Creature feature films are one of my go-to genres anytime of the day, but I slept on this one thinking that it was something like “The Last House on the Left” kind of a slasher film. Then through scrolling film shorts, I saw the ugliest mermaid creature on film and I had to research it. It lead me to this sort of compilation of monsters and horrors throughout the times. Directed by Drew Goddard who was also part of the team that gave us The Cloverfield found footage film franchise, also recommending that by the way.

Concept

The concept was brilliant. At first, it started off as the usual teenage group of friends, going to a secluded cabin and then getting offed one by one by some evil entity. When they started introducing the other elements, the gravity of the situation started becoming worse and worse by the minute.

The idea of putting all the triggering trinkets at the basement of the cabin and having the victim’s free will decide their fate was fantastic. It makes the audience wonder how the other monsters would do the deed. One of my favorite scenes is when they showed how big their collection of monsters were and how the cubes rotate and move around like a Rubik’s cube. I was in awe when they shot that.

Characters

Choice of actors were great and fits the description of which the system has to follow to perform the ritual sacrifice. They need five different human archetypes:

• The Whore, played by Anna Hutchison, indeed seem like a whore since the beginning of the film, and that wolf head scene though.
• No one would question why Chris Hemsworth was deemed as “The Athlete”, enough said.
• “The Scholar” was okay, nothing bad could be said about his performance, he was good in all aspects.
• Marty, played by Fran Kranz, “The Fool”, most of the time acted stoned, and did a fine job being one.
• “The Virgin” played by Kristen Connolly, wasn’t really a virgin, as some viewers may have noticed at the start of the film, but the “controllers” have said that “we work with what we have.” She was great, an underrated actress in my opinion.
• And that they have to be “offed” in that order. The virgin however, being the last one left, doesn’t really need to be “offed”, she just needs to suffer greatly, as long as the first four goes as planned.

Monsters

The variety of monsters they’ve shown on close-up was enough to make a mini-series of, and I think there would be an audience for it. Much like Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities.

The monsters that intrigued me was The Ballerina, with a mouth, full of rows of sharp teeth, for a face. The guy with saw blades on his face holding a sphere puzzle, The Clown, and The Mermaid. Their mermaid was so ugly and terrifying, its hard to forget a face like that; and I like their concept of the mermaid, when it feeds, the blood spews off of his back like a whale’s blowhole. Huge props to the team involved with making the creatures, from the art direction to the effects.

Just a thought: I would pay to see the creatures from The Thing (1982) in one of those cubes.

It was a treat seeing Sigourney Weaver towards the end of the film. She is known for her casting in the film Alien (1979).

Great ending

The ending reminded me of The Borderlands (aka The Last Prayer 2013) ending. The Ancient One wakes up, due to the failing of the ritual sacrifice. And the United States base of operations was the last chance for it to be successful. Because all the other centers around the world have the same task. Unfortunately, all of them failed miserably. The end scene shows a giant hand coming up from underground. The hand itself was the size of a 5 storey building, let your imagination do the rest.

Conclusion

Recommending Cabin in the Woods to all fans of monster films out there, you won’t be disappointed. Very good storytelling with tons of creature features. It may feel like it starts slow, and that may be the case, but once it picks up, you’re on the ride of your life.