Chad

Undeadcow

Wow... this was an amazing movie full of complexities. The ending is very gonzo but the overarching lovecraft theme really ties things together. I love the homages to horror movies, however scattered. The horror/tension is good and the puppeteer segments add a tongue in cheek humor. Very nice. I'm not sure what to say but this movie was great. Too bad the commentary is stripped from my Redbox rental. Good one, arw6040!

pagefrance

Yes, I enjoyed it very much and thought the story was quite original. I really wasn't expecting and "Old Gods" twist at the end. What bothered me was the whole "Josh Whedon" dialogue where everybody is trying to sound clever or funny, that got old after awhile and took away from the horror aspects. Another thing is that the extensive use of CGI in the final scenes which was at times cartoony and also diminished the horrific aspect.

Spiderbite

Okay, I watched this twice in the last two weeks - once regular, and one with the bonus view (which I will say don't waste your time with as there is very little interesting info or footage given with the bonus view option).

I know I will be in the minority on this after reading the many pages on the thread in the Movie section, but I feel this has to be the most overrated movie this year. Don't get me wrong...I did like the film. But it is in no way a 5 star movie that so many people are making it out to be. Great idea. Poor execution.

It is enjoyable seeing all the different horror conventions used or mentioned and it has a great plot. It's just that the delivery left me completely cold. By the final third, I felt it was just kinda dumb and with a poor ending to boot. I am extremely glad I borrowed it from a friend and didn't blind buy it after hearing all the hoopla.

Again, it is a movie worth seeing but it is not deserving of the rapturous praise it is still getting. Eh.

My rating: ***1/2 out of *****

arw6040

Thanks! I thought it was a fantastic movie too pretty intelligent the way it was done to showcase the horror genre and the cliches but I do understand why people might think it's overrated in a sense too. I had fun with it and it's the kind of movie you can go back and look at certain scenes to see what symbolism they were trying to convey towards horror audiences etc. so that's kinda neat in itself.

Spiderbite

I thought of this after my second viewing but did anyone feel the cameo by Sigourney Weaver was basically a re-hash of what she did in Paul? And the irony being that she filmed Cabin In The Woods before Paul even though CITW came out later.

Even the cameo was handled the same exact way (at the very end for a few minutes) and was a similar character.

Undeadcow

Like I said earlier I loved Cabin In the Woods but... if only 5 victims were required, does that mean all the research staff killed were just negated as "not sacrificial"?I agree, the iffy CGI at the end was a bit disengaging but on the other hand it was cool to see them lampoon Hellraiser or It, etc. The awkward "witty" dialogue segments were off. Also the pothead humor seemed misplaced; were the drug jokes suppose to be satirical?
Does anyone know the explanation why Cabin In The Woods was delayed release so long?

LosingMyMind

It was financed by MGM but then they were having financial problems and Lionsgate acquired it from them for distribution.

shellebelle

Really enjoyed this movie. Can't wait to watch it again.

rbrown498

2012 was pretty obviously the cinematic year of Joss Whedon, and The Cabin in the Woods served as the appetizer to the main course that was The Avengers. Most appetizers are tasty, but they don’t fill you up. And that’s kind of the way that I feel about this film. For all the cleverness on display, for all the great actors, for all that it gets right, The Cabin in the Woods still falls short of filling me up. I saw it in its theatrical release earlier this year, and I thought that it was okay but not the horror film to end all horror films, as the fanboys seemed to think. My opinion was most probably influenced by all the hate waves rolling off the audience toward the screen--I don’t know that I’ve ever felt quite such animosity towards a film in the theater. To be perfectly honest, I felt that the film was smarter than most of the people in the theater. Still (unlike the majority of the audience) I didn’t feel that I’d wasted my money. Now, upon my second viewing, I like it more than I did originally…but it still comes up just short of greatness. It may be that it’s just too clever for its own good, and it feels to me that it has a clockwork heart instead of a real, live, beating one. I can still enjoy it, but I don’t see myself ever really loving it.

omike

I watched this for the first time a few days ago and was unaware of the hype folks have been talking about. Two of my friends who don't like horror movies at all recommended it, which is why I put it first in my Netflix queue when I restarted my membership. Let me also add that I am a big Joss Whedon fan.

I had a lot of fun while watching this and I really liked the end (finally a movie ended the way I thought it should!) but I did feel a bit unsatisfied and ended up giving it a 7/10 (basically a B) rating in my list. I think I have a higher tolerance for Whedon's clever dialog than some do since "too clever" never pulled me out of the movie or even crossed my mind. I did think that they started revealing what was really going on too early in the movie and maybe because of this I was strangely unexcited by the kills. I didn't find them suspenseful or tragic or icky or anything really. My initial thought after finishing the movie was that gee that was fun but its really just a gimmick and now that I know what happens I doubt if I'll ever watch it again. I have changed my mind about that after a few days of thought. It is more than just a gimmick film, it is an interesting take on a Lovecraftian kind of universe and I probably will watch it again sometime. I do agree about the low level CGI at the end. That almost did pull me out of the story.

Something rbrown498 wrote really resonated with me and sums up my feelings better than I could
I have to add that I watched Waxwork last night and as far as self referential silliness goes, I enjoyed that one more than Cabin.

DaveyJoe

Very entertaining flick, and rewarding for horror buffs. I agree that the lab scenes were the highlights of the movie, but the younger cast was likable enough for a horror movie. The lead redhead was very cute. The scene with the Japanese schoolgirls had me cracking up.

I agree that the CGI at the end was weak, especially since they were paying homage to classic movie monsters that were done with practical effects over the years, but I suppose it was done for budget reasons. I also wasn't crazy about the design of the Titan's hand, it was too ordinary, they were scarier when they were left to the viewer's imagination. But overall, a good ending to an entertaining movie. I'll eventually add this to my BluRay collection.

Dick Laurent

I enjoyed the heck out of this. Maybe a little much at the end, but over all a lot of fun. Did anyone notice the reference to The Shining twins? I may have made myself see it, but they looked like they were one of the rooms, for sure. Also loved the ridiculous idea that ONE button would open all of the rooms at the same time. If it wasn't such a ridiculous premise to begin with, I'd be real annoyed there wasn’t some sorts of series of launch codes or something to protect the purge.

And I believe this film had the most appropriate use of underwear on a girl while standing in front of a window. Good job.

redcat

OK - did I miss an explanation for why the sacrifices had to be made in such elaborate ways, or why they have the characters choosing their fates instead of just throwing something at them? Also, was there an explanation for how the puppeteers came to be the puppeteers?

Also, sorry to be annoying correction guy, but the guy's name is actually Joss, not Josh.

rbrown498

No, I LIKE to be corrected when I'm wrong. That's how I learn. Noted and fixed.

As far as the characters having to choose their fates, something was said along the lines of "they have to choose, or it's no good." WHY they had to choose is still left unclear.

As far as how the puppeteers got their jobs, I'm guessing LinkedIn.

Cardsfan111

I thought The Cabin in the Woods was fun. I had managed to avoid any of the spoilers about the film, though I did know it had been praised highly by many folks here. I'm anxious to give this a rewatch in the future.

DaveyJoe

Was anybody else really creeped out by the scene where the blonde girl makes out with the Wolf head? I was on the edge of my seat, expecting something bad to happen.

Spiderbite

I thought it was just kinda gross. She went for it a whole lot more than I expected. And yes, I kept waiting for her to at the very least cut her lip, the head fall on her, something...but alas...nothing. Just icky making-out thingy. (my lame attempt at Buffyesque dialogue)

Ghostbuster

In my opinion, Cabin in the Woods is the best horror/comedy since Planet Terror. I enjoyed it more the second and third time around because this film has a surprising amount of depth...for a horror film.

Here's the quote from IMDB.com.