Of course one of the most anticipated horror films of this year would open on Friday the 13th. The Cabin in the Woods, penned and directed by Cloverfield and Buffy the Vampire Slayer screenwriter (TV show) Drew Goddard, opened last week with lots of hoopla behind it. It doesn't hurt the film's street cred that Buffy creator and cult favorite Joss Whedon helped write and produce the movie.
The celluloid has barely warmed up and already Internet critics are giving it big praise. The review site Rotten Tomatoes ranks it 92 percent on the "tomatometer." The movie has been compared to previous comedy/horror flicks, such as Scream and Evil Dead, noted for having "plenty of hyuks to match the yuks."
By its title, you would think this movie is pretty cliché. A cabin in the woods with horror around; it sounds like the description of a million other campy, B-movie horror flicks. The "woods" and the horror genre go hand in hand like a demonstrative woman falling for a wayward dude and a Katherine Heigl movie. Just because there have been far too many cabin-in-the-woods horror movies doesn't mean all of them were bad (and even the bad ones are good in a cheesy way).
Here are our top 10 "cabin in the woods" horror flicks.
10. There's Nothing Out There Woo-hoo! Spring break! Oh wait, no...When a bunch of rowdy teens do almost anything for spring break, it is guaranteed to be a nightmare. When a bunch of rowdy teens head to a cabin by a lake deep in the forest, well, someone's getting killed. The movie Scream may have stolen a few ideas from this one as there is an all-knowing horror film nerd who warns the group of their coming demise. Would you listen to him? No, spring break! 9. Silent Voyeur
Imagine waking up naked and alone in the middle of the Florida Everglades. You stumble through the forest confused as to how you got there and who the hell you are. Luckily, you find a little cabin complete with a man and woman holding another guy hostage with a shotgun. Perfect timing! You have no idea who they are, but they know you, sort of. The gun toters say you are one person and the hostage says you are another. Silent Voyeur is an indie flick that sadly went unnoticed. It's an excellent example of how to turn one big argument into a psychological thriller.
8. Pumpkinhead As it is standard in B horror films, when you wrong someone, you too shall be wronged. What is not standard is to be wronged by a Jack-O'-lantern-headed corpse, unless you are Ichabod Crane. Pumpkinhead is about as ridiculous as any cabin the woods movie can get. Some jerk-offs on dirt-bikes kill a kid for no apparent reason and go seek refuge in a deserted cabin in a weird backwoods town. Good idea, guys. The kid's father seeks revenge from a witch (yes) who helps him resurrect ole' Pumpkinhead. Nothing good happens from there, save the majority of the dirt-bikers getting annihilated. Why did you kill that kid with your Mongooses again? 7. Sleepaway CampNSFW There are few slasher/camp flicks that quite match the perversity of Sleepaway Camp. Molestation, multiple personality and the most awful murder involving a curling iron and the female anatomy, are just a few of the highlights.
