary – frequently all at the same time."<ref>{{cite web|title=The Cabin in the Woods (2012)|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cabin_in_the_woods/|publisher=]|accessdate=October 20, 2013}}</ref> On ], the film achieved an average score of 72 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-cabin-in-the-woods |title=The Cabin in the Woods Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic |publisher=]|accessdate=April 27, 2012}}</ref>


] of the '']'' gave the film three out of four stars, saying that "''The Cabin in the Woods'' has been constructed almost as a puzzle for horror fans to solve. Which conventions are being toyed with? Which authors and films are being referred to? Is the film itself an act of criticism?".<ref>{{cite web|last=Ebert|first=Roger|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120411/REVIEWS/120419993/ |title=The Cabin in the Woods |work=Chicago Sun-Times |accessdate=April 17, 2012|date=April 19, 2012}}</ref> ] of '']'' gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, calling it "fiendishly funny". Travers praised Kristen Connolly and Fran Kranz for their performances, and wrote, "By turning splatter formula on its empty head, ''Cabin'' shows you can unleash a fire-breathing horror film without leaving your brain or your heart on the killing floor."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/the-cabin-in-the-woods-20120412|title=The Cabin in the Woods|last=Travers|first=Peter|work=]|date=April 12, 2012|accessdate=August 30, 2012}}</ref> ] of the '']'' gave the film three out of four stars, saying that "''The Cabin in the Woods'' has been constructed almost as a puzzle for horror fans to solve. Which conventions are being toyed with? Which authors and films are being referred to? Is the film itself an act of criticism?"<ref>{{cite web|last=Ebert|first=Roger|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-cabin-in-the-woods-2012 |title=The Cabin in the Woods |access-date=December 26, 2018 |date=April 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230114319/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-cabin-in-the-woods-2012 |archive-date=December 30, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> ] of '']'' gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, calling it "fiendishly funny". Travers praised Kristen Connolly and Fran Kranz for their performances, and wrote, "By turning splatter formula on its empty head, ''Cabin'' shows you can unleash a fire-breathing horror film without leaving your brain or your heart on the killing floor."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-cabin-in-the-woods-122574/ |title=The Cabin in the Woods |last=Travers |first=Peter |magazine=] |date=April 12, 2012 |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226232757/https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-cabin-in-the-woods-122574/ |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>


Cinema Blend's Editor in Chief, Katey Rich, gave the film 4.5 out of 5 stars and wrote:
Cinema Blend's Editor in Chief, Katey Rich, gave the film 4.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, <blockquote>"Even when the story sticks firmly in standard horror territory, this particular group of attractive kids is especially fun to spend time with... You'll have to see it, and you ''really'' have to see it if you love horror, hate horror, or have any interest in seeing how the genre can function as a playground for something completely fresh."</blockquote> She praised Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford "in roles that are more fun to discover as you go along – they do get a lot of the best jokes, though, and their scenes show a lot of Goddard's skill in handling the rhythm of a scene."<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.cinemablend.com/reviews/The-Cabin-in-the-Woods-5775.html |author= Rich, Katey |year= 2012 |title= ''The Cabin in the Woods'' |publisher= Cinema Blend |accessdate= July 16, 2013}}</ref> Jenkins and Whitford were also admired by '']'' ("Whitford and Jenkins clearly delight in the verbose script") and by '']'', whose reviewer (granting 9 of 10 stars) called ''Cabin'' "a smart sendup of horror movies and mythology...with a peculiar relish that testifies to the moviemakers' love of genre film... a smart, sarcastic and deliriously fun journey into the belly of the horror beast." He cited the "witty banter, creative twists" and "clippy, quippy dialog that lifted '']'' and ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' to cult status."<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.wired.com/underwire/2012/04/review-cabin-in-the-woods/ |author= Wallace, Lewis |date= April 13, 2012 |title= Review: Cabin in the Woods Rips Horror a New One |publisher= '']'' |accessdate= July 16, 2013}}</ref>


{{Blockquote|"Even when the story sticks firmly in standard horror territory, this particular group of attractive kids is especially fun to spend time with... You'll have to see it, and you ''really'' have to see it if you love horror, hate horror, or have any interest in seeing how the genre can function as a playground for something completely fresh. Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford are involved, though in roles that are more fun to discover as you go along-- they do get a lot of the best jokes, though, and their scenes show a lot of Goddard's skill in handling the rhythm of a scene."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cinemablend.com/reviews/The-Cabin-in-the-Woods-5775.html |last=Rich |first=Katey |date=May 27, 2016 |title=The Cabin in the Woods |publisher=Cinema Blend |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226233118/https://www.cinemablend.com/reviews/The-Cabin-in-the-Woods-5775.html |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
Ann Hornaday of '']'', giving the movie 3 of 4 stars, wrote, <blockquote>"A fiendishly clever brand of meta-level genius propels ''The Cabin in the Woods'', a pulpy, deceivingly insightful send-up of horror movies that elicits just as many knowing chuckles as horrified gasps. comes not only to praise the slasher-, zombie- and gore-fests of yore but to critique them, elaborating on their grammatical elements and archetypal figures even while searching for ways to put them to novel use. The danger in such a loftily ironic approach is that everything in the film appears with ready-made quotation marks around it... But by then, the audience will have picked up on the infectiously goofy vibe of an enterprise that, from its first sprightly moments, clearly has no intention of taking itself too seriously."<ref>{{cite news |last= Hornaday |first= Ann |title= ''The Cabin in the Woods'': CRITIC'S PICK |work= ] |date= April 13, 2012 |url= http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/the-cabin-in-the-woods,1158786/critic-review.html |accessdate= July 16, 2013}}</ref></blockquote>


Jenkins and Whitford were also admired by '']'' ("Whitford and Jenkins clearly delight in the verbose script") and by '']'', whose reviewer (granting 9 of 10 stars) called ''Cabin'' "a smart sendup of horror movies and mythology...with a peculiar relish that testifies to the moviemakers' love of genre film... a smart, sarcastic and deliriously fun journey into the belly of the horror beast." He cited the "witty banter, creative twists" and "clippy, quippy dialog that lifted '']'' and ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' to cult status."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2012/04/review-cabin-in-the-woods/ |last=Wallace |first=Lewis |date=April 13, 2012 |title=Review: ''Cabin in the Woods'' Rips Horror a New One |magazine=] |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227040733/https://www.wired.com/2012/04/review-cabin-in-the-woods/ |archive-date=December 27, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Eric Goldman, writing for ], called the movie "an incredibly clever and fun take on classic horror movie tropes."<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/04/12/the-cabin-in-the-woods-review |author= Goldman, Eric |date= April 12, 2012 |title= What's Truly Lurking in the Darkness |publisher= ] |accessdate= July 16, 2013}}</ref> '']'' said, "The cliches come at an onslaught pace" in "a wonderfully conceived story that gives a bigger than life and fascinating explanation for why so many horror movie cliches exist in the first place... By the time the ride is over, director Drew Goddard and co-writers Goddard and Joss Whedon will change course three or four times, nodding and winking but never losing momentum."<ref>{{cite news |last= Hartlaub |first= Peter |title= ''Cabin in the Woods'' Review |work= ] |date= December 18, 2012 |url= http://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Cabin-in-the-Woods-review-3477920.php |accessdate= July 16, 2013}}</ref> Of the screenplay by Goddard and Whedon, a ] reviewer praised "these horror hipsters' acidic, postmodern designs on one of the movie industry's hoariest, least respected staples... the dialogue is always a notch or three smarter and snappier than you'd expect."<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/13/showbiz/movies/cabin-in-the-woods-review |author= Charity, Tom |date= April 13, 2012 |title= Review: ''Cabin in the Woods'' is Sheer Horror Heaven |publisher= ] |accessdate= July 16, 2013}}</ref>


Ann Hornaday of '']'', giving the movie 3 of 4 stars, wrote:
Keith Phipps of ''The A. V. Club'' addressed: <blockquote>"the difficult challenge of putting across a satirical film with a serious body count. ''Cabin'' touches on everything from '']'' and '']'' to the mechanized mutilations of the '']'' series while digging deeper into the ] roots of horror in an attempt to reveal what makes the genre work... It’s an exercise in ] that, while providing grisly fun, never distances viewers. And it’s entertaining, while asking the same ] of viewers and characters alike: Why come to a place you knew all along was going to be so dark and dangerous?"<ref name = "AV">{{cite web |url= http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-cabin-in-the-woods,72287/ |author= Phipps, Keith |date= April 12, 2012 |title= The Cabin in the Woods |publisher= '']'' |accessdate= July 16, 2013}}</ref></blockquote>


{{Blockquote|"A fiendishly clever brand of meta-level genius propels ''The Cabin in the Woods'', a pulpy, deceivingly insightful send-up of horror movies that elicits just as many knowing chuckles as horrified gasps. comes not only to praise the slasher-, zombie- and gore-fests of yore but to critique them, elaborating on their grammatical elements and archetypal figures even while searching for ways to put them to novel use. The danger in such a loftily ironic approach is that everything in the film appears with ready-made quotation marks around it... But by then, the audience will have picked up on the infectiously goofy vibe of an enterprise that, from its first sprightly moments, clearly has no intention of taking itself too seriously."<ref>{{cite news |last=Hornaday |first=Ann |title=The Cabin in the Woods: Editorial Review |newspaper=] |date=April 13, 2012|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/the-cabin-in-the-woods,1158786.html |access-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222231423/http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/the-cabin-in-the-woods,1158786.html |archive-date=December 22, 2015}}</ref>}}
While ''Cabin'' pleased horror aficionados, many movie reviewers did not share the wonder. ] of '']'', calling herself "a wised-up viewer," gave the film a "B−" grade and said, "The movie's biggest surprise may be that the story we think we know from modern scary cinema — that horror is a fun, cosmic game, not much else — here turns out to be pretty much the whole enchilada." She shrugged off the talents of Whitford and Jenkins: "These two experienced actors provide the film's adult-level entertainment."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20567682,00.html | title=The Cabin in the Woods Review | work=Entertainment Weekly | date=April 23, 2012 | accessdate=August 30, 2012 | author=Schwarzbaum, Lisa}}</ref>


Eric Goldman, writing for ], called the movie "an incredibly clever and fun take on classic horror movie tropes."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2012/04/12/the-cabin-in-the-woods-review |last=Goldman |first=Eric |date=April 12, 2012 |title=The Cabin in the Woods Review |publisher=] |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226233033/https://www.ign.com/articles/2012/04/12/the-cabin-in-the-woods-review |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> '']'' said, "The cliches come at an onslaught pace" in "a wonderfully conceived story that gives a bigger than life and fascinating explanation for why so many horror movie cliches exist in the first place... By the time the ride is over, director Drew Goddard and co-writers Goddard and Joss Whedon will change course three or four times, nodding and winking but never losing momentum."<ref>{{cite news |last=Hartlaub |first=Peter |title='Cabin in the Woods,' review |work=] |date=August 6, 2013|url=https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Cabin-in-the-Woods-review-3477920.php |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226232824/https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Cabin-in-the-Woods-review-3477920.php |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Of the screenplay by Goddard and Whedon, a ] reviewer praised "these horror hipsters' acidic, postmodern designs on one of the movie industry's hoariest, least respected staples... the dialogue is always a notch or three smarter and snappier than you'd expect."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/04/13/showbiz/movies/cabin-in-the-woods-review |last=Charity |first=Tom |date=April 13, 2012 |title=Review: 'Cabin in the Woods' is sheer horror heaven |publisher=] |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226232911/https://www.cnn.com/2012/04/13/showbiz/movies/cabin-in-the-woods-review |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Betsy Sharkey of the '']'' believed that the film "is an inside joke" and also said, "The laughs come easily, the screams not so much."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/13/entertainment/la-et-cabin-in-the-woods-20120413|last=Sharkey|first=Betsy|work=Los Angeles Times|title=Review: 'The Cabin in the Woods' is Joss Whedon's inside joke|date=April 13, 2012|accessdate=August 30, 2012}}</ref> David Rooney of '']'' remarked, "It’s just too bad the movie is never much more than a hollow exercise in self-reflexive cleverness that’s not nearly as ingenious as it seems to think."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/the-cabin-in-the-woods-film-review-chris-hemsworth-298129|last=Rooney|first=David|work=The Hollywood Reporter|title=The Cabin in the Woods: Film Review|date=March 9, 2012|accessdate=August 30, 2012}}</ref>


Keith Phipps of ''The A.V. Club'' addressed "...the difficult challenge of putting across a satirical film with a serious body count. ''Cabin'' touches on everything from '']'' and '']'' to the mechanized mutilations of the '']'' series while digging deeper into the ] roots of horror in an attempt to reveal what makes the genre work... It's an exercise in ] that, while providing grisly fun, never distances viewers. And it's entertaining, while asking the same ] of viewers and characters alike: Why come to a place you knew all along was going to be so dark and dangerous?"<ref name="AV">{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/the-cabin-in-the-woods-1798172361 |last=Phipps |first=Keith |date=April 12, 2012 |title=The Cabin In The Woods |publisher=] |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227040629/https://film.avclub.com/the-cabin-in-the-woods-1798172361 |archive-date=December 27, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>
] of '']'' said, "Novelty and genre traditionalism often fight to a draw. Too much overt cleverness has a way of spoiling dumb, reliable thrills. And despite the evident ingenuity and strenuous labor that went into it, ''The Cabin in the Woods'' does not quite work." Scott added, <blockquote>"Some of the pleasure of the first (and best) part of ''The Cabin in the Woods'' comes from trying to see just over the narrative horizon and figure out what these incompatible sets of clichés have to do with each other. Two distinct kinds of movie are being yoked, by violence, together, and the performers inhabit their familiar roles with unusual wit."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://movies.nytimes.com/2012/04/13/movies/the-cabin-in-the-woods-by-drew-goddard-and-joss-whedon.html?ref=movies&_r=0 | title=Taking a Chain Saw to Horror Movie Clichés | work=New York Times | date=April 12, 2012 | accessdate=August 30, 2012 | author=Scott, A.O.}}</ref></blockquote>

In a more mixed review, ] of '']'', calling herself "a wised-up viewer," gave the film a "B−" grade and said, "The movie's biggest surprise may be that the story we think we know from modern scary cinema—that horror is a fun, cosmic game, not much else—here turns out to be pretty much the whole enchilada." She shrugged off the talents of Whitford and Jenkins: "These two experienced actors provide the film's adult-level entertainment."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2012/04/23/cabin-woods/|title=The Cabin in the Woods |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=April 23, 2012 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |last=Schwarzbaum |first=Lisa|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181117002306/https://ew.com/article/2012/04/23/cabin-woods/ |archive-date=November 17, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Betsy Sharkey of the '']'' believed that the film "is an inside joke" and also said, "The laughs come easily, the screams not so much."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2012-apr-13-la-et-cabin-in-the-woods-20120413-story.html |last=Sharkey |first=Betsy |work=Los Angeles Times |title=Review: 'The Cabin in the Woods' is Joss Whedon's inside joke |date=April 13, 2012 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102205537/http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/13/entertainment/la-et-cabin-in-the-woods-20120413 |archive-date=January 2, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> David Rooney of '']'' remarked, "It's just too bad the movie is never much more than a hollow exercise in self-reflexive cleverness that's not nearly as ingenious as it seems to think."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/cabin-woods-film-review-298129 |last=Rooney |first=David |work=The Hollywood Reporter |title=The Cabin in the Woods: Film Review |date=March 9, 2012 |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227040712/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/cabin-woods-film-review-298129 |archive-date=December 27, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

] of '']'' said, "Novelty and genre traditionalism often fight to a draw. Too much overt cleverness has a way of spoiling dumb, reliable thrills. And despite the evident ingenuity and strenuous labor that went into it, ''The Cabin in the Woods'' does not quite work." Scott added:

{{Blockquote|"Some of the pleasure of the first (and best) part of ''The Cabin in the Woods'' comes from trying to see just over the narrative horizon and figure out what these incompatible sets of clichés have to do with each other. Two distinct kinds of movie are being yoked, by violence, together, and the performers inhabit their familiar roles with unusual wit."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/13/movies/the-cabin-in-the-woods-by-drew-goddard-and-joss-whedon.html?ref=movies&_r=0 |title=Taking a Chain Saw to Horror Movie Clichés |work=] |date=April 12, 2012 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |first=A.O. |last=Scott |author-link=A.O. Scott|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226233111/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/13/movies/the-cabin-in-the-woods-by-drew-goddard-and-joss-whedon.html?ref=movies&_r=0 |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}


===Accolades=== ===Accolades===
Line 127: Line 139:
! scope="col" | Nominee(s) ! scope="col" | Nominee(s)
! scope="col" | Result ! scope="col" | Result
|-
! scope="row" | ]
| June 2013
| ]<ref>{{Cite web|title=2012 Bram Stoker Awards Winners & Nominees – The Bram Stoker Awards|url=https://www.thebramstokerawards.com/uncategorized/2012-bram-stoker-awards-winners-nominees/|access-date=2022-01-24|language=en-US|website=]|archive-date=June 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603142336/https://www.thebramstokerawards.com/uncategorized/2012-bram-stoker-awards-winners-nominees/|url-status=live}}</ref>
| ] and ]
| {{won}}
|- |-
! scope="row" | ] ! scope="row" | ]
| November 3, 2013 |November 3, 2013
| Best Screenplay<ref name="bfs; awards and nominations">{{cite web|url=http://www.britishfantasysociety.co.uk/british-fantasy-awards/winners-of-the-british-fantasy-awards-2013/|title=Winners of the British Fantasy Awards 2013|date=November 3, 2013|publisher=britishfantasysociety.co.uk|accessdate=November 4, 2013}}</ref> |Best Screenplay<ref name="bfs; awards and nominations">{{cite web|date=November 3, 2013|title=Winners of the British Fantasy Awards 2013|url=http://www.britishfantasysociety.co.uk/british-fantasy-awards/winners-of-the-british-fantasy-awards-2013/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227005909/http://www.britishfantasysociety.co.uk/british-fantasy-awards/winners-of-the-british-fantasy-awards-2013/|archive-date=December 27, 2018|access-date=December 26, 2018|publisher=britishfantasysociety.co.uk}}</ref>
| ]<br>] |]<br>]
| {{won}} | {{won}}
|- |-
! scope="row" rowspan="2" | Central Ohio Film Critics Association<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cofca.org/awards.php?year=2012|title=Central Ohio Film Critics Association – Awards: 2012|accessdate=July 22, 2013|publisher=COFCA.org}}</ref> ! scope="row" rowspan="2" | Central Ohio Film Critics Association<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cofca.org/awards-2012/ |title=Awards 2012 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |publisher=Central Ohio Film Critics Association|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226233015/https://cofca.org/awards-2012/ |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| rowspan="2" | January 3, 2013 | rowspan="2" | January 3, 2013
| Best Original Screenplay | Best Original Screenplay
Line 149: Line 167:
| {{nom}} | {{nom}}
|- |-
! scope="row" | ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://detroitfilmcritics.com/2012/12/the-2012-detroit-film-critics-society-awards/|title=The 2012 Detroit Film Critics Society Awards|date=December 14, 2012|publisher=DetroitFilmCritics.com}}</ref> ! scope="row" | ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://detroitfilmcritics.com/awards/the-2012-detroit-film-critics-society-awards/ |title=The 2012 Detroit Film Critics Society Awards |date=December 14, 2012 |publisher=DetroitFilmCritics.com |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140118072756/http://detroitfilmcritics.com/awards/the-2012-detroit-film-critics-society-awards/ |archive-date=January 18, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| December 14, 2012 | December 14, 2012
| Best Screenplay | Best Screenplay
Line 160: Line 178:
| {{nom}} | {{nom}}
|- |-
! scope="row" rowspan="4" | ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fangoria.com/new/the-2013-fangoria-chainsaw-awards-results/|title=The 2013 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards Results!|publisher=Fangoria|date=June 13, 2013|first=Michael|last=Gingold|accessdate=July 22, 2013}}</ref> ! scope="row" rowspan="4" | ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fangoriaarchive.com/the-2013-fangoria-chainsaw-awards-results/ |title=The 2013 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards Results! |publisher=Fangoria |date=June 13, 2013 |first=Michael |last=Gingold |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226232851/http://fangoriaarchive.com/the-2013-fangoria-chainsaw-awards-results/ |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| rowspan="4" | June 13, 2013 | rowspan="4" | June 13, 2013
| Best Screenplay | Best Screenplay
Line 177: Line 195:
| {{won}} | {{won}}
|- |-
! scope="row" rowspan="2" | ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goldentrailer.com/awards.gta13.php|title=The 13th Annual Golden Trailer Awards|accessdate=July 22, 2013|publisher=GoldenTrailer.com}}</ref> ! scope="row" rowspan="2" | ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goldentrailer.com/gta13-nominees/ |title=GTA13 NOMINEES (2012) |access-date=December 26, 2018|publisher=GoldenTrailer.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917201156/http://www.goldentrailer.com/gta13-nominees/ |archive-date=September 17, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| rowspan="2" | May 31, 2012 | rowspan="2" | May 31, 2012
| colspan="2" | Best Horror TV Spot | colspan="2" | Best Horror TV Spot
Line 191: Line 209:
| {{nom}} | {{nom}}
|- |-
! scope="row" | Kansas City Film Critics Circle<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/the-master-ang-lee-win-with-kansas-city-film-critics-circle|title='The Master,' 'Ang Lee' win with Kansas City Film Critics Circle|publisher=]|date=December 16, 2012|accessdate=July 22, 2013|first=Kristopher|last=Tapley}}</ref> ! scope="row" | Kansas City Film Critics Circle<ref>{{cite web|url=https://uproxx.com/hitfix/the-master-ang-lee-win-with-kansas-city-film-critics-circle/ |title='The Master,' 'Ang Lee' win with Kansas City Film Critics Circle |publisher=] |date=December 16, 2012 |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226233142/https://uproxx.com/hitfix/the-master-ang-lee-win-with-kansas-city-film-critics-circle/ |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| December 16, 2012 | December 16, 2012
| colspan="2" | Best Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror Film | colspan="2" | Best Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror Film
| {{won}} | {{won}}
|- |-
! scope="row" | ]<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/golden-reel-nominees-413536|title=Sound Editors Announce Golden Reel Nominees|magazine=]|date=January 17, 2013|first=Carolyn|last=Giardina|accessdate=July 22, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deadline.com/2013/02/mpse-golden-reel-awards-embargoed-kinsey-life-of-pi-les-miserables-skyfall-wreck-it-ralph-game-of-thrones-fringe/|title=MPSE Golden Reel Awards: ‘Life Of Pi’, ‘Les Misérables’, ‘Skyfall’, ‘Wreck-It Ralph’, ‘Game Of Thrones’, ‘Fringe’|publisher=]|date=February 17, 2013|accessdate=July 22, 2013}}</ref> ! scope="row" | ]<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/golden-reel-nominees-413536 |title=Sound Editors Announce Golden Reel Nominees |journal=] |date=January 17, 2013 |first=Carolyn |last=Giardina |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116035440/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/golden-reel-nominees-413536 |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| February 17, 2013 | February 17, 2013
| Best Sound Editing – Music in a Feature Film | Best Sound Editing – Music in a Feature Film
Line 208: Line 226:
| {{nom}} | {{nom}}
|- |-
! scope="row" | Phoenix Film Critics Society<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiewire.com/article/les-miserables-leads-phoenix-film-critics-nominations|title='Les Miserables' Leads Phoenix Film Critics Nominations|publisher=IndieWire|date=December 12, 2012|first=Peter|last=Knegt|accessdate=July 22, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanownews.com/story/20371777/argo-top-phoenix-film-critics-society-2012-annual-awards|title='Argo' tops Phoenix Film Critics Society 2012 annual awards|publisher=]|first=Dave|last=Ramsey|date=December 18, 2012|accessdate=July 22, 2013}}</ref> ! scope="row" | Phoenix Film Critics Society<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2012/12/les-miserables-leads-phoenix-film-critics-nominations-42519/ |title='Les Miserables' Leads Phoenix Film Critics Nominations |publisher=IndieWire |date=December 12, 2012 |first=Peter |last=Knegt |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820111719/https://www.indiewire.com/2012/12/les-miserables-leads-phoenix-film-critics-nominations-42519/ |archive-date=August 20, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanownews.com/story/20371777/argo-top-phoenix-film-critics-society-2012-annual-awards |title='Argo' tops Phoenix Film Critics Society 2012 annual awards |publisher=] |first=Dave |last=Ramsey |date=December 18, 2012 |access-date=December 26, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130722090456/http://www.americanownews.com/story/20371777/argo-top-phoenix-film-critics-society-2012-annual-awards |archive-date=July 22, 2013}}</ref>
| December 18, 2012 | December 18, 2012
| colspan="2" | Overlooked Film of the Year | colspan="2" | Overlooked Film of the Year
Line 236: Line 254:
|} |}


==Lawsuit== == Lawsuit ==
On April 13, 2015, author Peter Gallagher filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in California federal court against the makers of the film.<ref name="copyright infringement">{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/joss-whedon-lionsgate-hit-copyright-788854|title=Joss Whedon, Lionsgate Hit With Copyright Lawsuit Over 'The Cabin in the Woods'|first=Austin|last=Siegemund-Broka|date=April 14, 2015|publisher=The Hollywood Reporter|accessdate=April 15, 2015}}</ref> Gallagher claimed that due to the similarities between the film and his 2006 novel ''The Little White Trip: A Night In the Pines'', ] and ] had used his work without permission. The lawsuit demanded $10 million in damages.<ref name="similarities">{{cite web|url=http://www.thewrap.com/joss-whedon-lionsgate-hit-with-10-million-cabin-in-the-woods-copyright-lawsuit/|title=Joss Whedon, Lionsgate Hit With $10 Million ‘Cabin in the Woods’ Copyright Lawsuit|first=Tim|last=Kenneally|date=April 14, 2015|publisher=TheWrap|accessdate=April 15, 2015}}</ref> Whedon and Goddard were named as defendants, along with the production company ] and distributor ].<ref name="copyright infringement" /><ref name="defendants">{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/04/15/joss-whedon-lionsgate-facing-lawsuit-over-the-cabin-in-the-woods|title=Joss Whedon, Lionsgate Facing Lawsuit Over The Cabin in the Woods|first=Luke|last=Reilly|date=April 14, 2015|publisher=IGN|accessdate=April 15, 2015}}</ref> Five months later, the case was dismissed.<ref name="dismissed">{{cite web|url=http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/14/cabin-in-the-woods-lawsuit-dismissed|title=Cabin in the Woods lawsuit against Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard dismissed|first=Oliver|last=Gettell|date=September 14, 2015|publisher=''EW.com''|accessdate=October 1, 2015}}</ref> On April 13, 2015, author Peter Gallagher filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in California federal court against the makers of the film.<ref name="copyright infringement">{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/joss-whedon-lionsgate-hit-copyright-788854 |title=Joss Whedon, Lionsgate Hit With Copyright Lawsuit Over 'The Cabin in the Woods' |first=Austin |last=Siegemund-Broka |date=April 14, 2015 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=December 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226232707/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/joss-whedon-lionsgate-hit-copyright-788854 |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Gallagher claimed that due to the similarities between the film and his 2006 novel ''The Little White Trip: A Night in the Pines'', ] and ] had used his work without permission. The lawsuit demanded $10 million in damages.<ref name="similarities">{{cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/joss-whedon-lionsgate-hit-with-10-million-cabin-in-the-woods-copyright-lawsuit/ |title=Joss Whedon, Lionsgate Hit With $10 Million 'Cabin in the Woods' Copyright Lawsuit |first=Tim |last=Kenneally |date=April 14, 2015 |publisher=TheWrap |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226120832/https://www.thewrap.com/joss-whedon-lionsgate-hit-with-10-million-cabin-in-the-woods-copyright-lawsuit/ |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Whedon and Goddard were named as defendants, along with the production company ] and distributor ].<ref name="copyright infringement" /><ref name="defendants">{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/04/15/joss-whedon-lionsgate-facing-lawsuit-over-the-cabin-in-the-woods |title=Joss Whedon, Lionsgate Facing Lawsuit Over The Cabin in the Woods |first=Luke |last=Reilly |date=April 14, 2015 |publisher=IGN |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226233228/https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/04/15/joss-whedon-lionsgate-facing-lawsuit-over-the-cabin-in-the-woods |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> The case was dismissed five months later.<ref name="dismissed">{{cite web|url=https://ew.com/article/2015/09/14/cabin-in-the-woods-lawsuit-dismissed/ |title=Cabin in the Woods lawsuit against Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard dismissed |first=Oliver |last=Gettell |date=September 14, 2015 |publisher=EW.com |access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226233002/https://ew.com/article/2015/09/14/cabin-in-the-woods-lawsuit-dismissed/ |archive-date=December 26, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>


== References ==
U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss, writing, “While the two works share a common premise of students travelling to remote locations and subsequently being murdered, real or otherwise, that premise is unprotectable. The concept of young people venturing off to such locations and being murdered by some evil force is common in horror films.” The judge added that “The works may both have a core theme of horror, but Cabin’s core of horror is spliced with heavy amounts of comedy and parody. Indeed, the way each work plays out is drastically different than the other, as is the way they develop their core themes and how they provide commentary.” Wright also determined that the “plot of ‘Cabin’ is rather comical,” Gallagher’s book “starts off on a very serious note.” <ref name="motion">{{cite web|url=http://www.thewrap.com/joss-whedon-prevails-in-10-million-cabin-in-the-woods-copyright-lawsuit|title=Joss Whedon Prevails in $10 Million ‘Cabin in the Woods’ Copyright Lawsuit|first=Oliver|last=Gettell|date=September 14, 2015|publisher=''EW.com''|accessdate=February 25, 2016}}</ref>
{{Reflist}}


== External links ==
==Books==
On April 17, 2012, ] released the ''Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companion''. It features interviews, behind-the-scenes photos, and concept art of unused creatures.

Alongside this, Titan Books released the ] ''The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Movie Novelization'', from the author ] and creators Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard.

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}} {{wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title}}
* {{Official website|http://discoverthecabininthewoods.com//}}
* {{IMDb title|1259521|The Cabin in the Woods}} * {{Mojo title}}
* {{Metacritic film}}
* {{allrovi movie|463538|The Cabin in the Woods}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes}}
* {{mojo title|cabininthewoods|The Cabin in the Woods}}
* {{ISFDB title|1214400}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|1200439|The Cabin in the Woods}}
* {{metacritic film|the-cabin-in-the-woods|The Cabin in the Woods}}


{{Drew Goddard}}
{{Joss Whedon}} {{Joss Whedon}}
{{Saturn Award for Best Horror or Thriller Film 2011–2030}} {{Saturn Award for Best Horror or Thriller Film 2011–2030}}
{{Authority control}}

<!-- http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-cabin-in-the-woods-v463538 -->


{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabin in the Woods}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Cabin in the Woods}}
] ]
] ]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
] ]
]
<!-- http://ndsmcobserver.com/2012/09/why-the-cabin-in-the-woods-is-redefining-horror/ -->
] ]
] ]
]
]
]
] ]
] ]
]
<!-- http://www.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/the-cabin-in-the-woods-horror-comedy-mold-cant-be-broken/Content?oid=2184682 -->
] ]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 08:08, 22 December 2024

2011 science fiction comedy horror film by Drew Goddard

The Cabin in the Woods
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDrew Goddard
Written byJoss Whedon
Drew Goddard
Produced byJoss Whedon
Starring
CinematographyPeter Deming
Edited byLisa Lassek
Music byDavid Julyan
Production
companies
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (uncredited)
United Artists (uncredited)
Mutant Enemy Productions
Distributed byLionsgate
Release dates
  • December 2011 (2011-12) (Butt-Numb-A-Thon)
  • April 13, 2012 (2012-04-13) (United States)
Running time95 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • Canada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30 million
Box office$69.9 million

The Cabin in the Woods is a 2011 science fiction comedy horror film directed by Drew Goddard in his directorial debut, produced by Joss Whedon, and written by Whedon and Goddard. It stars Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, and Bradley Whitford. The plot follows a group of college students who retreat to a remote cabin in the woods where they fall victim to a variety of monsters while technicians manipulate events from an underground facility for a global purpose.

Goddard and Whedon, who previously worked together on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, wrote the screenplay in three days, describing it as an attempt to "revitalize" the slasher film genre and as a critical satire on torture porn. The special effects, monster costumes, special makeup, and prosthetic makeup for the film were done by AFX Studio. Filming took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, from March to May 2009 on an estimated budget of $30 million.

The film was originally slated for release on October 23, 2009, which was later delayed to February 5, 2010, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and United Artists (UA), but was indefinitely shelved due to financial difficulties. In 2011, Lionsgate picked up the distribution rights. The film premiered in December 2011 at the Butt-Numb-A-Thon film festival in Austin, Texas and was released in the United States on April 13, 2012, to critical and commercial success. It grossed $66.5 million worldwide, and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its screenplay, tone, and performances.

Plot

In an underground laboratory, engineers Gary Sitterson and Steve Hadley discuss a mysterious ritual, after a similar operation in Stockholm just ended in failure, leaving only their facility and one in Japan to undertake the process, and with the latter holding a perfect record.

American college students Dana Polk, Jules Louden, Curt Vaughan, Holden McCrea, and Marty Mikalski are spending their weekend at Curt's cousin's cabin in the woods. From the lab, Sitterson and Hadley remotely control the cabin and manipulate the students by intoxicating them with mind-altering drugs. In the cabin's cellar, the group finds bizarre objects, including the diary of Patience Buckner, a cabin resident abused by her sadistic family. Dana recites incantations from the diary and inadvertently summons the zombified Matthew and Judah Buckner.

Hadley releases pheromones to induce Curt and Jules to have sex outside. They are attacked by the Buckners and Jules is decapitated while Curt escapes. Marty discovers concealed surveillance equipment in his room before being stabbed and dragged off by Judah. The lab workers learn that the site in Japan has also failed, meaning that the American rite is "humanity's last hope". Curt, Holden, and Dana attempt to escape in their RV, but Sitterson triggers a tunnel collapse to block them. Curt attempts to jump a ravine on his motorcycle to seek help on the other side, but crashes into a force field and falls to his death. Dana then realizes that their experience is staged and controlled. Holden is killed by Matthew while driving the RV, causing it to crash into the lake. Dana manages to escape, but she is quickly found and brutally attacked by Matthew.

The lab employees celebrate the success of the rite, believing that Dana is the only survivor. Having previously dismembered Judah, Marty returns and helps Dana escape from Matthew. He takes her to a hidden elevator, and they descend into the lab and discover a large collection of different monsters in cages. Dana correlates them with the objects in the cellar and realizes that the objects determine which monsters are released. Cornered by security personnel, the pair release all the monsters, which wreak havoc and slaughter the staff; Hadley is killed by a merman and Dana accidentally stabs Sitterson.

Dana and Marty discover an ancient temple, where they are confronted by the facility's director. She explains that worldwide annual rituals of human sacrifice are held to appease the Ancient Ones, a group of cruel subterranean deities. Each region has its own ritual, and the American ritual involves the sacrifice of five archetypes: the whore (Jules), the athlete (Curt), the scholar (Holden), the fool (Marty), and the virgin (Dana). The order is arbitrary as long as the whore dies first and the virgin dies last or survives. The director urges Dana to kill Marty and complete the ritual, but as Dana considers it, a werewolf suddenly mauls her. Marty shoots the werewolf and scares it off, but the director attacks him. Patience arrives and kills the director before Marty kicks them both into the pit below.

Deciding that humanity is not worth saving, Dana and Marty apologize to each other and share a joint. The temple floor collapses and a giant hand emerges from the ground, destroying the facility and the cabin.

Cast

  • Kristen Connolly as Dana Polk, a college student designated as "The Virgin"
  • Chris Hemsworth as Curt Vaughan, a sociology major designated as "The Athlete"
  • Anna Hutchison as Jules Louden, a pre-medical college student and Curt's girlfriend, designated as "The Whore"
  • Fran Kranz as Marty Mikalski, a college student designated as "The Fool"
  • Jesse Williams as Holden McCrea, Curt's football teammate, designated as "The Scholar"
  • Richard Jenkins as Gary Sitterson, one of the Facility's technicians
  • Bradley Whitford as Steve Hadley, one of the Facility's technicians
  • Brian White as Daniel Truman, the Facility's control room security officer
  • Amy Acker as Wendy Lin, one of the Facility's technicians
  • Sigourney Weaver as The Director, the unnamed leader of the Facility
  • Tim de Zarn as Mordecai, a gas station owner who works for the Facility (designated as "The Harbinger")
  • Tom Lenk as Ronald the Intern, the Facility's intern
  • Dan Payne as Mathew Buckner
  • Jodelle Ferland as Patience Buckner
  • Dan Shea as Father Buckner

Production

Filming

An international co-production film between the United States and Canada, principal photography began on March 9, 2009, in Vancouver, and concluded in May 2009. Joss Whedon co-wrote the script with Cloverfield screenwriter Drew Goddard, who also directed the film, marking his directorial debut. Goddard previously worked with Whedon on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel as a writer.

Whedon described the film as an attempt to revitalize the horror genre. He called it a "loving hate letter" to the genre, continuing:

... it's a serious critique of what we love and what we don't about horror movies. I love being scared. I love that mixture of thrill, of horror, that objectification/identification thing of wanting definitely for the people to be all right but at the same time hoping they'll go somewhere dark and face something awful. The things that I don't like are kids acting like idiots, the devolution of the horror movie into torture porn and into a long series of sadistic comeuppances. Drew and I both felt that the pendulum had swung a little too far in that direction.

Concerning the sheer number of creatures to be designed and made for the film, AFX Studio's David LeRoy Anderson estimated that "close to a thousand" people were turned into one of around 60 different monster types. The task necessitated renting a much larger facility to use as a workspace, as a crew of around 60 people were recruited. The producers told them to commence work on December 15, 2008, ahead of the official January 1, 2009, start date. They only completed the work by the March 9, 2009, production date because, as Anderson stated "We had nearly seventy people at peak, but in effect we had a hundred and forty people, because everybody had at least two jobs...it was crazy, but people had an incredible time...none of us are ever going to forget it, and we're never all going to be in the same room again."

The underground complex, elevators, and the control room were all sets, but for several wide shots, the British Columbia Institute of Technology's Aerospace building was used. Production designer Martin Whist referred to Stanley Kubrick and commented: "It's very high-tech industrial, and it's a brand new building, never been shot in before...I wanted to be without any controls...to almost feel like a glamorized freight elevator...The lobby I wanted to look slightly utilitarian, contemporary and institutional...sharp and almost characterless."

Downloadable content

A tie-in of the film with the video game Left 4 Dead 2 had been planned, with the game seeing downloadable content based on the movie's settings. However, due to MGM's financial problems, the game content was cancelled, but Valve allowed the studio to use monsters from Left 4 Dead 2 to populate the monster cells at the end of the film.

Release

The Cabin in the Woods was slated for wide release on February 5, 2010 (before that, it was slated for release on October 23, 2009), and then delayed until January 14, 2011, so the film could be converted to 3D. However, on June 17, 2010, MGM announced that the film would be delayed indefinitely due to ongoing financial difficulties at the studio.

On March 16, 2011, the Los Angeles Times reported the following: "New (MGM) chief executives Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum are seeking to sell both Red Dawn and the horror film The Cabin in the Woods, the last two pictures produced under a previous regime, as they try to reshape the 87-year-old company." A distribution sale to Lionsgate was announced on April 28, 2011, with some industry news outlets reporting plans for a Halloween 2011 release. On July 20, 2011, Lionsgate announced that they had acquired the distribution rights to the film and set a release date of April 13, 2012. Goddard described the deal as "a dream," stating "there's no question that Lionsgate is the right home for Cabin...you look at all the films that inspired Cabin – most of them were released by Lionsgate in the first place!" In an interview with Creative Screenwriting, Goddard focused on the advantages of the delayed release, saying, "Lionsgate came along and they were the best possible home for that movie. Had the bankruptcy not happened, we wouldn't have been in the right fit with the right people. Yes, it took two years longer than we wish it would've taken, but Lionsgate didn't make us change a frame and believed in what we were trying to do. If I had complained too much when MGM went bankrupt, we could have hurt ourselves. We just held firm that we believed in the movie and that we would find the right home and time, and it did. It's hard, but you have to be very patient in Hollywood."

A surprise early screening of the film was held at the Butt-Numb-A-Thon in December 2011, attracting highly positive reactions. The film later screened on March 9, 2012, at the South by Southwest film festival, also in Austin.

Home media

The Cabin in the Woods was released on DVD and Blu-ray in North America on September 18, 2012. Both the DVD and Blu-ray feature an audio commentary by Goddard and Whedon, several featurettes, a documentary about the making of the film, and a Q&A session at the 2012 WonderCon convention.

Reception

Box office

The Cabin in the Woods grossed $42.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $24.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $66.5 million, against a production budget of $30 million.

The film opened in North America on April 13, 2012, opening with $5.5 million and went on to gross $14.7 million in its opening weekend at 2,811 theaters, finishing third at the box office. The Cabin in the Woods closed in theaters on July 12, 2012, with $42.0 million. In total earnings, its highest-grossing countries after North America were the United Kingdom ($8.5 million), France ($2.4 million), and Russia ($2.3 million).

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a rating of 92%, based on 294 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Cabin in the Woods is an astonishing meta-feat, capable of being funny, strange, and scary — frequently all at the same time." On Metacritic, the film achieved an average score of 72 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three out of four stars, saying that "The Cabin in the Woods has been constructed almost as a puzzle for horror fans to solve. Which conventions are being toyed with? Which authors and films are being referred to? Is the film itself an act of criticism?" Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, calling it "fiendishly funny". Travers praised Kristen Connolly and Fran Kranz for their performances, and wrote, "By turning splatter formula on its empty head, Cabin shows you can unleash a fire-breathing horror film without leaving your brain or your heart on the killing floor."

Cinema Blend's Editor in Chief, Katey Rich, gave the film 4.5 out of 5 stars and wrote:

"Even when the story sticks firmly in standard horror territory, this particular group of attractive kids is especially fun to spend time with... You'll have to see it, and you really have to see it if you love horror, hate horror, or have any interest in seeing how the genre can function as a playground for something completely fresh. Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford are involved, though in roles that are more fun to discover as you go along-- they do get a lot of the best jokes, though, and their scenes show a lot of Goddard's skill in handling the rhythm of a scene."

Jenkins and Whitford were also admired by The A.V. Club ("Whitford and Jenkins clearly delight in the verbose script") and by Wired, whose reviewer (granting 9 of 10 stars) called Cabin "a smart sendup of horror movies and mythology...with a peculiar relish that testifies to the moviemakers' love of genre film... a smart, sarcastic and deliriously fun journey into the belly of the horror beast." He cited the "witty banter, creative twists" and "clippy, quippy dialog that lifted Firefly and Buffy the Vampire Slayer to cult status."

Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post, giving the movie 3 of 4 stars, wrote:

"A fiendishly clever brand of meta-level genius propels The Cabin in the Woods, a pulpy, deceivingly insightful send-up of horror movies that elicits just as many knowing chuckles as horrified gasps. comes not only to praise the slasher-, zombie- and gore-fests of yore but to critique them, elaborating on their grammatical elements and archetypal figures even while searching for ways to put them to novel use. The danger in such a loftily ironic approach is that everything in the film appears with ready-made quotation marks around it... But by then, the audience will have picked up on the infectiously goofy vibe of an enterprise that, from its first sprightly moments, clearly has no intention of taking itself too seriously."

Eric Goldman, writing for IGN, called the movie "an incredibly clever and fun take on classic horror movie tropes." SF Gate said, "The cliches come at an onslaught pace" in "a wonderfully conceived story that gives a bigger than life and fascinating explanation for why so many horror movie cliches exist in the first place... By the time the ride is over, director Drew Goddard and co-writers Goddard and Joss Whedon will change course three or four times, nodding and winking but never losing momentum." Of the screenplay by Goddard and Whedon, a CNN reviewer praised "these horror hipsters' acidic, postmodern designs on one of the movie industry's hoariest, least respected staples... the dialogue is always a notch or three smarter and snappier than you'd expect."

Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club addressed "...the difficult challenge of putting across a satirical film with a serious body count. Cabin touches on everything from The Evil Dead and Friday the 13th to the mechanized mutilations of the Saw series while digging deeper into the Lovecraftian roots of horror in an attempt to reveal what makes the genre work... It's an exercise in metafiction that, while providing grisly fun, never distances viewers. And it's entertaining, while asking the same question of viewers and characters alike: Why come to a place you knew all along was going to be so dark and dangerous?"

In a more mixed review, Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly, calling herself "a wised-up viewer," gave the film a "B−" grade and said, "The movie's biggest surprise may be that the story we think we know from modern scary cinema—that horror is a fun, cosmic game, not much else—here turns out to be pretty much the whole enchilada." She shrugged off the talents of Whitford and Jenkins: "These two experienced actors provide the film's adult-level entertainment."

Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times believed that the film "is an inside joke" and also said, "The laughs come easily, the screams not so much." David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter remarked, "It's just too bad the movie is never much more than a hollow exercise in self-reflexive cleverness that's not nearly as ingenious as it seems to think."

A.O. Scott of The New York Times said, "Novelty and genre traditionalism often fight to a draw. Too much overt cleverness has a way of spoiling dumb, reliable thrills. And despite the evident ingenuity and strenuous labor that went into it, The Cabin in the Woods does not quite work." Scott added:

"Some of the pleasure of the first (and best) part of The Cabin in the Woods comes from trying to see just over the narrative horizon and figure out what these incompatible sets of clichés have to do with each other. Two distinct kinds of movie are being yoked, by violence, together, and the performers inhabit their familiar roles with unusual wit."

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Nominee(s) Result
Bram Stoker Award June 2013 Best Screenplay Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard Won
British Fantasy Award November 3, 2013 Best Screenplay Joss Whedon
Drew Goddard
Won
Central Ohio Film Critics Association January 3, 2013 Best Original Screenplay Drew Goddard
Joss Whedon
Runner-up
Best Picture 5th place
Chicago Film Critics Association December 17, 2012 Most Promising Filmmaker Drew Goddard Nominated
Detroit Film Critics Society December 14, 2012 Best Screenplay Drew Goddard
Joss Whedon
Nominated
Empire Award March 24, 2013 Best Horror Nominated
Fangoria Chainsaw Award June 13, 2013 Best Screenplay Drew Goddard
Joss Whedon
Won
Best Supporting Actor Fran Kranz Won
Best Wide-Release Film Won
Best Makeup/Creature FX David LeRoy Anderson Won
Golden Trailer Award May 31, 2012 Best Horror TV Spot Won
Best Standee for Feature Film Nominated
Hugo Award September 1, 2013 Best Dramatic Presentation – Long Form Drew Goddard
Joss Whedon
Nominated
Kansas City Film Critics Circle December 16, 2012 Best Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror Film Won
Motion Picture Sound Editors February 17, 2013 Best Sound Editing – Music in a Feature Film Clint Bennett (supervising music editor)
Tony Lewis (music editor)
Julie Pearce (music editor)
Nominated
Online Film Critics Society December 24, 2012 Best Original Screenplay Joss Whedon
Drew Goddard
Nominated
Phoenix Film Critics Society December 18, 2012 Overlooked Film of the Year Nominated
San Diego Film Critics Society December 11, 2012 Best Original Screenplay Drew Goddard
Joss Whedon
Nominated
Saturn Award June 26, 2013 Best Horror or Thriller Film Won
Best Writing Drew Goddard
Joss Whedon
Nominated
Toronto Film Critics Association December 18, 2012 Best First Feature Drew Goddard Nominated

Lawsuit

On April 13, 2015, author Peter Gallagher filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in California federal court against the makers of the film. Gallagher claimed that due to the similarities between the film and his 2006 novel The Little White Trip: A Night in the Pines, Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard had used his work without permission. The lawsuit demanded $10 million in damages. Whedon and Goddard were named as defendants, along with the production company Mutant Enemy Productions and distributor Lionsgate. The case was dismissed five months later.

References

  1. "The Cabin in the Woods". British Board of Film Classification. March 22, 2012. Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  2. Blauvelt, Christian (April 12, 2012). "Box office preview: 'Cabin in the Woods' and 'Three Stooges' take on 'The Hunger Games'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 27, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  3. ^ "The Cabin in the Woods (2012)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  4. Nguyen, Jessie (December 18, 2022). "10 Movies That Fans Don't Realize Were Sci-fi". Collider. Archived from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  5. Barton, Steve (April 6, 2010). "Joss Whedon's The Cabin in the Woods to Feature Creatures?". Dread Central. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  6. ^ Whedon, Joss; Goddard, Drew; Bernstein, Abbie (2012). The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companion. London: Titan Books. ISBN 9781848565241.
  7. Doupé, Tyler (June 5, 2014). "Things You Probably Didn't Know about Cabin in the Woods". WickedHorror.com. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  8. "Goodard's Cabin Moves to 2010". December 5, 2008. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  9. "Goddard Starts "Mordecai" In Vancouver". VancouverFilm.net. February 7, 2009. Archived from the original on January 15, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  10. "Joss Whedon talks The Cabin in the Woods". Total Film. June 6, 2013. Archived from the original on February 22, 2016. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  11. Farokhmanesh, Megan (September 21, 2018). "'Left 4 Dead 2' almost featured 'The Cabin in the Woods' DLC". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 19, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  12. "Goodard's Cabin Moves to 2010". December 5, 2008. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  13. Reynolds, Simon (October 3, 2009). "Five more go to 'Cabin in the Woods'". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on December 27, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  14. Lee, Patrick (December 14, 2012). "Joss Whedon is now working with Tom Cruise. Horrors? Yes!". SYFYWire. Archived from the original on December 27, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  15. Douglas, Edward (October 9, 2009). "Whedon's Cabin in the Woods Going 3D in '11". ComingSoon.net. Archived from the original on October 23, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  16. Gingold, Michael (October 9, 2009). "Whedon's CABIN moves ahead a year…into the Third Dimension". Fangoria. Archived from the original on October 14, 2009.
  17. Tyler, Josh (June 17, 2010). "Joss Whedon's Cabin In The Woods May Be MGM's Next Casualty". CinemaBlend. Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  18. Fleming, Mike Jr. (June 29, 2010). "MGM To Morph Into A Pure Production Play?". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  19. Fritz, Ben; Horn, John (March 16, 2011). "Reel China: Hollywood tries to stay on China's good side". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 27, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  20. Fleming, Mike Jr. (April 28, 2011). "Joss Whedon's 'Cabin In The Woods' With 'Thor's Chris Hemsworth Going To Lionsgate". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  21. Turek, Ryan (April 29, 2011). "The Cabin in the Woods Coming October 28?". Shock Till You Drop. Archived from the original on August 30, 2011. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  22. Bettinger, Brendan (July 20, 2011). "Lionsgate Schedules The Cabin in the Woods for April 13, 2012". Collider. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  23. McKittrick, Christopher (January 5, 2016). "Life Goes On: Drew Goddard on The Martian". Creative Screenwriting. Los Angeles, California: International Screenwriters’ Association. Archived from the original on January 2, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  24. Lussier, Germain (December 12, 2011). "BNAT 13 Recap: The Hobbit, The Grey, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance And More". /Film. Archived from the original on July 22, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  25. Sacks, Ethan (April 8, 2012). "'Cabin in the Woods,' Joss Whedon's ode to horror, scares up buzz among genre fans". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on July 22, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  26. Haffner, Michael (December 12, 2011). "'Cabin in the Woods' Screened in Austin Over the Weekend at BNAT". Destroy The Brain. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  27. Vary, Adam B. (March 10, 2012). "SXSW: 'Cabin in the Woods' kills at premiere. Just don't talk about it!". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  28. Landy, Tom (June 29, 2012). "'The Cabin in the Woods' Dated for Blu-ray". High-Def Digest. Los Angeles, California: Internet Brands. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  29. West, Kelly (July 6, 2012). "Cabin In The Woods Blu-Ray/DVD Bonus Content Announced". CinemaBlend. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  30. Subers, Ray (April 14, 2012). "Friday Report: 'Hunger Games' Beats 'Stooges,' 'Cabin'". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  31. "Weekend Box Office: April 13-15, 2012". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  32. "The Cabin in the Woods". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  33. "The Cabin in the Woods (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on October 20, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  34. "The Cabin in the Woods". Metacritic. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  35. Smith, Grady (April 15, 2012). "Box office report: 'Hunger Games' wins with $21.5M, passes $500M worldwide; 'Three Stooges' and 'Cabin in the Woods' debut decently". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 1, 2022. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  36. Ebert, Roger (April 11, 2012). "The Cabin in the Woods". Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  37. Travers, Peter (April 12, 2012). "The Cabin in the Woods". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  38. Rich, Katey (May 27, 2016). "The Cabin in the Woods". Cinema Blend. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  39. Wallace, Lewis (April 13, 2012). "Review: Cabin in the Woods Rips Horror a New One". Wired. Archived from the original on December 27, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  40. Hornaday, Ann (April 13, 2012). "The Cabin in the Woods: Editorial Review". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  41. Goldman, Eric (April 12, 2012). "The Cabin in the Woods Review". IGN. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  42. Hartlaub, Peter (August 6, 2013). "'Cabin in the Woods,' review". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  43. Charity, Tom (April 13, 2012). "Review: 'Cabin in the Woods' is sheer horror heaven". CNN. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  44. Phipps, Keith (April 12, 2012). "The Cabin In The Woods". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on December 27, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  45. Schwarzbaum, Lisa (April 23, 2012). "The Cabin in the Woods". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 17, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  46. Sharkey, Betsy (April 13, 2012). "Review: 'The Cabin in the Woods' is Joss Whedon's inside joke". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 2, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  47. Rooney, David (March 9, 2012). "The Cabin in the Woods: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 27, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  48. Scott, A.O. (April 12, 2012). "Taking a Chain Saw to Horror Movie Clichés". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  49. "2012 Bram Stoker Awards Winners & Nominees – The Bram Stoker Awards". Bram Stoker Awards. Archived from the original on June 3, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  50. "Winners of the British Fantasy Awards 2013". britishfantasysociety.co.uk. November 3, 2013. Archived from the original on December 27, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  51. "Awards 2012". Central Ohio Film Critics Association. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  52. "The 2012 Detroit Film Critics Society Awards". DetroitFilmCritics.com. December 14, 2012. Archived from the original on January 18, 2014. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  53. Gingold, Michael (June 13, 2013). "The 2013 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards Results!". Fangoria. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  54. "GTA13 NOMINEES (2012)". GoldenTrailer.com. Archived from the original on September 17, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  55. "'The Master,' 'Ang Lee' win with Kansas City Film Critics Circle". HitFix. December 16, 2012. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  56. Giardina, Carolyn (January 17, 2013). "Sound Editors Announce Golden Reel Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  57. Knegt, Peter (December 12, 2012). "'Les Miserables' Leads Phoenix Film Critics Nominations". IndieWire. Archived from the original on August 20, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  58. Ramsey, Dave (December 18, 2012). "'Argo' tops Phoenix Film Critics Society 2012 annual awards". America Now. Archived from the original on July 22, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  59. ^ Siegemund-Broka, Austin (April 14, 2015). "Joss Whedon, Lionsgate Hit With Copyright Lawsuit Over 'The Cabin in the Woods'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  60. Kenneally, Tim (April 14, 2015). "Joss Whedon, Lionsgate Hit With $10 Million 'Cabin in the Woods' Copyright Lawsuit". TheWrap. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  61. Reilly, Luke (April 14, 2015). "Joss Whedon, Lionsgate Facing Lawsuit Over The Cabin in the Woods". IGN. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  62. Gettell, Oliver (September 14, 2015). "Cabin in the Woods lawsuit against Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard dismissed". EW.com. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.

External links

Drew Goddard
Films
Written
Written and directed
TV series created by
Joss Whedon
Television
Films
Written
Directed
Comics
Written
Created
Web
Family
Related
Saturn Award for Best Horror Film
Categories: