Movies like this really should be celebrated. I don't mean the violence and stuff but unique, creative, well executed ideas that simultaneously subvert expectations while also just being fun.
Yes, and this is a good example of how to subvert expectations through deconstruction, unlike some other movies. The Last Jedi, for example, being a prime example of how to fail at it.
They did do the blood ritual for Marty, the one with the cup. But If you remember, after they did that, the frame shook, and it never did that with any of the other victims. It shook because the ancient ones knew he was still alive, and therefore, they were mad. It is such a tiny detail you don't really think about, unless you watch the movie again.
There was a funny interview with Joss Whedon about actor Fran Kranz who played Marty. When he showed up on set, he had gotten completely jacked and ripped for a previous role. Whedon was like "Uh, were going to need to keep you in baggy shirts and jackets, because you're supposed to be a lazy stoner and you look like a Navy Seal."
You sort of see that when Marty saves Dana from the Buckner with the chain, snagging the chain with his bong and dragging it back. His bare arm looked really buff.
@@joshuaathridge3694 It's a worthless metaphor. Nobody in the world has ever been unaware that movies are made for an audience to watch - not a single person (adult I suppose you could clarify to be pedantic) ever. It doesn't have a clever message to it if that is what they are saying.
One of the reasons I love this film is that its all about hubris. The controllers have done this so many times that they no longer are as careful or precise about the sacrifices as they might have once been. They're supposed to gather up and sacrifice a bunch of young people who fit certain archetypes (the Virgin, the Whore, the Athlete, the Scholar, and the Fool). The problem is, they get the archetypes wrong. They've assigned the roles to Dana (Virgin), Jules (Whore), Curt (Athlete), Holden (Scholar), and Marty (Fool), when none of them actually fit those roles. Dana might seem virginal, but early in the movie she confesses to an affair with her professor. Jules is sexy and dresses skimpy, but she's also flighty and overly concerned with non-important things in her life; also she is in a clearly loving and utterly monogamous relationship with Curt, which hardly fits the whore archetype. Curt might seem like a jock, but his athletic skills are mediocre at best, and he's seen lugging around high-level textbooks dealing with subjects like the Psychology of the Soviet System. Holden is smart, sure, but at the same time he's clearly more athletic than Curt is, and while he has the raw intelligence, he's clearly lazy about it. And Marty... well, Marty might be a stoner but he also admits he's never had sex in his life. So... Had the controllers done the research, they would have realized that the archetypes should have been assigned with Dana being the Whore, Jules being the Fool, Curt being the Scholar, Holden being the Athlete, and Marty being the Virgin.
you are right because Marty was meant to be the final girl ( or final guy in this case ) this being a horror movie, He was able to survive being killed early because he has that protection of plot armor, and he also can be the one that can save the others from getting killed because of said armor. when Marty saves Dana by the lake. Also if you watch the movie again, it is subtle but he was the one making all the observations and or discoveries that a final girl does in a horror movie. He found the camera, he found the tunnel, hell he was one telling them to let leave this damn basement and don't touch shit. We were focused on Dana, even we as the audience on the wrong person, Marty should be one that we follow from the jump.
@@TheTitandog70 I really like these takes. Because let me add a little something. The controllers sort of represent the audience stereotyping, like a mainstream audience couldn't accept a male "Virgin" for a movie to be a classic or a box office hit. So the controllers fark up through their own pre-conceptions when assigning those roles.
That could have made for an alternate ending when the ancient ones considered the group’s actual types instead of the ones assigned by the facility. The ground shaking, seeming like the end of the world, Dana gives some final words while smoking and slumps over dead from her wounds. The earthquake seems to intensify only to ease off and end. A glowing portal opens in front of Marty. He looks suspiciously at it, shrugs, gives a “what the hell” and stands up to walk into it. He comes out of the doorway of his closet into his bedroom. He looks around bewildered. He states out the window seeing the world at peace. END TITLE CARD
I've always loved Dana's line, "It's time to give someone else a chance," right before the world ends. As in, "If this tired, recycled, tropey nonsense is the best horror movie writers can come up with, then maybe we should just destroy the genre and start fresh."
Drew Goddard said he's never seen someone so excited to meet a werewolf as sigourney weaver. Whenever she was on set she was like "where's the werewolf? Is the werewolf here today?" She'd eat lunch next to him. And there's a bts photo of the cast and you can see sigourney weaver holding the werewolf's hand positively BEAMING with glee
Opening night in the theaters for this movie was hands down my favorite movie theater experience. Since none of us knew what was about to happen, the audience was ROARING. It was perfection.
Totally. There are a few theater experiences that I will never forget, and this is one of them. For me, it is a close second to seeing the original double feature presentation *Grindhouse* with Planet Terror & Deathproof back-to-back with all the shorts played between them on opening night. That was unlike anything I've experienced since.
@@magicomerv Totally. It's one of the reasons that I love reaction channels is that it's a little bit like getting to relive bits of those fun moments, or experience things you like in a new way.
Damn, I would have loved this one in person with a crowd of unexpecting viewers. The only one that rivals that is opening night of Inception. The crowd was stunned silent at the end
She was the perfect "Ancient One" watching this film, the minute it started she started guessing who would die and why based on movie cliches, anyone expecting everything to play out like a regular horror movie is an "Ancient One" which, pretty much before this kind of movie was a thing, were everyone
I love how Natalie is listing all the horror tropes near the start, not knowing that's literally what the film is about, because I remember doing it myself! This movie was so fun and so clever, a personal fav of mine
The Blonde was the smartest (intellectually) the bunch. The scientists messed with the hair dye to cause her to dumb down. (The sexy dumb blonde trope) The final girl trope, the stoner, the jock, all are needed for the sacrifice. But I thought making the smartest one a "dumb blonde" was really clever. Also, don't split up. My favorite line is when Dana says "I'm not a virgin!" and Sigourney Weaver says "We work with what we have."
Sigourney Weaver is beloved in the horror community, I watch somewhere that the director wanted specifically to cast her for that role but he thought that she wouldn't accept to it cause it wasn't a big movie but she accepted (obviously) and was so happy and excited with the werewolf taking pictures, some actually said that the scene with the werewolf was actually to make her even happier
@@TheWaynos73 I mean what's the issue? she is beloved by the horror community, we are happy to see her cameos and of course they gave her the big scenes to appear, and she obviously collect the pay check cause you know... she is an actress, she is supposed to get paid 🙄
@@TheWaynos73 then I probably misread what you meant, just I'm sick of people criticize her for keeping her interest in horror to being just greedy for the easy bucks that's all
I love that this movie is a perfect safety net to excuse the ridiculous choices made by people in horror movies for the past 40 years. Even on multiple watches I'm still learning new things.
How about the symbolism of the virtual wall? I have seen that in several movies. In this movie, it could stand for the surface world separated from the underworld, or the difference between our make believe society/civilization and the reality of suffering, death, and sacrifice.
How just about every Cabin in the Woods reaction goes: Oh, man. Marty is gonna die first. I can't wait. 30 mins later... If the kill Marty, I swear to...
being fair, yes i dont like stoners, but when i looked at marty i was like "Man... this guy seems nice... i gonna stick to him" and i wasnt disapointed with the fact that he ends up being the main hero
@@mantisshrimp876 dont get me wrong, i kbow our 2orle is full of shitry things, but i will not take an active role into killing 5 pwople who arent me...
Cabin in the Woods is 100% one of my greatest cinema regrets in not seeing it till it hit home video. It is such an amazing, self referential horror comedy that up ends so many tropes. It’ll be a 4K buy for me.
I went to see this on a whim in cinema, knowing almost nothing about it, and not being a fan of the horror genre at all. I usually know quite a lot about a movie before I watch it, but in this case I went in blind and it was the perfect movie for this kind of viewing. I enjoyed it a lot.
@@PetrMelechin Holy crap! I was just about to type the same exact thing! I was so pleasantly surprised by the time this was over, so glad my gf suggested it.
I saw it in the theater like 4 times, kept dragging friends to it and not telling them what it was about; after the first time I would just watch them watching the movie.
@@roryotoole3279 cabin in the woods was my first horror movie, i was "familiar" with the tropes from just pop culture and stuff, and it made me fall in love with the gerne. Now when i watch horror movies, still catching up after 2 years, i see those tropes that inspired that movie and get all giddy lol
I think one of the biggest “Ohh I get it” moments was one so many see on a rewatch or have good memory lol. Is when they shatter the container for “the fool” in sacrifice parts of the stone crack and the area suffers a minor rumbling that shows the ancient ones anger/growing irritation. A good hint that he was actually alive. Such a good movie
Btw if you didn't realize WE are the ancients, the audience who watches these messed up movies, they need to satisfy us in order to stay alive and continue to make more so movies can turn into series and franchises, such a brilliant movie!
well so i was never satiesfied with the idea that most horror moves usuly end with only a girl surviving... in fact my favorite horror movies tend to be the ones with less death where the heroes are acctuly smart and we manage to keep a good nice cast at the end... hence, UNTIL DAWN (that is a game rather than a movie) my favorite ending is when you manage to keep everyone alive... so i always hated this concept of "you have to kill the people in order for the horror movie to be good"
There’s also a theory that nearly every employee in the Organisation survived a ritual at some point and are all virgins. They’re reward for surviving is working at The Organisation helping to keep the world from ending This can be supported by the fact that all those guys came into see Jules naked and also the fact that these people need to work and possibly live there to keep watch of everything not having time for relationships or family. Also how would they know about the organisation aside from Daniel who seems to be unaware probably because he was hired late. They would’ve need to be briefed about the history of it and what goes on and shown how to operate a specific section they are assigned to. To prove this even further you can see Wendy trying to flirt with Daniel in the control room and he just brushes her off. It’s a very dark theory but could be quite possible
Remember the rumbling after Marty "died" that didn't happen any other time? Still my favorite tiny detail is the wormy intern on of the screens using a sign to beg for help. My favorite joke has to be "Oh come on!?"
When this came out, I went into the movie theatre basically on a whim and didn't know anything about this movie. It became one of my all time favorite movies.
I only saw this movie at all because I made a movie date with a friend of mine and let him pick the movie. I thought it was just a fill-in-the-blanks slasher movie and would never have gone to see it on my own. The marketing department for this movie really dropped the ball.
Same! Saw "Cabin in the Woods" and "Joss Whedon" and didn't have anything better to do that afternoon. So I watched it and, not only did it not disappoint, but it actually impressed.
MGM held the film to make it 3D and then MGM went bankrupt. It sat on a shelf for so long the first Thor movie came out before this did. But Joss is the one who suggested Chris to Feige.
I was completely impressed by the work Joss Whedon put into this movie. It is a unique take on the whole formula for the monster type horror movies; very similar to what Scream did with the Slasher sub-genre of horror. Absolutely one of my most favorite movies.
@@TheDeconstructivist Absolutely, this was a pet project of the two of them together. Whedon came up with the original concept, but Goddard directed, so I think it's safe to say that Whedon is probably more responsible for the bold strokes, and Goddard is more responsible for more of the details. Way to go, team!
I'm very happy you enjoyed this. The first time I saw this, I was lucky enough to go into it without knowing a single thing. It's a very fun movie and it's an absolutely great concept.
That cold opening was the fastest I immediately knew I'd found a new favorite movie. This film was an absolute hoot and played so much with the tropes we all know and love. The best meta horror since Scream!
25:27, actually.......unicorns were believed to be vicious creatures. Especially in Celtic mythology. That's why the Unicorn fights the lion. Not sure how and when they became docile and "girly."
@@robgeach8105 that may be well and good, but that doesn't change the origins. They are the same as banshees, elves (not the nice ones), wisps, and the like. Gruesome creatures who wanted to kill you.
Even before things started going crazy, I felt like these kids were a perfect one-to-one match for the Scooby gang. And it fits that Shaggy and Scooby Doo were the last to survive.
Guess Nat didn't notice and pause on the chalkboard like I did first time watching. I had to figure out WTF was going on. The blackboard is hillarious.
Oh yeah- everyone pauses on the whiteboard. 😄 In fact, someone compiled a wiki page with all of the choices, and whatever pictures they could get of all of the corresponding monsters.
@@IgnorantCrayon According to the book, a normal looking adult male that is either a serial killer, or possessed. During the Post-Purge chaos he drains a guard of his blood "in a second."
I love how it's heavily insinuated that this is a Wolfram and Heart facility designed to hold one of the original old Demons that walked the earth before slayers existed and millions of years before the events of Buffy.
Co-written by Joss Whedon (watch Buffy!). While it certainly can be enjoyed cold, it really helps to have seen a lot of horror films. The Evil Dead is a big reference. The guy holding the sphere with the blades in his head is a reference to Hellraiser. Tucker and Dale vs Evil is another movie that plays with the conventions of the genre and flips the usual perspective on its head.
And if you watch Drew Goddards episodes of Buffy, Angel, Alias and LOST... you can see how he came up with the idea for 'Cabin'. He's incredibly clever and really thinks outside the box, and thankfully Whedon wanted to help him realize his dream of getting it made and out to the public 🖤
"We're not the only ones watching, kid. Gotta keep the customer satisfied." The writers were referring to the movie-goer, playing into how nearly every horror film from the 70's on included T&A to appease the movie audience.
The scenes in the labyrinth with all the creatures is probably the most “freeze framed” in recent film history. Maybe ever! You just want to go back and see what you missed the first time!
@@vjapple3083 What? Talking about all the monsters in the boxes in "The Cabin in the Woods" here, not any creature scene in "Labyrinth" or "The Dark Crystal"
@@KBTibbs _"And the betting bulletin board. There's an entry "Kevin" and I kinda want to know what he does. Booby trap the house Home Alone style?"_ Well, there's _another_ Kevin I would not want to come after me, he was played by Elijah Wood.
The reference to a screw up in 1998 is a fun little Easter Egg. Fans have suggested several references including everything from The Cabin (1998) to an insulting reference to Godzilla (1998). The main contenders are Halloween H20 (where the final girl kills the killer) and The Faculty (where not only do the kids survive, but the failure is chemistry related).
You really NEED to react to Tucker and Dale vs. Evil. It is one of the best horror comedies of all time and you would love it. Also, it got Alan Tydik.
"Have not had a glitch since '98" lol AMAZING! The Faculty was a great movie! Also, Marty was always speaking truths, but I think you may have fallen to pre-conceived notions of stoners and did not give him enough credit out of the gate. We all have our ingrained notions that we need to dispel from time to time lol jk
Marty represents the “fool” of the story. Fool has become thought of a funny, or misguided, but really, the fool pretty much always speaks the truth but is dismissed by all others for one reason or another, and usually treated like they are stupid, even though what they say comes to pass.
Had to look up the connection to The Faculty ... but DAMN that's funny! The only archetype who died was the virgin -- and only cuz she was secretly the monster. And they killed her with their sinful homebrew drugs, no less! DAMN IT CHEM DEPARTMENT, YOU HAD ONE JOB~
This movie is so good that I couldn't wait more than 3 and a half minutes into the video to comment about how much I love this movie. The best way to go into this movie is knowing next to nothing. I'm a big horror fan so all I was told when it came out is that it deconstructs horror tropes in a clever way and I was sold. One of the most unpredictable movie experiences of my life. This video being here has made my day. Thank you, Natalie!
Yep, I don't particularly like most horror movies so this was a great way to incorporate the tropes in a novel and interesting story that was more than just a horror film.
I was lucky enough to watch this in a stacked theatre with Horror movie fans, and it was a standing ovation at the end. Everyone in that theatre loved it and it's been in my movie collection now for years. It's a yearly watch for me. Glad you got around to watch this, Nat!
Yay! I'm SO excited for your reaction on this one. Love this film a lot. The other horror comedy (mostly comedy) that spoofs the 'cabin in the woods' trope is "Tucker and Dale vs. Evil" that's a lot of fun. Sillier overall than this film, but a lot of fun.
Love that you loved it. It's so brilliant! A satirical take on the entire horror genre, where if all the right tropes are met, it appeases the consumer... Yep, the "Ancient Ones" are audiences, unaccepting of anything outside the box within the genre. It's a fantastic horror movie as well as a big middle finger 😂
All druggies can drop dead since they are of no use to society since they are all weak minded and need something to alter their brain to hide from life's harsh realities that they otherwise could not handle.
June 14th 2012 A tiny little arthouse theatre in the neighborhood I had recently moved to was the only place that was showing 'Cabin In The Woods' in my whole state. I'd spent years waiting for it to be released, even dragged my mother along 'cause we're big fans of the cast, the writers and director and editor (so we knew it would be f**kin' brilliant) and it was by far the wildest movie-going experience ever... no-one knew what the hell was happening at any given moment and the energy in the room was frenetic AF from start to finish! 🖤 Glad you enjoyed it, Nat
The ancient ones are a metaphor for the audience of modern horror movies! and the role of director takes place for a movie's director. The idea behind this movie is that it can be applied to nearly any modern horror movie in America!
This movie totally blew me away when I watched it This movie is also a commentary on viewers.... The gods are us the viewers of horror movies, Scientist are the creators of horror movies and the people trapped are like characters of the horror movies ...
Look up "the Ancient Ones of Lovecraft Mythos" H.P. Lovecraft pretty much started the Eldritch Horror genre. He created a pantheon of ancient races and the Gods they worshiped he freely allowed others to use them in their stories. Cabin In The Woods is a very Lovecraftian story.
Was really in awe when I was this movie. To take a genre and it's famous tropes and flip it on its head was just an enjoyable breath of fresh air to me. The homage to the creatures we all know and love, the clever 4th wall breaking while still kinda not breaking it and making it a key element of the story is amazing. Everything about this is just *chef's kiss PERFECT.
I'm so glad you watched this without being spoiled about what it was about. It's designed to play you like a fiddle with all of your knowledge of horror movies. And it's kind of ruined if you know the premise going into it. When this came out in theaters, I feel like there was a deliberate movement among people who saw it to help keep it not spoiled for those who hadn't seen it yet.
I knew there would be some kind of subverting twist where the cabin was on top of a huge structure (probably a lab) or there were multiple cabins across dimensions or something so it wasn't ruined exactly for me.
"Marty's gonna die" said 797 times.....doesn't die till last second of movie. I never wanted to watch this movie for the same reasons. Thought it was either Evil Dead or Friday the 13th or something in between. Once I finally watched it, it became one of my favorites. The Elevator ding scene is so great.
What is really fun is to imagine these people watching and orchestrating the other horror movies that came out before this. They are the reason that these monsters really always come back
I loved how the film used the horror tropes to explain why the sacrifice didn't work. None of the people in the gang fitted properly into the stereotypes: the virgin was sleeping with her teacher, the promiscuous blonde was dying her hair and was manipulated using chemicals, the jock was into philosophy etc. Joss did a good job sketching this out.
Yayyyyyyy I was hoping for this! The first time I watched this as soon as the credits rolled I knew it was one of my favourite films. I usually have a double bill of this and Evil Dead 2 every Halloween :)
I love this movie so much. As many have already stated the archetypes (the Virgin, the Whore, the Athlete, the Scholar, and the Fool) are the usual characters in a Hollywood horror movie. Same can be seen when they talk about Japanese horror movies usually featuring schoolkids. Also the Old Ones are us the audience. And one of the controllers mentions later on in the movie that if the old ones are not pleased their world gets destroyed as in it does not get a sequel.
The first time I saw this movie, knowing nothing about it, I was just flipping through the channels. I came in right before the bird hit the forcefield. I was immediately hooked and it just kept getting better.
Sister, this is my ultimate favorite that I search DAILY for to see if any new reactions have been uploaded. You upload NOW and now I gotta be late for work. Lmao.
This movie, to me, is a satire/commentary of horror movies in general! I love how it has all of the classic tropes, but makes them all part of the deeper ritual going on
I'm glad you didn't research too much into this movie. Good call, please never change, so that you can enjoy the twists and turns more :) This movie is a parody, with disgusting and unnerving aspects, and a serious plot / twist that people don't expect. I think the unexpected is the selling point of this film. And Marty is the embodiment of that, he's the unexpected hero, a badass, a smort boi xD
The Old One(s)/The Ancient One(s) is/are based on H.P Lovecraft's mythology with otherworldly deities like Cthulhu, Yog-Sothoth, Kthaw'keth and so on. In this case it's based on the most well known cosmic entity of Lovecraft's pantheon, Cthulhu. This movie is mixing many horror tropes into one, ranging from Lovecraftian horror (early 1900's) to modern horror tropes.
Glad you enjoyed it, Cabin In The Woods is such a fun movie. It's a shame it's your last Halloween film because if you enjoyed this, I think you'd love Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil, another absolutely fantastic horror/comedy with some great trope reinterpretations.
I hope I'm not the first person to present this Theory, but I'll go ahead anyway. The popular fan theory for this movie is that the premises is it is just a another horror movie, a typical horror movie, and the ancient gods are us, the audience demanding the sacrifice.
"Chris Hemsworth is in this" "I think a lot of people will die" Everyone smiles at this "I don't know how far he'll make it" Everyone smiles more. Fun Fact: The stoner wears all those cloths because the actor is actually super jacked.
so glad you liked the movie! it was the first real horror movie i ever saw and boy was it a wild one. the elevator scene is iconic. another thing that i love about this movie is the amount of references they make to other horror movies- for example, the "chem failure" back in the 90s refers to a specific movie, and a lot of the monsters in the facility are based off of specific horror movie monsters. (also, i'm sure you've seen this in other comments, but it wasn't marty's blood that they used in the symbol thing. it was animal blood- they didn't go and get the bodies, they just waited until they thought people were dead and then used the animal blood.)
That this film is a good way to finish Natmares, cinematically-speaking. We really needed some great suggestions for next year's so Tucker and Dale can fill the same role.
I knew this would be a great reaction. Because it's truly one of the best campiest trope filled cliche hits all the notes in a creative genius way. That noooo one expected the first time we went to see it. Brilliant film
I love this movie! What I would love for a follow up with instead of the them going to the cabin, have inside story on how it all works from the view of the girl asking all the questions (the women in the lab coat)
The real twist was going to be the young girl shooting the stoner…who was in fact the true virgin unknown to even the game crew! It was going to trigger the hands. Look for the setup because all that was left in just reshot the end twist (or more accurately shot multiple endings because they weren’t ready to pick one.)
That's what i actually thought was happening. I assumed i remembered the movie wrong, but how else would i have known? I wonder if i saw an alternate ending and just didn't recall. 🤷
@@beetlebob4675 I think they talked about it in commentary or maybe in an interview after the movie was out. I just remember thinking I would have liked that twist even more.
Oh wow. I always thought that's where it was going but I never knew it was actually planned. It definitely feels like that was set up to be the twist. Though I'm not quite sure which ending I'd prefer. I do like how in the ending they went with the two characters have a moment to just sit together and talk before the end.
I would have liked Marty to have been "The Virgin" and Dana to have been "The Fool" - it would have been a nice way to subvert the way that the men's character archetypes are based on their interests and the women's archetypes are based on their sexuality.
@@jvgreendarmok I also have a theory that none is f the victims were what they were said to be. The blonde was dating exclusively her appropriately aged Thor. The red head however was sleeping with her married Professor! Thor was into books not sports! Marty was no fool. And according to Jesse Williams his character was closeted so not even the potential love interest at all…except to maybe Thor😂😂🤪
the layers of this movie is just astounding. they decided "what if we make a meta horror movie?". so many people were confused when this came out and they thought it doesn't make sense and just mediocre but to someone who has seen many categories in horror genre, this is a genius movie.
The reason that Marty’s stereotype was bloodied even though he wasn’t dead is because it’s not their blood. It’s lamb blood that symbolizes each of them and because they thought he died, they prematurely filled his symbol with blood.
A lot of work was done before the movie started. They could have easily gotten blood samples at the same time they were already drugging Kurt and Jules. (She had just dyed her hair. And Kurt doesn't bat an eye about not having a cousin who owned a cabin.)
It doesn't make sense to me it'd be "samples" I mean, they'd have to get a significant sample (pretty much an entire donation) to fill the symbol. I'd always taken it as symbolic blood from some other source.
When I saw this movie I instantly fell in love with it!!! Getting to see all the monsters at the end was just so awesome and the whole plot and execution of it was just amazing.
@@danielruiz8259 I think the original dvd/blu-ray copies had it all in the special features, but there’s a fan wiki you can read most of it (I also remember there being a book…?)
first time i watch this movie is with my friends in my classroom. We showed the movie on the projector and the whole class watched it together It was the end of the school year
For years I worked as an engineer in the Defense Contractor industry, and I feel like I worked with the people running the cabin in this movie. A bunch of math and engineering nerds with no hobbies (not even nerdy ones) wearing white button-down shirts, ties and pocket protectors - that had no moral qualms about inventing weapon systems that turned people into smoked sausage. And they all thought I was the weird guy because I had friends, played video games and read something other than technical manuals. I was working up the nerve to give two weeks notice when I got laid off, and it's the best thing that ever happened to me. I didn't want to end up one of the soul-less guys in this movie, working 9 to 5 for Evil Inc.
You have that exactly right! Drew Goddard grew up in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Many neighbors who were leading ordinary lives were also designing and building nuclear weapons. The dichotomy of the mundane and the lethal inspired this movie.
The audience who view horror films are the "Ancients", demanding that kids get sacrificed in any number of ways to satisfy those who watch. Not the most subtle of messages, but fully accurate.
I do love the connected universe theory that links Buffy/Angel to this film and to Firefly. The idea that this facility was run by the Initiative and that the Old Ones that awoke were the Senior Partners in Angel, with River in Firefly being the first active Slayer in 500 years.
"My guess is that the story is going to be people being chased by a killer being picked off one by one." Exactly, that's precisely what the movie wanted you to think going in so when it flipped that format on its head it was all the more surprising
Life expectancy for people who smoke cannabis is shown to be shorter. This has as much to do with the smoking and tobacco as it does the cannabis, but it does not extend life.
Fun fact: *we* are the ancient gods the movie talks about. The Audience are the gods that the office workers (film crew) are trying to appeal to. And Sigourney Weaver plays the Director. At least, that's my theory.
Nat: "He's like that annoying stoner that really thinks he's like a revolutionary. I'm like no dude you're just high."
Marty: *Ends the world *
LMAO
You can't really get any more revolutionary than that. :)
He overthrew the entire paradigm of our reality, and had a J left for the end of the world. hehehe That dude is on my end of the world dream team.
Pop music plays
"maybe you're right and they're wrong"
Movies like this really should be celebrated.
I don't mean the violence and stuff but unique, creative, well executed ideas that simultaneously subvert expectations while also just being fun.
Great comment.
What I love about this movie is that the ending is the most "up" ending I've ever seen about the end of the world.
Yes, and this is a good example of how to subvert expectations through deconstruction, unlike some other movies. The Last Jedi, for example, being a prime example of how to fail at it.
@@iDEATH Agreed. There's a thin line between subversion and bad writing.
And the violence and stuff
It's a shame it had a weak box office. Unique, cool stuff like this rarely gets it's due.
They did do the blood ritual for Marty, the one with the cup. But If you remember, after they did that, the frame shook, and it never did that with any of the other victims. It shook because the ancient ones knew he was still alive, and therefore, they were mad. It is such a tiny detail you don't really think about, unless you watch the movie again.
Thanks for saving me the time lol So small a detail that I didn't notice the first time either.
Right!! They did not accept.
The blood was from the one he dismembered with the trowel, that’s why they were not pleased.
There was a funny interview with Joss Whedon about actor Fran Kranz who played Marty. When he showed up on set, he had gotten completely jacked and ripped for a previous role. Whedon was like "Uh, were going to need to keep you in baggy shirts and jackets, because you're supposed to be a lazy stoner and you look like a Navy Seal."
If I was Fran Kranz I would brag for the rest of my life about being too shredded in a movie with Hemsworth
Fran coming out of the pool in Much Ado … damn boy.
Omg that’s incredible 😂
You sort of see that when Marty saves Dana from the Buckner with the chain, snagging the chain with his bong and dragging it back. His bare arm looked really buff.
"We're not the only ones watching, kid."
"Gotta keep the customer satisfied."
We, the audience, are the Old Gods. I love this movie so damn much.
Dude! And basically every horror movie ever were the other sacrifices over the years to keep us appeased.
Wow I never ever caught that fact. That makes so much more sense and suddenly I like this movie so much now.
well apart from the fact that there is a literal old god in the movie
@@thedeep6570 Well yes, it's a movie, so it needs to have a payoff. But it's called a metaphor.
@@joshuaathridge3694 It's a worthless metaphor. Nobody in the world has ever been unaware that movies are made for an audience to watch - not a single person (adult I suppose you could clarify to be pedantic) ever. It doesn't have a clever message to it if that is what they are saying.
One of the reasons I love this film is that its all about hubris. The controllers have done this so many times that they no longer are as careful or precise about the sacrifices as they might have once been. They're supposed to gather up and sacrifice a bunch of young people who fit certain archetypes (the Virgin, the Whore, the Athlete, the Scholar, and the Fool). The problem is, they get the archetypes wrong. They've assigned the roles to Dana (Virgin), Jules (Whore), Curt (Athlete), Holden (Scholar), and Marty (Fool), when none of them actually fit those roles. Dana might seem virginal, but early in the movie she confesses to an affair with her professor. Jules is sexy and dresses skimpy, but she's also flighty and overly concerned with non-important things in her life; also she is in a clearly loving and utterly monogamous relationship with Curt, which hardly fits the whore archetype. Curt might seem like a jock, but his athletic skills are mediocre at best, and he's seen lugging around high-level textbooks dealing with subjects like the Psychology of the Soviet System. Holden is smart, sure, but at the same time he's clearly more athletic than Curt is, and while he has the raw intelligence, he's clearly lazy about it. And Marty... well, Marty might be a stoner but he also admits he's never had sex in his life. So...
Had the controllers done the research, they would have realized that the archetypes should have been assigned with Dana being the Whore, Jules being the Fool, Curt being the Scholar, Holden being the Athlete, and Marty being the Virgin.
you are right because Marty was meant to be the final girl ( or final guy in this case ) this being a horror movie, He was able to survive being killed early because he has that protection of plot armor, and he also can be the one that can save the others from getting killed because of said armor. when Marty saves Dana by the lake. Also if you watch the movie again, it is subtle but he was the one making all the observations and or discoveries that a final girl does in a horror movie. He found the camera, he found the tunnel, hell he was one telling them to let leave this damn basement and don't touch shit. We were focused on Dana, even we as the audience on the wrong person, Marty should be one that we follow from the jump.
Interesting
@@TheTitandog70 I really like these takes. Because let me add a little something. The controllers sort of represent the audience stereotyping, like a mainstream audience couldn't accept a male "Virgin" for a movie to be a classic or a box office hit. So the controllers fark up through their own pre-conceptions when assigning those roles.
Damn, I've never thought about the actual roles each character SHOULD have had. Neat!
That could have made for an alternate ending when the ancient ones considered the group’s actual types instead of the ones assigned by the facility. The ground shaking, seeming like the end of the world, Dana gives some final words while smoking and slumps over dead from her wounds. The earthquake seems to intensify only to ease off and end. A glowing portal opens in front of Marty. He looks suspiciously at it, shrugs, gives a “what the hell” and stands up to walk into it. He comes out of the doorway of his closet into his bedroom. He looks around bewildered. He states out the window seeing the world at peace. END TITLE CARD
I love how meta this movie is. It's a satire of the horror movie genre of the time.
and mentions horror movie genres in other places, Brazil, Japan and Europe.
Between this film and his Daredevil series, Goddard has pretty much guaranteed that I will check anything with his name attached.
@@ClichéGuevara-2814 he did a great job with The Martian too.
A satire, but a love letter at the same time.
I've always loved Dana's line, "It's time to give someone else a chance," right before the world ends. As in, "If this tired, recycled, tropey nonsense is the best horror movie writers can come up with, then maybe we should just destroy the genre and start fresh."
Drew Goddard said he's never seen someone so excited to meet a werewolf as sigourney weaver. Whenever she was on set she was like "where's the werewolf? Is the werewolf here today?" She'd eat lunch next to him. And there's a bts photo of the cast and you can see sigourney weaver holding the werewolf's hand positively BEAMING with glee
Kinda like Game of Thrones BTS when Lena Headey (Cercei) gleefully describes getting her own personal zombie.
Opening night in the theaters for this movie was hands down my favorite movie theater experience. Since none of us knew what was about to happen, the audience was ROARING. It was perfection.
Totally. There are a few theater experiences that I will never forget, and this is one of them.
For me, it is a close second to seeing the original double feature presentation *Grindhouse* with Planet Terror & Deathproof back-to-back with all the shorts played between them on opening night. That was unlike anything I've experienced since.
This also happened during Drag Me to Hell
Man! Sounds awesome. I wish I got that experience. Shall live that through these reaction videos
@@magicomerv Totally. It's one of the reasons that I love reaction channels is that it's a little bit like getting to relive bits of those fun moments, or experience things you like in a new way.
Damn, I would have loved this one in person with a crowd of unexpecting viewers.
The only one that rivals that is opening night of Inception. The crowd was stunned silent at the end
She was the perfect "Ancient One" watching this film, the minute it started she started guessing who would die and why based on movie cliches, anyone expecting everything to play out like a regular horror movie is an "Ancient One" which, pretty much before this kind of movie was a thing, were everyone
If you enjoyed this one, Tucker and Dale vs Evil is a good slasher comedy. It would be really fun to see your reaction ❤️
Yes!!! It’s one of my favorite movies
Yes!
Absolutely a fun movie. Good call. 👍
It would be one doozy of a reaction.
I'm not even a huge horror fan but I was surprised by how much I loved Tucker and Dale! I super hope she watches it at some point.
I love how Natalie is listing all the horror tropes near the start, not knowing that's literally what the film is about, because I remember doing it myself! This movie was so fun and so clever, a personal fav of mine
The Blonde was the smartest (intellectually) the bunch. The scientists messed with the hair dye to cause her to dumb down. (The sexy dumb blonde trope)
The final girl trope, the stoner, the jock, all are needed for the sacrifice. But I thought making the smartest one a "dumb blonde" was really clever.
Also, don't split up.
My favorite line is when Dana says "I'm not a virgin!" and Sigourney Weaver says "We work with what we have."
I liked Sigourney's implication that finding virgin girls has gotten more and more difficult 😅😂.
Sigourney Weaver is beloved in the horror community, I watch somewhere that the director wanted specifically to cast her for that role but he thought that she wouldn't accept to it cause it wasn't a big movie but she accepted (obviously) and was so happy and excited with the werewolf taking pictures, some actually said that the scene with the werewolf was actually to make her even happier
Sigourney is becoming the Queen of the big cameo. Show up for one big scene at the end. Collect the pay check. Thank you.
@@TheWaynos73 I mean what's the issue? she is beloved by the horror community, we are happy to see her cameos and of course they gave her the big scenes to appear, and she obviously collect the pay check cause you know... she is an actress, she is supposed to get paid 🙄
@@dulcealvarez6071 no ones making an issue of it dude.
@@TheWaynos73 then I probably misread what you meant, just I'm sick of people criticize her for keeping her interest in horror to being just greedy for the easy bucks that's all
@@TheWaynos73 Just the year before she had a big cameo in Paul as well.
I love that this movie is a perfect safety net to excuse the ridiculous choices made by people in horror movies for the past 40 years. Even on multiple watches I'm still learning new things.
How about the symbolism of the virtual wall? I have seen that in several movies. In this movie, it could stand for the surface world separated from the underworld, or the difference between our make believe society/civilization and the reality of suffering, death, and sacrifice.
How just about every Cabin in the Woods reaction goes:
Oh, man. Marty is gonna die first. I can't wait.
30 mins later... If the kill Marty, I swear to...
True that.
being fair, yes i dont like stoners, but when i looked at marty i was like "Man... this guy seems nice... i gonna stick to him" and i wasnt disapointed with the fact that he ends up being the main hero
@@joaosoares-rr5mj he technically destroyed the world
@@mantisshrimp876 fuck the world, if we had to kill innocent people in aomw kindd of sick gane like this, it would be too much of a fucked up world
@@mantisshrimp876 dont get me wrong, i kbow our 2orle is full of shitry things, but i will not take an active role into killing 5 pwople who arent me...
The cup bong is one of the most iconic things in this entire movie...when this movie was released every stoner wanted one.
Cabin in the Woods is 100% one of my greatest cinema regrets in not seeing it till it hit home video. It is such an amazing, self referential horror comedy that up ends so many tropes. It’ll be a 4K buy for me.
Is the cabin itself the same model as the evil dead 2 cabin cos I thought it was the same one 😆
I went to see this on a whim in cinema, knowing almost nothing about it, and not being a fan of the horror genre at all. I usually know quite a lot about a movie before I watch it, but in this case I went in blind and it was the perfect movie for this kind of viewing. I enjoyed it a lot.
@@PetrMelechin Holy crap! I was just about to type the same exact thing! I was so pleasantly surprised by the time this was over, so glad my gf suggested it.
I saw it in the theater like 4 times, kept dragging friends to it and not telling them what it was about; after the first time I would just watch them watching the movie.
i was too scared to see anna hutchinson die on the big screen. she was my favorite yellow power ranger. 😭
Along with the first Scream, this is the ultimate meta deconstructed horror movie.
Leslie vernon
But it sucks when the viewer isn't familiar with the source material that inspired it.
Yes to Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
@@roryotoole3279 cabin in the woods was my first horror movie, i was "familiar" with the tropes from just pop culture and stuff, and it made me fall in love with the gerne. Now when i watch horror movies, still catching up after 2 years, i see those tropes that inspired that movie and get all giddy lol
I think one of the biggest “Ohh I get it” moments was one so many see on a rewatch or have good memory lol. Is when they shatter the container for “the fool” in sacrifice parts of the stone crack and the area suffers a minor rumbling that shows the ancient ones anger/growing irritation. A good hint that he was actually alive. Such a good movie
Btw if you didn't realize WE are the ancients, the audience who watches these messed up movies, they need to satisfy us in order to stay alive and continue to make more so movies can turn into series and franchises, such a brilliant movie!
well so i was never satiesfied with the idea that most horror moves usuly end with only a girl surviving... in fact my favorite horror movies tend to be the ones with less death where the heroes are acctuly smart and we manage to keep a good nice cast at the end...
hence, UNTIL DAWN (that is a game rather than a movie) my favorite ending is when you manage to keep everyone alive...
so i always hated this concept of "you have to kill the people in order for the horror movie to be good"
so many people who weren't aware about who was the "ancients" when this movie came out. they thought it was just some lore monsters.
There’s also a theory that nearly every employee in the Organisation survived a ritual at some point and are all virgins. They’re reward for surviving is working at The Organisation helping to keep the world from ending
This can be supported by the fact that all those guys came into see Jules naked and also the fact that these people need to work and possibly live there to keep watch of everything not having time for relationships or family. Also how would they know about the organisation aside from Daniel who seems to be unaware probably because he was hired late. They would’ve need to be briefed about the history of it and what goes on and shown how to operate a specific section they are assigned to.
To prove this even further you can see Wendy trying to flirt with Daniel in the control room and he just brushes her off. It’s a very dark theory but could be quite possible
Remember the rumbling after Marty "died" that didn't happen any other time?
Still my favorite tiny detail is the wormy intern on of the screens using a sign to beg for help.
My favorite joke has to be "Oh come on!?"
When this came out, I went into the movie theatre basically on a whim and didn't know anything about this movie. It became one of my all time favorite movies.
same experience, friend wanted to watch it so i tagged along knowing 0 about it. good movie
I only saw this movie at all because I made a movie date with a friend of mine and let him pick the movie. I thought it was just a fill-in-the-blanks slasher movie and would never have gone to see it on my own.
The marketing department for this movie really dropped the ball.
Same! Saw "Cabin in the Woods" and "Joss Whedon" and didn't have anything better to do that afternoon. So I watched it and, not only did it not disappoint, but it actually impressed.
MGM held the film to make it 3D and then MGM went bankrupt. It sat on a shelf for so long the first Thor movie came out before this did. But Joss is the one who suggested Chris to Feige.
I was completely impressed by the work Joss Whedon put into this movie. It is a unique take on the whole formula for the monster type horror movies; very similar to what Scream did with the Slasher sub-genre of horror. Absolutely one of my most favorite movies.
Actually, though Whedon was a co-writer, this is as much Drew Goddard's movie (if not more so) than Whedon's.
Goddard is great
@@TheDeconstructivist
Absolutely, this was a pet project of the two of them together. Whedon came up with the original concept, but Goddard directed, so I think it's safe to say that Whedon is probably more responsible for the bold strokes, and Goddard is more responsible for more of the details.
Way to go, team!
@@TheDeconstructivist This movie is very similar to the plot of season 4 of Buffy.
@@herecomesthescience I was not aware! I should really watch Buffy one day.
Cabin in the Woods is one of my favorite horror movies. It's so much fun with such an interesting premise.
I'm very happy you enjoyed this. The first time I saw this, I was lucky enough to go into it without knowing a single thing. It's a very fun movie and it's an absolutely great concept.
That cold opening was the fastest I immediately knew I'd found a new favorite movie. This film was an absolute hoot and played so much with the tropes we all know and love. The best meta horror since Scream!
25:27, actually.......unicorns were believed to be vicious creatures. Especially in Celtic mythology. That's why the Unicorn fights the lion.
Not sure how and when they became docile and "girly."
well it helps when it's not real because then they can be whatever you want them to be so long as you like what they look like.
My guess would be: my little pony
@@robgeach8105 that may be well and good, but that doesn't change the origins. They are the same as banshees, elves (not the nice ones), wisps, and the like. Gruesome creatures who wanted to kill you.
@@Orion_TheyThem I think aside from this the best visuals of murder unicorns......is DC's Legends Of Tomorrow
Given how much you liked this, I'd suggest doing 'Tucker & Dale Vs Evil' for next years Natmare season.
nooo, she should not wait another year.. i am sure there will be room for a tucker/dale reaction way before that ;)
@@crappiefisher1331 maybe if someone mentioned it is with Alan Tudyk...whoopsie ;-)
@@ThomasAeschbacher wait, did you just say Alan Tudyk is in the movie.. the Alan Tudyk? ;)
I just got this dumb brain that remembers everything I ever read
LMAO, I spilled the beans before I read your comment. I even mentioned Alan Tudyk. XD I love that movie!
Even before things started going crazy, I felt like these kids were a perfect one-to-one match for the Scooby gang. And it fits that Shaggy and Scooby Doo were the last to survive.
Guess Nat didn't notice and pause on the chalkboard like I did first time watching. I had to figure out WTF was going on. The blackboard is hillarious.
I really don't think I would've wanted to see the Angry Molesting Tree, but I'm desperate to know who/what Kevin is.
Oh yeah- everyone pauses on the whiteboard. 😄 In fact, someone compiled a wiki page with all of the choices, and whatever pictures they could get of all of the corresponding monsters.
@@IgnorantCrayon Dont watch the original Evil Dead if you dont want to see the rape tree.
@@IgnorantCrayon According to the book, a normal looking adult male that is either a serial killer, or possessed. During the Post-Purge chaos he drains a guard of his blood "in a second."
The saddest thing is that they never made any footage of "Sexy Witches" for the movie. Just give your degenerate fans what they want PLEASE!
I love how it's heavily insinuated that this is a Wolfram and Heart facility designed to hold one of the original old Demons that walked the earth before slayers existed and millions of years before the events of Buffy.
Co-written by Joss Whedon (watch Buffy!).
While it certainly can be enjoyed cold, it really helps to have seen a lot of horror films. The Evil Dead is a big reference. The guy holding the sphere with the blades in his head is a reference to Hellraiser. Tucker and Dale vs Evil is another movie that plays with the conventions of the genre and flips the usual perspective on its head.
And if you watch Drew Goddards episodes of Buffy, Angel, Alias and LOST... you can see how he came up with the idea for 'Cabin'. He's incredibly clever and really thinks outside the box, and thankfully Whedon wanted to help him realize his dream of getting it made and out to the public 🖤
I was gonna say, the cabin itself is 100% Evil Dead.
"We're not the only ones watching, kid. Gotta keep the customer satisfied."
The writers were referring to the movie-goer, playing into how nearly every horror film from the 70's on included T&A to appease the movie audience.
The scenes in the labyrinth with all the creatures is probably the most “freeze framed” in recent film history. Maybe ever! You just want to go back and see what you missed the first time!
What about the final battle in Ready Player One
Wasn’t that scene actually in the dark crystal?
And the betting bulletin board. There's an entry "Kevin" and I kinda want to know what he does. Booby trap the house Home Alone style?
@@vjapple3083 What? Talking about all the monsters in the boxes in "The Cabin in the Woods" here, not any creature scene in "Labyrinth" or "The Dark Crystal"
@@KBTibbs _"And the betting bulletin board. There's an entry "Kevin" and I kinda want to know what he does. Booby trap the house Home Alone style?"_
Well, there's _another_ Kevin I would not want to come after me, he was played by Elijah Wood.
The reference to a screw up in 1998 is a fun little Easter Egg. Fans have suggested several references including everything from The Cabin (1998) to an insulting reference to Godzilla (1998). The main contenders are Halloween H20 (where the final girl kills the killer) and The Faculty (where not only do the kids survive, but the failure is chemistry related).
1998 is also when Buffy and ger friends stop the rising demon in a battle that destroys the high school. Was that a fail?
You really NEED to react to Tucker and Dale vs. Evil. It is one of the best horror comedies of all time and you would love it. Also, it got Alan Tydik.
You had me at Alan
such a fun movie!
Funniest horror comedy ever
@@derekclear3913 and then lost me at "tydik"........ the man's name is "tudyk" 😜
Tucker and Dale vs Evil definitely needs to be on the watchlist for next year.
I'm one of the people that recommended this movie so thank you for doing this one. This movie is amazing and a truly underrated classic.
"Have not had a glitch since '98" lol AMAZING! The Faculty was a great movie! Also, Marty was always speaking truths, but I think you may have fallen to pre-conceived notions of stoners and did not give him enough credit out of the gate. We all have our ingrained notions that we need to dispel from time to time lol jk
Marty was being a stereotypical stoner even though he was speaking truths, this movie is a satire so...
would rather hang out stoners than obnoxious drunks any day 👌
I vaguely remember that they imply the weed made him more resistant to the "dumb" gas as well, but I could be mistaken.
Marty represents the “fool” of the story. Fool has become thought of a funny, or misguided, but really, the fool pretty much always speaks the truth but is dismissed by all others for one reason or another, and usually treated like they are stupid, even though what they say comes to pass.
Had to look up the connection to The Faculty ... but DAMN that's funny! The only archetype who died was the virgin -- and only cuz she was secretly the monster. And they killed her with their sinful homebrew drugs, no less! DAMN IT CHEM DEPARTMENT, YOU HAD ONE JOB~
This movie is so good that I couldn't wait more than 3 and a half minutes into the video to comment about how much I love this movie. The best way to go into this movie is knowing next to nothing. I'm a big horror fan so all I was told when it came out is that it deconstructs horror tropes in a clever way and I was sold. One of the most unpredictable movie experiences of my life.
This video being here has made my day. Thank you, Natalie!
Yep, I don't particularly like most horror movies so this was a great way to incorporate the tropes in a novel and interesting story that was more than just a horror film.
I was lucky enough to watch this in a stacked theatre with Horror movie fans, and it was a standing ovation at the end. Everyone in that theatre loved it and it's been in my movie collection now for years. It's a yearly watch for me. Glad you got around to watch this, Nat!
Yay! I'm SO excited for your reaction on this one. Love this film a lot. The other horror comedy (mostly comedy) that spoofs the 'cabin in the woods' trope is "Tucker and Dale vs. Evil" that's a lot of fun. Sillier overall than this film, but a lot of fun.
th-cam.com/video/3w19SAl1OBQ/w-d-xo.html may I ask what name of the movie in video
Love that you loved it. It's so brilliant! A satirical take on the entire horror genre, where if all the right tropes are met, it appeases the consumer... Yep, the "Ancient Ones" are audiences, unaccepting of anything outside the box within the genre. It's a fantastic horror movie as well as a big middle finger 😂
Lmao this movie is awesome for the fact a Stoner survived most of the horribleness 😂
All druggies can drop dead since they are of no use to society since they are all weak minded and need something to alter their brain to hide from life's harsh realities that they otherwise could not handle.
@@WheresWaldo05 Debbie downer
@@WheresWaldo05 shiver me timbers
@@WheresWaldo05 I'm stoned and I'm laughing at you
@@WheresWaldo05 Who hurt you? Lmao
June 14th 2012
A tiny little arthouse theatre in the neighborhood I had recently moved to was the only place that was showing 'Cabin In The Woods' in my whole state. I'd spent years waiting for it to be released, even dragged my mother along 'cause we're big fans of the cast, the writers and director and editor (so we knew it would be f**kin' brilliant) and it was by far the wildest movie-going experience ever... no-one knew what the hell was happening at any given moment and the energy in the room was frenetic AF from start to finish! 🖤
Glad you enjoyed it, Nat
The ancient ones are a metaphor for the audience of modern horror movies! and the role of director takes place for a movie's director. The idea behind this movie is that it can be applied to nearly any modern horror movie in America!
Well the idea could be applied to nesrly any modern movie in general
I’ve recently found your channel and have been completely bingeing!!! Great reactions!
❤ from my puppy Koda to your Koda!
This movie totally blew me away when I watched it
This movie is also a commentary on viewers....
The gods are us the viewers of horror movies, Scientist are the creators of horror movies and the people trapped are like characters of the horror movies
...
Just found your channel and have been loving it.
Look up "the Ancient Ones of Lovecraft Mythos" H.P. Lovecraft pretty much started the Eldritch Horror genre. He created a pantheon of ancient races and the Gods they worshiped he freely allowed others to use them in their stories. Cabin In The Woods is a very Lovecraftian story.
Was really in awe when I was this movie. To take a genre and it's famous tropes and flip it on its head was just an enjoyable breath of fresh air to me. The homage to the creatures we all know and love, the clever 4th wall breaking while still kinda not breaking it and making it a key element of the story is amazing. Everything about this is just *chef's kiss PERFECT.
I'm so glad you watched this without being spoiled about what it was about. It's designed to play you like a fiddle with all of your knowledge of horror movies. And it's kind of ruined if you know the premise going into it. When this came out in theaters, I feel like there was a deliberate movement among people who saw it to help keep it not spoiled for those who hadn't seen it yet.
I knew there would be some kind of subverting twist where the cabin was on top of a huge structure (probably a lab) or there were multiple cabins across dimensions or something so it wasn't ruined exactly for me.
"Marty's gonna die" said 797 times.....doesn't die till last second of movie. I never wanted to watch this movie for the same reasons. Thought it was either Evil Dead or Friday the 13th or something in between. Once I finally watched it, it became one of my favorites. The Elevator ding scene is so great.
What is really fun is to imagine these people watching and orchestrating the other horror movies that came out before this. They are the reason that these monsters really always come back
I loved how the film used the horror tropes to explain why the sacrifice didn't work. None of the people in the gang fitted properly into the stereotypes: the virgin was sleeping with her teacher, the promiscuous blonde was dying her hair and was manipulated using chemicals, the jock was into philosophy etc. Joss did a good job sketching this out.
Yayyyyyyy I was hoping for this! The first time I watched this as soon as the credits rolled I knew it was one of my favourite films. I usually have a double bill of this and Evil Dead 2 every Halloween :)
This and Army of Darkness are two classics that pair well together!!
I love this movie so much.
As many have already stated the archetypes (the Virgin, the Whore, the Athlete, the Scholar, and the Fool) are the usual characters in a Hollywood horror movie. Same can be seen when they talk about Japanese horror movies usually featuring schoolkids.
Also the Old Ones are us the audience. And one of the controllers mentions later on in the movie that if the old ones are not pleased their world gets destroyed as in it does not get a sequel.
I love how dead wrong Nat is about literally everything! hahaha makes her reactions so much better!
YES!! The Cabin in the Woods. I am glad you watch this movie. This movie is something else.
Nat: "Who commissioned this???"
Me: "We did. You did. You're watching it for entertainment right now!" :D
The first time I saw this movie, knowing nothing about it, I was just flipping through the channels. I came in right before the bird hit the forcefield. I was immediately hooked and it just kept getting better.
I feel like if Angel had continued for a few more seasons it would lead to something like this. Fred being in it adds to that Angel vibe too.
I'm really glad you did this one Nat. Highly underrated film for what it is.
The characters also align with the characters from Scooby Doo, though I guess those are archetypes as much as any
I'll never not think of this as "The movie where Thor bangs a Power Ranger" 😂
She’s in Spartacus too. Yup
Sister, this is my ultimate favorite that I search DAILY for to see if any new reactions have been uploaded. You upload NOW and now I gotta be late for work. Lmao.
my fav horror movie too, so underrated
okay the eagle thing at 6:40 tells me I actually need to watch this before seeing this reaction to it.
This movie, to me, is a satire/commentary of horror movies in general! I love how it has all of the classic tropes, but makes them all part of the deeper ritual going on
I'm fairly sure that's exactly what it's supposed to be...
I'd say the same can be said about Tucker & Dale
The cast, the direction and the execution make this the best horror cliche deconstruction i can imagine! Glad you liked it!!!
I'm glad you didn't research too much into this movie. Good call, please never change, so that you can enjoy the twists and turns more :)
This movie is a parody, with disgusting and unnerving aspects, and a serious plot / twist that people don't expect. I think the unexpected is the selling point of this film. And Marty is the embodiment of that, he's the unexpected hero, a badass, a smort boi xD
The Old One(s)/The Ancient One(s) is/are based on H.P Lovecraft's mythology with otherworldly deities like Cthulhu, Yog-Sothoth, Kthaw'keth and so on. In this case it's based on the most well known cosmic entity of Lovecraft's pantheon, Cthulhu. This movie is mixing many horror tropes into one, ranging from Lovecraftian horror (early 1900's) to modern horror tropes.
Glad you enjoyed it, Cabin In The Woods is such a fun movie. It's a shame it's your last Halloween film because if you enjoyed this, I think you'd love Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil, another absolutely fantastic horror/comedy with some great trope reinterpretations.
The Evil Dead. The OG cabin in the woods horror.
@@jsmithers. Oh yeah, Evil Dead is just required viewing at this point.
@@Mad_Oph Right. The original one of course. Or Evil Dead II.
Watched this last night for the first time and was surprised at how.much I laughed out loud at this
the only thing we are missing now is "Tucker and Dale vs. Evil"
YES! THIS, NAT, THIS!!
+100 This is a must watch!
Especially with Alan being in it.
I hope I'm not the first person to present this Theory, but I'll go ahead anyway. The popular fan theory for this movie is that the premises is it is just a another horror movie, a typical horror movie, and the ancient gods are us, the audience demanding the sacrifice.
"Chris Hemsworth is in this"
"I think a lot of people will die" Everyone smiles at this
"I don't know how far he'll make it" Everyone smiles more.
Fun Fact: The stoner wears all those cloths because the actor is actually super jacked.
so glad you liked the movie! it was the first real horror movie i ever saw and boy was it a wild one. the elevator scene is iconic. another thing that i love about this movie is the amount of references they make to other horror movies- for example, the "chem failure" back in the 90s refers to a specific movie, and a lot of the monsters in the facility are based off of specific horror movie monsters.
(also, i'm sure you've seen this in other comments, but it wasn't marty's blood that they used in the symbol thing. it was animal blood- they didn't go and get the bodies, they just waited until they thought people were dead and then used the animal blood.)
That this film is a good way to finish Natmares, cinematically-speaking. We really needed some great suggestions for next year's so Tucker and Dale can fill the same role.
I knew this would be a great reaction. Because it's truly one of the best campiest trope filled cliche hits all the notes in a creative genius way. That noooo one expected the first time we went to see it. Brilliant film
I've always liked the fan theory that this is the apocalyptic event that cause people to flee earth in Firefly...
I love this movie! What I would love for a follow up with instead of the them going to the cabin, have inside story on how it all works from the view of the girl asking all the questions
(the women in the lab coat)
The real twist was going to be the young girl shooting the stoner…who was in fact the true virgin unknown to even the game crew! It was going to trigger the hands. Look for the setup because all that was left in just reshot the end twist (or more accurately shot multiple endings because they weren’t ready to pick one.)
That's what i actually thought was happening. I assumed i remembered the movie wrong, but how else would i have known? I wonder if i saw an alternate ending and just didn't recall. 🤷
@@beetlebob4675
I think they talked about it in commentary or maybe in an interview after the movie was out. I just remember thinking I would have liked that twist even more.
Oh wow. I always thought that's where it was going but I never knew it was actually planned. It definitely feels like that was set up to be the twist. Though I'm not quite sure which ending I'd prefer. I do like how in the ending they went with the two characters have a moment to just sit together and talk before the end.
I would have liked Marty to have been "The Virgin" and Dana to have been "The Fool" - it would have been a nice way to subvert the way that the men's character archetypes are based on their interests and the women's archetypes are based on their sexuality.
@@jvgreendarmok
I also have a theory that none is f the victims were what they were said to be. The blonde was dating exclusively her appropriately aged Thor. The red head however was sleeping with her married Professor! Thor was into books not sports! Marty was no fool. And according to Jesse Williams his character was closeted so not even the potential love interest at all…except to maybe Thor😂😂🤪
the layers of this movie is just astounding. they decided "what if we make a meta horror movie?". so many people were confused when this came out and they thought it doesn't make sense and just mediocre but to someone who has seen many categories in horror genre, this is a genius movie.
This movie has possibly the funniest death scene ever put on film.
@@jimclayson I was thinking death by force field.
@@jimclayson was going to say the merman. Such an ironic death lol
Seems like every death has at least some sort of irony or humor to it lol
All of them really
The funniest death scene to me is in Tucker and Dale vs Evil. This movie has some good ones too.
That ‘DONK’ when he hit the wall took me out been laughing for 5 minutes straight 🤣🤣🤣🤣
The reason that Marty’s stereotype was bloodied even though he wasn’t dead is because it’s not their blood. It’s lamb blood that symbolizes each of them and because they thought he died, they prematurely filled his symbol with blood.
I believe it was their blood in the vials, the people running the game said they collected samples.
@@novowels2030
How? I’m pretty sure that it’s symbolic blood but I might be wrong.
A lot of work was done before the movie started. They could have easily gotten blood samples at the same time they were already drugging Kurt and Jules. (She had just dyed her hair. And Kurt doesn't bat an eye about not having a cousin who owned a cabin.)
It doesn't make sense to me it'd be "samples" I mean, they'd have to get a significant sample (pretty much an entire donation) to fill the symbol. I'd always taken it as symbolic blood from some other source.
can youtube for once get their fingers out of their asses and do something about these goddamn annoying sexbots already?
When I saw this movie I instantly fell in love with it!!! Getting to see all the monsters at the end was just so awesome and the whole plot and execution of it was just amazing.
I love that they went so far into detail that all the monsters have their own lore
Where i can see or read the lore of the monsters?
@@danielruiz8259 I think the original dvd/blu-ray copies had it all in the special features, but there’s a fan wiki you can read most of it (I also remember there being a book…?)
first time i watch this movie is with my friends in my classroom. We showed the movie on the projector and the whole class watched it together
It was the end of the school year
For years I worked as an engineer in the Defense Contractor industry, and I feel like I worked with the people running the cabin in this movie. A bunch of math and engineering nerds with no hobbies (not even nerdy ones) wearing white button-down shirts, ties and pocket protectors - that had no moral qualms about inventing weapon systems that turned people into smoked sausage. And they all thought I was the weird guy because I had friends, played video games and read something other than technical manuals. I was working up the nerve to give two weeks notice when I got laid off, and it's the best thing that ever happened to me. I didn't want to end up one of the soul-less guys in this movie, working 9 to 5 for Evil Inc.
You have that exactly right! Drew Goddard grew up in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Many neighbors who were leading ordinary lives were also designing and building nuclear weapons. The dichotomy of the mundane and the lethal inspired this movie.
Broke up with my ex because he lost his soul to Evil Inc. I'm glad you got out.
I love Cabin in the Woods has been getting attention this year 🎃
The audience who view horror films are the "Ancients", demanding that kids get sacrificed in any number of ways to satisfy those who watch.
Not the most subtle of messages, but fully accurate.
I was just about to say that. I couldn't have said it better.
And when the movie ends, the "audience" rises.
i love this film because it makes it possible that every horror film ever made was in this universe being played out like this, nutty
Us seeing all the monsters let loose, is kinda like Josh Whedon finally giving us the final battle from Angel we never got to see.
I do love the connected universe theory that links Buffy/Angel to this film and to Firefly. The idea that this facility was run by the Initiative and that the Old Ones that awoke were the Senior Partners in Angel, with River in Firefly being the first active Slayer in 500 years.
Thank you for these videos honestly! i am so scared to watch these movies myself, But with your videos it's like watching with a friend!:)))
Natalies laugh soothes my soul. You know which laugh im talking about
"My guess is that the story is going to be people being chased by a killer being picked off one by one."
Exactly, that's precisely what the movie wanted you to think going in so when it flipped that format on its head it was all the more surprising
This movie is showing that weed is NOT A SIN! And it keeps people healthy and living for longer. That's why our hero survived to the end and smiled
Life expectancy for people who smoke cannabis is shown to be shorter. This has as much to do with the smoking and tobacco as it does the cannabis, but it does not extend life.
Fun fact: *we* are the ancient gods the movie talks about. The Audience are the gods that the office workers (film crew) are trying to appeal to. And Sigourney Weaver plays the Director. At least, that's my theory.
Yes that is true. The Ancient Gods are the audience.