The Cabin in the Woods
Rent/Purchase
Five friends set out for a weekend at a remote cabin in the woods, expecting nothing more than fun and relaxation. As night falls, they discover that something far more unsettling is at work and that nothing about their getaway is what it seems.
What critics thought
Critics broadly loved the Whedon-Goddard script's genre-dissecting wit, with Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford drawing particular praise for anchoring the film's satirical machinery. The central dispute was whether the relentless cleverness actually delivers on its horror promises — detractors felt the meta-commentary crowded out genuine scares, leaving a self-satisfied puzzle in place of a movie. Notably, general audiences were far cooler on it than critics, suggesting the film rewards horror literacy more than casual viewing.
“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.”
Peter Travers·Rolling Stone
“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.”
David Rooney·The Hollywood Reporter
“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.”
A. O. Scott·The New York Times
“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.”
Ann Hornaday·The Washington Post
“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?”
Keith Phipps·The A.V. Club
Genres
Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Cast & Crew
DirectorDrew Goddard
StarringKristen Connolly, Fran Kranz, Chris Hemsworth, Jesse Williams, Anna Hutchison
ComposerDavid Julyan
The Cabin in the Woods
Five friends set out for a weekend at a remote cabin in the woods, expecting nothing more than fun and relaxation. As night falls, they discover that something far more unsettling is at work and that nothing about their getaway is what it seems.
What critics thought
Critics broadly loved the Whedon-Goddard script's genre-dissecting wit, with Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford drawing particular praise for anchoring the film's satirical machinery. The central dispute was whether the relentless cleverness actually delivers on its horror promises — detractors felt the meta-commentary crowded out genuine scares, leaving a self-satisfied puzzle in place of a movie. Notably, general audiences were far cooler on it than critics, suggesting the film rewards horror literacy more than casual viewing.
“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.”
Peter Travers·Rolling Stone
“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.”
David Rooney·The Hollywood Reporter
“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.”
A. O. Scott·The New York Times
“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.”
Ann Hornaday·The Washington Post
“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?”
Keith Phipps·The A.V. Club
Genres
Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Cast & Crew
DirectorDrew Goddard
StarringKristen Connolly, Fran Kranz, Chris Hemsworth, Jesse Williams, Anna Hutchison
ComposerDavid Julyan
Rent/Purchase