'Cabin in the Woods' Analysis
CABIN IN THE WOODS
Task 3 (30 mins) Using your notes from class on sub-genre and Horror conventions, write a 300 word summary of HOW the film made interesting use of the conventions of Horror and Subgenres you have studied.
The film 'Cabin in the Woods' had plenty of tongue-in-cheek references to typical conventions of horror movies and how they usually tend to play out. These are largely used for comedic effect, but it's worth exploring them to see what they say about the genre as a whole. For example, the movie has string 'Slasher' themes throughout, comedically referred to when the sacrificial organisation all express collective disappointment at the group deciding to stay together rather than split up and get picked off one by one. In addition, they tease the use of a 'final girl' when she is seemingly the last one alive to fight the onslaught of monsters, but this concept is removed with the re-emergence of the unlikely hero and pothead, Marty. In addition to these two, the film explores an unlikely presentation of the typical horror concept of 'humans vs other beings' at the end where the heroes and villains of the film almost unite to fight off the monsters late on in the film until Dana stabs the chief officer. In addition to this, many monsters seen in the cube prison at the ending of the film are either a direct or a tongue-in-cheek reference towards typical horror villains and monsters, a good example of this is the fact that Zombies are seen eating at a corpse in the cube prison and again eating various prison staff on the camera footage. In addition to the Zombies, there is a Jack-O-Lantern, Mutants, a Werewolf, and even a reference to 'Hellraiser' by the use of the Hell Lord. Many horror film typical villains are brought & banded together in this final scene, which is a unique use of the most typical horror film convention (a villain) because never before have so many varying antagonists been in such close proximity.
Task 4 (30 mins) Write a 300 word analysis of how the following themes and sub-texts are raised in the film (with examples of scenes that do so) - what is the film trying to say, particularly through its ending?
a) Teen Punishment
b) Gender & Sexuality
c) Yonic & Phallic Imagery
Cabin in the Woods explores horror themes as well as typical conventions throughout the course of the film also. Teen punishment is seemingly the 'main' theme associated with the film due to the sinful and anti-christian ways of the protagonists. You have a promiscuous girl along with the main protagonist who is cheating with a professor, as we find out in the opening scene. On the male side of things, we also have an entertaining and clearly knowledgeable weed enthusiast, who has a bong disguised as a flask to purposely throw any possible authorities off track. These 5 are your typical 'young' people and this is why they are chosen to be punished by the sacrificial organisation. While the other 2 main characters are not as clearly rebellious, they have typical teen angst and flaws which is why they are chosen by the cult to be the 'sacrificial lambs'. Yonic imagery is displayed in the film very evidently at the end, when the male and female lead characters are walking down a corridor populated with various elevators/lifts. This is a symbol of clear feminine power in a movie where female characters are typically dominant over their male counterparts, an example being that the face of the cult is a woman, and of the 5 protagonists, one of the females was the only one to survive the entire onslaught for the entire duration of the film. On the contrary, phallic imagery is also present in the film. The weaponry that is picked up and used by the protagonists is long and very typically male, even when wielded by the females, perhaps this is trying to masculinise the female characters, as a typically feminine lead with no masculine traits is not a common convention in the horror genre. This point also ties in to the ideas of gender & sexuality.
The film 'Cabin in the Woods' had plenty of tongue-in-cheek references to typical conventions of horror movies and how they usually tend to play out. These are largely used for comedic effect, but it's worth exploring them to see what they say about the genre as a whole. For example, the movie has string 'Slasher' themes throughout, comedically referred to when the sacrificial organisation all express collective disappointment at the group deciding to stay together rather than split up and get picked off one by one. In addition, they tease the use of a 'final girl' when she is seemingly the last one alive to fight the onslaught of monsters, but this concept is removed with the re-emergence of the unlikely hero and pothead, Marty. In addition to these two, the film explores an unlikely presentation of the typical horror concept of 'humans vs other beings' at the end where the heroes and villains of the film almost unite to fight off the monsters late on in the film until Dana stabs the chief officer. In addition to this, many monsters seen in the cube prison at the ending of the film are either a direct or a tongue-in-cheek reference towards typical horror villains and monsters, a good example of this is the fact that Zombies are seen eating at a corpse in the cube prison and again eating various prison staff on the camera footage. In addition to the Zombies, there is a Jack-O-Lantern, Mutants, a Werewolf, and even a reference to 'Hellraiser' by the use of the Hell Lord. Many horror film typical villains are brought & banded together in this final scene, which is a unique use of the most typical horror film convention (a villain) because never before have so many varying antagonists been in such close proximity.
Task 4 (30 mins) Write a 300 word analysis of how the following themes and sub-texts are raised in the film (with examples of scenes that do so) - what is the film trying to say, particularly through its ending?
a) Teen Punishment
b) Gender & Sexuality
c) Yonic & Phallic Imagery
Cabin in the Woods explores horror themes as well as typical conventions throughout the course of the film also. Teen punishment is seemingly the 'main' theme associated with the film due to the sinful and anti-christian ways of the protagonists. You have a promiscuous girl along with the main protagonist who is cheating with a professor, as we find out in the opening scene. On the male side of things, we also have an entertaining and clearly knowledgeable weed enthusiast, who has a bong disguised as a flask to purposely throw any possible authorities off track. These 5 are your typical 'young' people and this is why they are chosen to be punished by the sacrificial organisation. While the other 2 main characters are not as clearly rebellious, they have typical teen angst and flaws which is why they are chosen by the cult to be the 'sacrificial lambs'. Yonic imagery is displayed in the film very evidently at the end, when the male and female lead characters are walking down a corridor populated with various elevators/lifts. This is a symbol of clear feminine power in a movie where female characters are typically dominant over their male counterparts, an example being that the face of the cult is a woman, and of the 5 protagonists, one of the females was the only one to survive the entire onslaught for the entire duration of the film. On the contrary, phallic imagery is also present in the film. The weaponry that is picked up and used by the protagonists is long and very typically male, even when wielded by the females, perhaps this is trying to masculinise the female characters, as a typically feminine lead with no masculine traits is not a common convention in the horror genre. This point also ties in to the ideas of gender & sexuality.
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