Film The Cabin in the Woods

mycenae

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Saw this last night....its really, REALLY good. Very clever, quite funny in bits, good eye candy for everyone and all the good elements of a decent horror with some great plot twists...highly recommended, specially for anyone who has liked previous Joss Whedons.
However, try not to watch the trailer more than once, read too many reviews or ask others about it....as one reviewer put it....walk into the cinema blindfolded, hope you find the right screen and seat and just watch the movie for what it is.....don't ruin it for yourself :)
 

Edmond

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There was an article on IMDB a couple of weeks ago, about trailers giving too much away, and this film was one of the reasons it was written

I saw the trailer the other week at the cinema and thought then 'they just gave away a major part of the plot right there??'
 

old.user4556

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I thought it was shit, the acting was unbelievably horrific in places and when the plot started to play out I realised that it wasn't going to be what I thought it was going to be.

I do realise it's a bit of a marmite film though, I fall into the "hate it" camp.
 

Urgat

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I thought it was shit, the acting was unbelievably horrific in places and when the plot started to play out I realised that it wasn't going to be what I thought it was going to be.

I do realise it's a bit of a marmite film though, I fall into the "hate it" camp.

I firmly believe it's an amazing film and probably the most important horror film released in very long time... I'll give you my reasons shortly, but first could you explain why you think it is shit?
 

mycenae

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You're entitled to your opinion Big G.....of course, you're WRONG...but..... :p
 

Billargh

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I thought it was incredible, definitely the best horror I've seen in a long time.
 

Wazzerphuk

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Why do people like Josh Whedon? Seriously, he's fucking awful.
 

Vae

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Why do people like Josh Whedon? Seriously, he's fucking awful.
Because he can write stories and dialogue? He's one person (together with Aaron Sorkin) who i'm likely to watch anything he does.
 

gunner440

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I watched a film with a similar title. It was about these conservative suburban girls discovering themselves.
 

Wazzerphuk

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Because he can write stories and dialogue? He's one person (together with Aaron Sorkin) who i'm likely to watch anything he does.

I don't get why people wank over him like he's some kind of second coming yet he's responsible for utter awfulness like Buffy?
 

caLLous

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Anything from Sorkin = an automatic must-watch. Not so much Whedon.
 

Vae

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I don't get why people wank over him like he's some kind of second coming yet he's responsible for utter awfulness like Buffy?
I don't consider him the second coming but he has a knack for dialogue. He's one of the reasons I have high hopes for the Avengers Assemble and I think it shows in the dialogue in the trailers.

Buffy was of variable quality particularly near the end but there's no denying some of it was excellent (thinking in particular of episodes like Hush or Once More with Feeling which were both award winners) and it's influence on TV and popular culture.
 

Wazzerphuk

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I would strongly argue against it ever being "excellent" and having a huge influence, especially on popular culture.
 

Vae

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Well
I would strongly argue against it ever being "excellent" and having a huge influence, especially on popular culture.
It was nominated and won a variety of awards including Emmys'. Being listed as #2 in Empires Greatest 50 TV shows of all time, #41 in TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV shows of all time and listed in Time's 100 best TV shows of all time would seem to indicate that there are enough people who disagree with you for it to be considered influential.
 

Wazzerphuk

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Influential in TV, perhaps. But then I didn't say that, I said influence on popular culture.

Please let me know how it changed the shape of popular culture, I'd be really interested to know. It was just a TV show that some people enjoyed and thought was good, I've seen no evidence of it having shaped or defined popular culture at the time or in the years since.
 

Vae

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Influential in TV, perhaps. But then I didn't say that, I said influence on popular culture.

Please let me know how it changed the shape of popular culture, I'd be really interested to know. It was just a TV show that some people enjoyed and thought was good, I've seen no evidence of it having shaped or defined popular culture at the time or in the years since.
Much as I hate to link it Wikipedia provides a breakdown:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer_in_popular_culture
 

Access Denied

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The only show Joss Whedon has ever done that I don't really get on with is Dollhouse. Other than that, his shows are excellent.

Loved Buffy and Angel and Firefly is truly brilliant. I have high hopes for Avengers Assmeble too.

The thing I like best about his work is that it's truly immersive. You're not just watching from the sidelines.
 

Wazzerphuk

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I'd argue against that being a sign of influence.

References to something show that it has existed, and in the post-modern Television era, pretty much anything is referenced as a joke or for the sake of intertextuality. Otherwise you could argue that every single show or thing that has been referenced in a show like Family Guy, for example, is a big influence on pop culture. Which plainly isn't true.

To say something has had a big influence on popular culture would suggest a changing dynamic caused by it. For example, I'd cite The Beatles, Reality TV etc. as influences on popular culture: they've helped define, shape and change the way people think and view themselves and the culture surrounding them. Buffy? Nah, it's just another TV show.
 

Vae

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Ok then how about:
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/117637-when-tv-became-art-what-we-owe-to-buffy
http://nymag.com/arts/all/aughts/62513/index2.html - cites Buffy as one of the TV shows contributin to a change in TV
http://www.flakmag.com/tv/whedonlegacy.html
http://extension.ucsd.edu/studyarea/index.cfm?vCourse=GINT-81291 - A university course!

I don't think it's a stretch to say it influenced and made possible a number of other TV shows such as Alias, Dark Angel, Charmed, Smallville etc.
It influenced the reboot of Doctor Who:
Russell T Davies has said:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer showed the whole world, and an entire sprawling industry, that writing monsters and demons and end-of-the world is not hack-work, it can challenge the best. Joss Whedon raised the bar for every writer—not just genre/niche writers, but every single one of us

Writers from Buffy and Angel have gone on to work on many other successful projects:
For a television creator/executive producer, a corresponding measure would be how many of their writers move on to find success with other series. And in the case of Whedon, the list is impressive. Shawn Ryan, a writer during season two of Angel, went on to create The Shield. Tim Minear, who worked on both Angel and Firefly, served as executive producer on the short-lived Wonderfalls, and co-created the new FOX drama Drive, scheduled to premier in April.
There are also numerous shows that have hired Whedon alumni as writers, a virtual roll-call of the most critically-acclaimed series from this decade: 24, Alias, Battlestar Galactica, CSI, Gilmore Girls, Grey's Anatomy, Lost, The O.C., Rome, Smallville.
When Angel was cancelled during its fifth season, Felicity/Alias/Lost creator J.J. Abrams immediately snagged two of that series' writers for his own shows. He told Zap2It at the time (Dec. 10, 2004): "You desperately try to find the best people out there to work with. I felt slightly like an ambulance chaser, but... I know he (Whedon) has an amazing ability to find these great writers."

I would hesitate to say that it had a "Changing Dynamic" influence but I don't think it can be denied that it did have a large influence with things such as a strong female lead and the increased role of women as central characters nor the idea of longer story arcs or self contained seasons. Let alone the influence on people at the time who watched it.
 

Wazzerphuk

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The problem is all the things you list there occurred previously. In bigger, more influential forms.

A reboot of Dr Who. Well, that's a reboot - the original program existed before and a return had been desired by many people for many years. That quote is praising of Buffy, but does not say in any shape or form that's why it came back. So that's a no on the influence there.

So staff that worked on a TV programme continue to work in TV afterwards? That's how the industry works. One programme ends, you work on another. Unless of course you're incompetent. So again, that doesn't really prove anything.

Strong female lead and increased role of women as central characters? I think people like Ridley Scott can be attributed to have a far greater influence in this area, and this was done a number of years before Buffy was even a sperm in the testicular production location that is Whedon's mind. Alien (1979) and Thelma and Louise (1991) are two hugely important works in this area. Is Buffy any different? Well yes, she's a toned down, overtly sexualised version of these people, which actually goes some way to counter your argument IMO in regards the strong female lead stuff.
 

Vae

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I think we're to the end of where we're going to get to with this discussion (and have completely derailed the thread). I don't believe (and haven't stated) that it was TV redefining but I do believe that it was a very influencial TV programme at it's time particularly among it's target audience. There are several more points in the articles I linked should you wish to read them (such as killing off of fan favourite characters, development of it's own slang, and long term character development). I don't expect you to do so as I think we have divergent opinions on this matter and no amount of discussion or evidence is going to change our minds. Partly because influence is something rather hard to define and prove.

I would end with an extension of the quote by RTD:
The Observer’s Robin McKie calls Dr. Who a “clever imitation of US hits such as Buffy and Angel : a mixture of smart, ironic humour and creepy horror.” Creator Russell gladly acknowledges that Whedon’s sharp, playful, but also dramatically-deep writing style had great influence on him with regards to Dr. Who.
 

Wazzerphuk

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Time is the true signifier of true influence. In 50 years times will people be speaking of the influences Buffy had? 50 years on we're still very much under the grip of influences like The Beatles. Can you honestly imagine the same reverence of Buffy 50 years on from it's heyday? :D
 

opticle

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I watched this yesterday and loved it. I'd really recommend it if you're into that kind of thing. Was just about to make a thread but thought I'd give search a go for a change ^^

We hadn't seen the trailers and we were completely anticipating an entirely different film (we were expecting your standard cheap-thrills horror flick), which made the reality even more entertaining.

My only gripe is that I liked the ideas so much I just wanted more, it was short and I would have loved more material to enjoy. Watch it :LOL:
 

Urgat

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First... why does evry single fucking thread ion the net about cabin in the woods devolve into a "I love/hate Joss Wheadon" argument.?

Second...

My only gripe is that I liked the ideas so much I just wanted more, it was short and I would have loved more material to enjoy. Watch it :LOL:

Thats easy...

Go back and watch every other horror / slasher film in existance, and while you watch them... put them into the context of this movie... How cool is that! :D
 

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