1. Task 2
The cabin inthe woodsaddresseshorrorfansand if theyare horrorsavvytheywill getnodsto
varioushorrorfilms(saw,evil dead) itusesclichésof the meta-horrorgenre.
The cabin inthe woodsis a self-aware,metahorrorthatis a satire of sorts, spoofingeveryhorror
cliché possible,fromteenagestereotypes( dumbBlondie,virgin,jock,the scholarandthe fool),the
nodsto classichorror films( Evil Dead,Cube,Hell raiser),andeventoWhedon’spreviousprojects
(buffy,angel) whichall horrorfanswill love false scares.Thoughthe mostinteresting/original aspect
of the filmishowitintentionallymocksitself andthe entire horrorgenre (mainlymeta) withit’s
ridiculousclichéddeaths(deathisnearwhenthere’snudity) the blonde diesfirst,thoughsomewhat
of a spoilerthe fool isimmune ‘literally’tothe trapsawaitinghim, howeverunintentionalitmaybe
and somehowfindshimself tothe endof the film.
The filmcleverlymockswhyteenage charactersinparticulardostupidthings(forexample when
Dana’s iskillingthe zombie,Sittersonflipsthe switch,sendingavoltage throughthe knife making
herdrop it!Againthismocks andsemi explainswhytheseactionstake place thoughdirectlyisgiving
the audience whattheywantandneed...The teenstolose theirlives.Otherwise itwouldn’tbe a
horror film,orwouldit?A lot of the filmusesthe actor’sstupiditytoalmostenlightenthe audience
on whathorror has become,if theyhadn’tfiguredthatalready.The filmsposterusesanchorage
witha cabinfloating,thoughaslightlyopaque backgroundthatresemblesawoodedarea,fixing
itself tothe name the cabinin the woods,anotherprominenttheme thatthe producersintendto
narrate to the audience,byhandfeedingthe informationtothem, insteadof havingtorealise it
themselves.
Horror filmstypicallyuse low keylighting,suspenseful musictocreate tension;thatkeepsthe
audience onedge.Thisisnodifferent,asinthe cabininthe woodsusessuspenseful musictobuild
up tensionforthe viewer,whiletheyknow exactlywhatit’scomingIt’sjustamatter of time when,
be it straightor afterthe more likelyfalse scare.Handheldfootage hasbecome more prominentin
modernhorrorfilmsas an easywayto once again create tensionandtoenhance realism, forthe
audience tofeel vulnerable andlike they’re actuallythere butinrealitythey’re athome orin the
cinema.
The filmcleverlysubvertsthe clichésandannoyingtraitsof the horrorgenre intosomethingclever,
challengingandthoroughlyenjoyablethoughthe one bigthingitlacksisreallybite whenitcomesto
the jumpscares,somethingthatwould’ve made thisfilmamasterpiece inmyopinion.
The filmaddressesthe audiencebyusingrelatablecharactersthatare screenfriendlywhile onthe
otherhand vulnerableandstupidenoughtomake usempathize withthem;atypical trait of horror
films.The 5 maincharacters alsofitthe target audience (young,teenagers-earlyadults)
