are you even listening to me? THE CABIN IN THE WOODS thread (WARNING: SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILEROS! SPOILIDAD!)

http://www.joeutichi.com/profile/joss-whedon-interview/

It was the 2009 remake of Friday the 13th that first set Whedon’s mind racing on what would become The Cabin in the Woods. “I did walk out, but I found it fascinating that the movie opens with a group of expendable teens, which Jason kills – not, by the way, very inventively – and then the movie starts, and an even more expendable group of teens shows up. It was as hateful as anything I’ve seen. There’s an element of this ‘torture porn’ promulgation that’s made me as angry as I can remember being.”

If torture porn is Whedon’s kryptonite, then Hollywood must be his super-villain, for the continued adventures of fictional serial killers like Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers and Jigsaw have kept studio balance sheets ticking over healthily. He can’t subscribe to such amoral filmmaking. “The disconnect between movie behaviour and normal human behaviour starts to strain,” he says. “It starts with, ‘I’ll drop the knife now, because it’s a really good time to be unarmed while I have my back to the thing,’ and goes further into, ‘I’m an unbelievable asshole and also I’m doing drugs and crime and sex all at the same time, so not only might I die but I deserve to.’ Punishment for youth-y behaviour is bizarre to me, and unsettling.”

He regrets having called it a “hate letter” to horror. In fact, he says, it’s a sonnet, to some of the genre’s best examples. “The joke of the whole thing is that this is the silliest movie I’ve ever made, and Drew and I just had an enormous amount of fun with it. The political message was very clear to both of us. It was just, ‘this is how we feel; this is a really fun way of expressing it; how can we figure in a unicorn?’”

also

Whedon remembers outlining his premise to Lionsgate by ranting about the ills of the Saw franchise. It was only as he glanced around the room, at a wall full of Saw movie posters, that he realised they had produced the movies. “But you know, they’re not precious about it. They love horror, and if they didn’t they wouldn’t know how to market this film.” In any case, he says, he hasn’t actually seen a Saw film all the way through.

it's a comedy

― congratulations (n/a), Friday, April 27, 2012 9:31 AM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this sounds like a cop-out in response to tuomas criticisms, but i think it's really otm. i agree that the movie wasn't particularly scary and that its deconstruction of the genre wasn't terribly compelling, but i saw it primarily as an absurdist comedy based in affectionate ribbing of genre conventions.

Just saw this last night and I think is wonderful. The way I read it is the characters (young victims) slowly become self-aware of themselves as characters (though that was only really true for the redhead girl and the stoner), realizing they circumstances are absurd; and finally subverting their fate, carefully planned by the "Puppeteers" on order to please the "Ancient Ones" (audience). A key thing about it, though is that the movie never abandons the perspective of the characters (the sets, cameras, crew, etc. is all hidden and even when they discover it, it doesn't resemble a conventional film productions, plus all the creatures are REAL!) only gives them a glimpse of perspective and understanding of their universe. In that sense, I saw the final scene as (perhaps) a reference to Plato's Cave. I think the 1998 glitch they refer to is Funny Games, where the characters (though in this case, the bad guys) subvert the rules and take control.

except that movie's not American

written by joss whedon and drew goddard

almost walked out of the theater when i saw this

gtk

that's the thing, the whole system purge bit is all about the pure joy of horror. All those scary creatures in the same place. It's just fun!

― Number None, Sunday, April 15, 2012 2:45 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i lol'd. it was pretty much the 2012 version of

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0thH3qnHTbI

This was definitely a hoot, but I think I'm getting kind of burnt out on the whole Hugo/The Artist/Cabin "movies about movies" thing.

Like Evil Dead IN ITSELF was kind of a winking parody of George Romero and Three Stooges, and now this runs THAT whole concept through a meta-mirror. And the whole "five archetypes" thing is basically a Wes-Craven-on-adderal concept for onion/tvtropers to lustily update their databases. Again, this movie was real fun and hilarious, but like all pop culture is slowly leaning towards towards a specific type of retromania that basically says "ayo-I-read-a-lot-of-wikipedia." Its kind of starting to bum me out, but I guess the alternative is mumblecore idk

also, like, quibbling over whether something is "horror" or "comedy" is the stupidest thing in the universe. Like gangsta rap, pretty much 90% of it is supposed to be fun/funny.

like making an argument over whether a movie is "actually scary" is as stupid as 14 year old white kids in Iowa feeling hard because Mobb Deep said they'll stab your brain with your nose bone.

hey guys i just watched this movie

i wonder if there is a film director out there that was getting ready to spend the next 2 years of his life on his new project, a revamp of the merman monster, that just saw the cabin in the woods and just felt burned ;_;

loll

Most fun I've had in the cinema in years. A poll of monsters from this would be cool.

Awesome. This & Avengers last night back to back.

Kinda disturbed by some of the shots from the monitors, like all the little dudes holding a guy down and one of them vomiting toxic whatever into his face.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/55082

Quint: I didn’t even notice… That was my second time watching the movie last night and I didn’t even notice the unicorn tapestry that you mentioned during the Q&A.

Drew Goddard: It’s down there! There’s a lot down there that requires some freeze-framing.

fun read

Need to see this again, and drag more people along

Sorta wish the Shaggy-ness of the shaggy-haired stoner werent quite telegraphed so loudly, but what are you gunna do?

aside from the haircut and the superbong, i didn't really thing the shaggy reference was too heavy handed -- he makes a pretty nihilistic shaggy! the only other point of comparison i can see is that shag & scoob are usually the ones who fall down the trapdoor directly into the monster's lair while the rest of the gang is still puzzling over clues

No joke, that is one of the worst, high school level interviews I've read in ages. Aside from your quoted unicorn bit there, there is virtually nothing in there.

Q: I liked your movie a lot.
A: Thanks!
Q: Were you worried you would make a movie no one would like?
A: Not really. We tried to make it as un-not likable as possible.
Q: Well, it worked!
A: Thanks!
Q: Do you like horror movies?
A: I do!
Q: What is your favorite horror movie?
A: I like all of them!
Q: Did you like your own horror movie a lot!
A: I did! And I hope others do, to.
Q: Well, judging by the packed audience at the screening I was probably in some way at least loosely affiliated with, packed with hardcore geeks, Whedon fans and horror movie buffs, all stoned, I think you've got a big hit on your hands!
A: Thanks!
Q: What's next for you?
A: Another movie!
Q: Sweet!
A: Awesome.
Q: Thanks.
A: No, thank you!
Q: Is there anything I should look out for when I see this for the fifth time?
A: Yeah, all sorts of stuff. Did you see the werewolf?
Q: Yeah! It was awesome!
A: Thanks!
Q: Was it real?
A: No.
Q: Awesome!
A: Thanks!

It's Ain't It Cool News. I don't think anyone there's gotten any smarter despite it being 2012, you know?

It's part of their stupid charm, tbh

lol @ "fun read"

Even if someone sucked 15 years ago, you'd think there'd be some learning curve. Then again, maybe the guys with half a brain at that site all jumped ship eons ago.

Drew Goddard: Right.

Quint: And the shit gets real.

Drew Goddard: Shit definitely gets real! (laughs)

http://media.filmschoolrejects.com/images/harryknowles01.jpg

that said theres some good interviews on there sometimes. like this soderbergh one http://www.aintitcool.com/node/51119

I interviewed DG and ... dude's just not easy to get much out of. By the end of the interview, I was asking him questions like, "What do you think Joss Whedon would say about this?"

This is fun and really dumb:

http://thefineartdiner.blogspot.com/2012/04/cabin-in-woods-free-will-husband-bulges.html?m=1

it is the latter

^^^

that article was fun to read, this is exactly what the internet is for!

i love how paragraphs like this mix in both accurate observations and glaring errors:

How do the items in the cellar reflect each of the characters? The necklace on the bridal gown is feminine and that’s what Jules tries to be, hence, dying her hair blond, but she's also hoping that Curt will marry her; Dana was going to take books to the cabin, so she goes for the book, the diary; Curt was playing football, so he goes for the round object that looks like a ball; Holden is there to get hooked up with Dana so that’s why he opens the jewelry box (a reference to the sexual act with her) and the ballerina refers to the awkward “mating dance” Holden and Dana are doing; Marty goes for the reels of film (he also reads the book about Nemo, after the Pixar film) so he’s always trying to get a “frame of reference” for something and that’s why he went for the movies (possibly also because of the drug culture depicted in the films, but more likely, because Marty has been feeling like something’s strange, as if they are in a horror film and that’s why he’s mentally referencing movies).

lol Nemo

Yeah, there's a vibe in there like a Senior AP English student or some freshman lit.crit major trying to do some major contextual analysis and failing magnificently.

It's akin to the speech and subequent bike jump scene in the film.

Also, did any anybody else notice that this flick not only makes you laugh, but also full-on _cackle_?

both times when i saw this in the theater people seemed too afraid to really bust a gut, making me and my friends look like total maniacs. but the movie IS that funny! i mean c'mon, the Ring parody thing alone

Exactly. And there are parts where I was just cackling evilly at how far the flick was willing to go and what was about to happen.

Holden is there to get hooked up with Dana so that’s why he opens the jewelry box (a reference to the sexual act with her) and the ballerina refers to the awkward “mating dance” Holden and Dana are doing; Marty goes for the reels of film (he also reads the book about Nemo, after the Pixar film) so he’s always trying to get a “frame of reference” for something and that’s why he went for the movies (possibly also because of the drug culture depicted in the films, but more likely, because Marty has been feeling like something’s strange, as if they are in a horror film and that’s why he’s mentally referencing movies).

every aspect of this is so fucking stupid and nonsensical that it actually makes me angry. i couldn't finish reading the article, though i did plow through the bulk of it.

this is worse:

So if Curt has some good in him, why doesn't he survive the jump with his bike? There's an invisible boundary between dating and being married to someone, and the grid symbolizes that invisible boundary. Curt "made the jump" with Jules from boyfriend to husband without them being married, so even though, as Curt tells Holden, he's jumped a lot further with his bike in the past, he doesn't have the moral strength to overcome the power of the grid that is holding him back morally. In the sacrificial pictures, the athlete that Curt fulfills is shown with a spear, and that spear is the phallic symbol: athletes have to have good bodies to compete, the problem is, the body becomes their whole being (in art and stereotypes of them) and they then look at others as being only bodies as well, including Jules.

[Picture of the survivors outside the RV, looking across the gulf to freedom, just prior to Curt's failed motorcycle jump]

At this point pictured above, they have lost Jules and they think they have lost Marty. They were trying to make it out of the grid and almost succeeded when a "tunnel avalanche" caused by the control room makes it impossible to pass, and Curt, driving the mobile home rambler, quickly thinks and steps on the gas, backing out all the way out of the tunnel in reverse; pretty impressive driving. It symbolizes the unconscious thinking Curt has been doing because going into the tunnel (since Curt is driving) easily symbolizes the sexual act, and going in reverse means that he's wishing to undo what he and Jules had been doing because he realizes now that's why she died. The sheer rocks they are surrounded by? The "hardness of heart" that sin causes and is caused by sin.

It kind of makes you want to hit them over the head with a box of scare quotes.

fyi: found this review whilst googling "husband bulge"

gah! stop thinking!

― spextor vs bextor (contenderizer)

just too perfect

it was a gift

happy b-day to me!

http://images.jupiterimages.com/common/detail/45/47/23264745.jpg

got you a gift!

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m341i4MFmx1rs9lamo1_1280.jpg

Note: it took me way, WAAAAY to damn long to find a shot of that