Overview
A weekend getaway turns into a nightmare as secrets unfold in the woods.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- witty
- irreverent
- eerie
- horror movie night
- Halloween party
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as a funny, strange, and scary meta-horror that intelligently overturns slasher conventions while remaining an entertaining genre work.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The teenagers occupy recognizable slasher archetypes while the larger mechanism deliberately manipulates their roles and expected fates.
The film treats the cabin slasher setup, monster mythology, and audience expectations as explicit subjects of its plot.
Richard Sitterson and the facility staff monitor and engineer the teenagers' ordeal from a high-tech workplace.
Scenes involving Dana's group are intercut with the observers in the facility, creating dramatic irony around the cabin's apparent isolation.
Films like The Cabin in the Woods, and why
Scream
meta slasher deconstruction, witty genre awareness, and escalating supernatural violence
Shaun of the Dead
self-aware horror comedy, ensemble teenagers, and playful interrogation of genre conventions
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil
isolated setting, monstrous threats, dark humor, and a high-concept horror premise
The Final Girls
institutional conspiracy, reality-bending horror mythology, and sharp comic dialogue
Movie Details
- Director
- Drew Goddard
- Release Date
- 2012-04-12
- Runtime
- 95 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (8836)
Cast
- Kristen Connolly
- Fran Kranz
- Chris Hemsworth
- Jesse Williams
- Anna Hutchison
- Richard Jenkins
- Bradley Whitford
- Amy Acker
- Brian J. White
- Sigourney Weaver
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Cabin in the Woods about?
- A weekend cabin slasher becomes a gleefully self-aware battle between stereotyped victims, hidden handlers, and the machinery of horror itself.
- What is The Cabin in the Woods like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Cabin in the Woods as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Cabin in the Woods violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Cabin in the Woods as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Cabin in the Woods?
- Critics broadly praised the film as a funny, strange, and scary meta-horror that intelligently overturns slasher conventions while remaining an entertaining genre work.
- Which films are like The Cabin in the Woods?
- Films with a similar feel include Scream, Shaun of the Dead, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, and The Final Girls.
- How long is The Cabin in the Woods?
- The Cabin in the Woods runs 95 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Cabin in the Woods?
- In United States, The Cabin in the Woods streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max.
