[movie] Cabin in the Woods

[hepcat]

I had no problem with the ending.  I thought it fit perfectly with the film's story and tone.

Spoiler for Hiden:

I especially enjoyed the concept that there were no actual bad guys in the films (beyond the monsters, of course).   

Did I mention already how hilarious Bradley Whitford was?   

[Teggy]

Spoiler for Hiden:

I especially enjoyed the concept that there were no actual bad guys in the films (beyond the monsters, of course).  

Spoiler for Hiden:

I don't know that you can say the scientists were not "bad guys". Their actions were for the greater good, but at a minimum their ethics are in a gray area. I suppose they didn't have a choice, but with the betting and celebrations and everything, I didn't feel that sympathetic towards them.

In the end, however, I wasn't going to hold it against Kristen Connolly (yum, btw) for shooting "The Fool".

[hepcat]

Spoiler for Hiden:

Gallows humor would be completely understandable, imho.  These guys had been doing this for years.  They had grown inured to the ritual not because they were unsympathetic...but because the only other option would result in constant misery.  This was pointed out by the inclusion of the security guard who was new and couldn't prevent himself from showing his disgust over the whole situation.  The female scientist in the group was on the cusp as she could understand the security guard's disgust, but also understood that the only way to deal with it if you have no choice in the matter was to just accept it and treat it as a game.  Gnashing your teeth and railing against the system when you know you HAVE to do this for the greater good would only make it harder for them.  There were a few moments of sympathy from the guys though.

On another level, the engineers were us.  They were viewing all this from the safety of their chairs and via a large screen.  We don't feel the need turn away from what's being thrown up on the screen during a horror film, so why would they?
  

[Teggy]

Spoiler for Hiden:

I was kind of curious how the deaths were explained each year. Every year a groups of kids goes to this cabin and doesn't come back? No one notices that?

[hepcat]

Spoiler for Hiden:

I was kind of curious how the deaths were explained each year. Every year a groups of kids goes to this cabin and doesn't come back? No one notices that?

Spoiler for Hiden:

I would guess the amount of governmental involvement in the ritual would be huge due to it having been around since the dawn of man (as evidenced by the paintings and hieroglyphics they displayed frequently).  

I'm also guessing that the setting isn't always a cabin in the woods. 

[Bullwinkle]

Spoiler for Hiden:

Gallows humor would be completely understandable, imho.  These guys had been doing this for years.  They had grown inured to the ritual not because they were unsympathetic...but because the only other option would result in constant misery.  This was pointed out by the inclusion of the security guard who was new and couldn't prevent himself from showing his disgust over the whole situation.  The female scientist in the group was on the cusp as she could understand the security guard's disgust, but also understood that the only way to deal with it if you have no choice in the matter was to just accept it and treat it as a game.  Gnashing your teeth and railing against the system when you know you HAVE to do this for the greater good would only make it harder for them.  There were a few moments of sympathy from the guys though.

On another level, the engineers were us.  They were viewing all this from the safety of their chairs and via a large screen.  We don't feel the need turn away from what's being thrown up on the screen during a horror film, so why would they?
  

Spoiler for Hiden:

I don't disagree that the humor defense mechanism would kick in, but it doesn't make them more sympathetic, from an audience perspective, even if they are a parallel for us.  I also think that cheating with the gasses and such doesn't help how we feel about them.

OTOH, constantly trying to keep the world from annhilation does make them at least anti-heroes.  And they are amiable, so it's hard to hate them too much.

My only problem with the ending is in the attitude of the survivors.  It seemed nihilistic, as I mentioned earlier, but on reflection, it's also very selfish.  All of the teens were worth fighting for, and even the bad guys were sympathetic, as we've just been discussing, so where does the "fuck it, the world deserves to die" attitude come from, exactly?

[PR_GMR]

Spoiler for Hiden:

Gallows humor would be completely understandable, imho.  These guys had been doing this for years.  They had grown inured to the ritual not because they were unsympathetic...but because the only other option would result in constant misery.  This was pointed out by the inclusion of the security guard who was new and couldn't prevent himself from showing his disgust over the whole situation.  The female scientist in the group was on the cusp as she could understand the security guard's disgust, but also understood that the only way to deal with it if you have no choice in the matter was to just accept it and treat it as a game.  Gnashing your teeth and railing against the system when you know you HAVE to do this for the greater good would only make it harder for them.  There were a few moments of sympathy from the guys though.

On another level, the engineers were us.  They were viewing all this from the safety of their chairs and via a large screen.  We don't feel the need turn away from what's being thrown up on the screen during a horror film, so why would they?
  

Spoiler for Hiden:

I don't disagree that the humor defense mechanism would kick in, but it doesn't make them more sympathetic, from an audience perspective, even if they are a parallel for us.  I also think that cheating with the gasses and such doesn't help how we feel about them.

OTOH, constantly trying to keep the world from annhilation does make them at least anti-heroes.  And they are amiable, so it's hard to hate them too much.

My only problem with the ending is in the attitude of the survivors.  It seemed nihilistic, as I mentioned earlier, but on reflection, it's also very selfish.  All of the teens were worth fighting for, and even the bad guys were sympathetic, as we've just been discussing, so where does the "fuck it, the world deserves to die" attitude come from, exactly?

Spoiler for Hiden:

Would you kill someone you really cared just to save the world? I don't think I would. If the girl would have killed her 'fool' companion, she would have been no better than the two douchebag scientists. That's the moral quandary of the film.

[Bullwinkle]

Spoiler for Hiden:

Gallows humor would be completely understandable, imho.  These guys had been doing this for years.  They had grown inured to the ritual not because they were unsympathetic...but because the only other option would result in constant misery.  This was pointed out by the inclusion of the security guard who was new and couldn't prevent himself from showing his disgust over the whole situation.  The female scientist in the group was on the cusp as she could understand the security guard's disgust, but also understood that the only way to deal with it if you have no choice in the matter was to just accept it and treat it as a game.  Gnashing your teeth and railing against the system when you know you HAVE to do this for the greater good would only make it harder for them.  There were a few moments of sympathy from the guys though.

On another level, the engineers were us.  They were viewing all this from the safety of their chairs and via a large screen.  We don't feel the need turn away from what's being thrown up on the screen during a horror film, so why would they?
  

Spoiler for Hiden:

I don't disagree that the humor defense mechanism would kick in, but it doesn't make them more sympathetic, from an audience perspective, even if they are a parallel for us.  I also think that cheating with the gasses and such doesn't help how we feel about them.

OTOH, constantly trying to keep the world from annhilation does make them at least anti-heroes.  And they are amiable, so it's hard to hate them too much.

My only problem with the ending is in the attitude of the survivors.  It seemed nihilistic, as I mentioned earlier, but on reflection, it's also very selfish.  All of the teens were worth fighting for, and even the bad guys were sympathetic, as we've just been discussing, so where does the "fuck it, the world deserves to die" attitude come from, exactly?

Spoiler for Hiden:

Would you kill someone you really cared just to save the world? I don't think I would. If the girl would have killed her 'fool' companion, she would have been no better than the two douchebag scientists. That's the moral quandary of the film.

Spoiler for Hiden:

I don't know.  I'd like to think I'd sacrfice myself, though, 'cause what are you holding on to your life for, exactly?

But it was more the attitude about it that bugged me.  It just didn't seem to be supported by what came before.
 

[Chaz]

On the thing being discussed in spoiler tags:

Spoiler for Hiden:

I took it as a statement on the basic selfishness of humans, teens especially.  Yeah, the world will end, but I'm not willing to die to prevent it.

They may have also been hoping that the lady was lying about the world actually ending.  Which is another potential statement on the horror movie trope of never ever believing anything anyone tells you because it's too unbelievable.  Never mind that you're being hunted by supernatural forces, this thing about how to stop them is TOO MUCH TO BELIEVE.

Even the woman's arrival from out of nowhere was a brilliant deus ex moment.  This massive sacrificial chamber with the facility overrun with monsters, and here comes Sigourney from who knows where to lay it all out.  I love it. 

[Teggy]

Spoiler for Hiden:

I don't know, if you had just experienced what they had, would you be taking such a rational view of everything? They know that people will continue to be picked year after year, and it could be someone they know, who knows. At that point you might be thinking that the world is so screwed up, what's the point in letting it go on? Even beyond that, would you have the balls to put a bullet in your friend's head?

[Bullwinkle]

On the thing being discussed in spoiler tags:

Spoiler for Hiden:

I took it as a statement on the basic selfishness of humans, teens especially.  Yeah, the world will end, but I'm not willing to die to prevent it.

They may have also been hoping that the lady was lying about the world actually ending.  Which is another potential statement on the horror movie trope of never ever believing anything anyone tells you because it's too unbelievable.  Never mind that you're being hunted by supernatural forces, this thing about how to stop them is TOO MUCH TO BELIEVE.

Even the woman's arrival from out of nowhere was a brilliant deus ex moment.  This massive sacrificial chamber with the facility overrun with monsters, and here comes Sigourney from who knows where to lay it all out.  I love it.  

Spoiler for Hiden:

I don't know, if you had just experienced what they had, would you be taking such a rational view of everything? They know that people will continue to be picked year after year, and it could be someone they know, who knows. At that point you might be thinking that the world is so screwed up, what's the point in letting it go on? Even beyond that, would you have the balls to put a bullet in your friend's head?

But none of those thoughts are discussed or mentioned anywhere in the movie.

[Purge]

Yes they were.

Spoiler for Hiden:

The joker was laying out his comments in the van on the way there, how society was failing and humanity needed a reboot. He was immune to the persuasion, but the virgin was not - perhaps the girl who was NOT a virgin would have been willing to shoot her friend to save the world, but she was not. The question with no answer is : did altering the people from their own tendencies unleash the old gods? The other question is whether or not this would be ultimately bad for mankind on the whole, or if this would usher in a new era. Keep in mind that the old gods were placated with only a few deaths a year. Who is to say that they would destroy humanity, or simply take an active role in shaping it and playing with it. At one point a bargain was struck - the future is unknown.

The final statements of the two survivors is that they weren't prepared to kill each other to protect the world they lived in. Chemical, or was it how they felt?

[Teggy]

Spoiler for Hiden:

She wasn't actually a virgin, that was part of the joke.

What came before was that they were doing everything they could to save their own lives - just the 5 of them. I don't think there was really anything in the movie that suggested they would sacrifice one to save the world. They didn't even know the magnitude of the situation until Sigourney explains it to them. They get a major bomb dropped on them that have about 60 seconds to process. I don't think you can expect them to react in one specific way simply based on what you know about them.

[Bullwinkle]

Yes they were.

Spoiler for Hiden:

The joker was laying out his comments in the van on the way there, how society was failing and humanity needed a reboot. He was immune to the persuasion, but the virgin was not - perhaps the girl who was NOT a virgin would have been willing to shoot her friend to save the world, but she was not. The question with no answer is : did altering the people from their own tendencies unleash the old gods? The other question is whether or not this would be ultimately bad for mankind on the whole, or if this would usher in a new era. Keep in mind that the old gods were placated with only a few deaths a year. Who is to say that they would destroy humanity, or simply take an active role in shaping it and playing with it. At one point a bargain was struck - the future is unknown.

The final statements of the two survivors is that they weren't prepared to kill each other to protect the world they lived in. Chemical, or was it how they felt?

Spoiler for Hiden:

I had forgotten about his early comments in the van, though it still seems like there should have been more of a thread throughout the film.  I'll have to watch for it on another viewing.  It doesn't seem like anyone else felt the same, though.  And I still don't think the actions of the kids lends itself to the self-destructive attitude at the end.

The chemicals seemed to have been something they had been doing for a while, so it doesn't seem like that would have had an effect on the outcome.  Much the same way that non-virgin virgins don't.

As for the gods bringing about the destruction of earth, I'm pretty certain that was clearly spelled out a couple of times.  The rules are pretty well laid out.  The movie is consistent with that stuff.  Regardless, to the best of the characters' knowledge that is the case.  They don't seem to have a reason to think otherwise.

Honestly, I don't have a problem with the end of the world at the end, either.  Just their attitude about it.  There were other ways to get to that same ending.  If any of the characters had casually mentioned any of the possibilities mentioned here, for example, as a sort of self-justification.  That would have worked for me better.

Sigourney dies.  They have a moment on the steps.  One of them says something like, "Hey, maybe she was lying." Cue giant god hand coming out of the cabin.  Or even something along the lines of her not really being a virgin, but he really was and maybe one of the staff would fit the fool bill.  I don't know.

Just to be clear, I still really loved the film.  It was just a sour note for me at the end.  A bad ending can ruin a good movie, but it didn't with this one.

[Purge]

Spoiler for Hiden:

All characters, save the Joker were chemically altered in their decision-making and personality to fit the archetypes.

The Whore : she became helpless - she was the Virgin's rock before the trip. Then she became a wanton slut.

The Jock : he knew more about what the virgin was taking than she did. He was smart - that went away. Yes, humour is involved, but this is a horror movie and the jokes and the laughs aren't simply for laughs.

The Brainiac : goes from being Captain of the Football team to being helpless without the virgin, and has no reflexes or leadership seen in the captain of a team. Referred to as Egghead and takes it.

The Joker: immune to the chemical alteration.

The Virgin : was not virgin (duh, this was mentioned on the couch right before the "Egghead" comment)- also became more helpless and unable to make the decisive move to shoot her friend and save mankind. Sigourney wasn't the one to reveal it to her - the scientist said for her to make sure HE dies first. She seemed to understand what was at stake sooner - she wasn't stoned.

IMO, had she not have been altered, she would have been willing to pull the trigger - the irony is them being prepped as lambs for slaughter preventing her from doing what would have needed to be done (remember, it was their "choice").  The Joker had no interest in the existing world or the way it works, but she did.

This is a release of the old gods, and magic. No one knew what this would spell for mankind. They said it would mean everyone dies, but they don't know that. It's funny how that gets missed, but the only thing the scientists knew is that the sacrifice was as old as time, and that the old gods held the magic. Hell, there was a unicorn. I'm simply following the premise and ideas set forth. Who knows, perhaps the old gods would purge the world of humans.

I can't imagine the virgin and joker surviving the old god climbing through where they were sitting.

[Bullwinkle]

Spoiler for Hiden:

All characters, save the Joker were chemically altered in their decision-making and personality to fit the archetypes.

The Whore : she became helpless - she was the Virgin's rock before the trip. Then she became a wanton slut.

The Jock : he knew more about what the virgin was taking than she did. He was smart - that went away. Yes, humour is involved, but this is a horror movie and the jokes and the laughs aren't simply for laughs.

The Brainiac : goes from being Captain of the Football team to being helpless without the virgin, and has no reflexes or leadership seen in the captain of a team. Referred to as Egghead and takes it.

The Joker: immune to the chemical alteration.

The Virgin : was not virgin (duh, this was mentioned on the couch right before the "Egghead" comment)- also became more helpless and unable to make the decisive move to shoot her friend and save mankind. Sigourney wasn't the one to reveal it to her - the scientist said for her to make sure HE dies first. She seemed to understand what was at stake sooner - she wasn't stoned.

IMO, had she not have been altered, she would have been willing to pull the trigger - the irony is them being prepped as lambs for slaughter preventing her from doing what would have needed to be done (remember, it was their "choice").  The Joker had no interest in the existing world or the way it works, but she did.

This is a release of the old gods, and magic. No one knew what this would spell for mankind. They said it would mean everyone dies, but they don't know that. It's funny how that gets missed, but the only thing the scientists knew is that the sacrifice was as old as time, and that the old gods held the magic. Hell, there was a unicorn. I'm simply following the premise and ideas set forth. Who knows, perhaps the old gods would purge the world of humans.

I can't imagine the virgin and joker surviving the old god climbing through where they were sitting.

Spoiler for Hiden:

No one was saying they weren't altered, so I'm not sure why the long diatribe on that.  My point was the altering isn't something new.  They had already been doing it for a while, with no negative effects in the sacrificing. 

As for her still being affected, she seemed pretty level-headed by that point.  I guess it's possible, but there should be a little indication.

Your idea about what releasing the old gods would mean for the world is extrapolation, but it's not based on anything in the movie.  You say they don't know the failed sacrifice means everyone dies, but how do you know that?  The reason it gets missed is that it's not in the movie.  The movie is very cut and dried about what happens when the old gods are released.  Now I'm not saying a sequel couldn't go that route, but it would be tricky.

I would have loved some doubt about that to have played in their conversation at the end.

[Purge]

Spoiler for Hiden:

It wasn't cut and dried though - they simply said they don't know. The "Director" indicated that either he dies, or everyone dies ... that was her stance - but by no means (including during the conversations with the scientists) did they know the consequences of failure since they never had one.

[Bullwinkle]

Spoiler for Hiden:

It wasn't cut and dried though - they simply said they don't know. The "Director" indicated that either he dies, or everyone dies ... that was her stance - but by no means (including during the conversations with the scientists) did they know the consequences of failure since they never had one.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Did they say they didn't know?  It seemed like it was the whole point of what they were doing.

[Purge]

Spoiler for Hiden:

I recall a point where they indicated they didn't know what would happen - that the ritual had been performed to satisfy the agreement made. The sacrifice kept the old gods at rest (per the prayer said during a killing). It's all subjective though, and while I can understand  how people are disappointed with the ending, I really wasn't. In horror flicks, the survival of the good guys is tenuous at best (look at Phantasm, Dawn of the Dead, Evil Dead series, etc).

For them to "win" would have been, IMO silly. And they lost, due to their own choice. As silly as that might seem, it is consistent with the message - man destroys himself - and not always for the right reason.

[Bullwinkle]

Spoiler for Hiden:

I recall a point where they indicated they didn't know what would happen - that the ritual had been performed to satisfy the agreement made. The sacrifice kept the old gods at rest (per the prayer said during a killing). It's all subjective though, and while I can understand  how people are disappointed with the ending, I really wasn't. In horror flicks, the survival of the good guys is tenuous at best (look at Phantasm, Dawn of the Dead, Evil Dead series, etc).

For them to "win" would have been, IMO silly. And they lost, due to their own choice. As silly as that might seem, it is consistent with the message - man destroys himself - and not always for the right reason.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Well, as I said, it wasn't a "win" I was looking for, necessarily.  But I also don't think it's consistent with the message, as the teens were set up to fail, and they succeeded.  They survived against impossible odds, and even supported each other along the way.  At least one died not because he made a selfish choice, but because he was trying to help the others and hit an invisible wall.  They were pulling together for survival as best they could, only to throw not only themselves, but the planet away as well.

If they had done all of that and still failed to stop the end of the world due to, say, something the tech team pulled, it wouldn't have bothered me in the least.

On a related note, there were a couple of moments in the movie that felt like they should have gone somewhere (and could have been used at the end, somehow, probably).  The fact that the tunnel team swears the problem wasn't on their end - what was that about?  The newbie guard - where did he go?

Are these threads that are going to come together in a sequel?

[Teggy]

Spoiler for Hiden:

I think it would be weird to have a sequel - and it would have to be a prequel, as the director has said "have you seen the end of my movie?"

The guard was killed when the zombies broke in. I think he was there so there was a person who was not joking about process, did not seem evil, but was committed to what was going on. It raised more questions for the audience.

I thought it was implied that the stoner messing around with the wires was what caused the tunnel failure.

[Blackjack]

If a movie discussion only takes place within spoiler codes, did it ever really happen?  

I'm off Friday and hope to finally catch it then, and look forward to "opening" the spoiler codes then.  

[Bullwinkle]

If a movie discussion only takes place within spoiler codes, did it ever really happen?  

I'm off Friday and hope to finally catch it then, and look forward to "opening" the spoiler codes then.  

We've actually been talking about you the whole time!

[Purge]

... and I think the discussion part is done.

You'll be grateful that you didn't read all that.

[Blackjack]

My bro and I found about the 1st 45 minutes tedious, and the rest of it spectacularly mind blowing 

But how do you market something where you can't even talk about the best parts of a movie? No wonder the box office is so so. Which is a shame. Imho it's almost too clever for its genre 

[hepcat]

Tedious?  Couldn't disagree more.  I loved the whole thing.  Some of the best laughs and setups were in the first half.

[Bullwinkle]

Tedious?  Couldn't disagree more.  I loved the whole thing.  Some of the best laughs and setups were in the first half.

Yeah, I'm amazed anyone could find that tedious.

A lot of it is intentionally, hilariously mundane (which has the added benefit of making the title card awesome), but tedious?  No way!

[hepcat]

Cabin in the Woods?  Try Outfield in the Ballpark.  Skip to 1:33 for the good stuff. 

Spoiler for Hiden:

I'm guessing this is where at least one denizen of the facility went after she escaped.

[Blackjack]

Tedious?  Couldn't disagree more.  I loved the whole thing.  Some of the best laughs and setups were in the first half.

Tedious in that my brother and I have seen that kind of movie (the early part) 100 times since we were teenagers. Horny teens and sets up of The Jock, the Bong Meister, the Slut, the Good Girl etc. are not to our minds exciting or refreshing. They worked for set-up for later, but there was nothing funny or surprising about the first 30-40 minutes to our eyes/ears until it gets going and even then, I kept waiting for The Twist (which certainly delivered). I almost fell asleep at one point early on (it was a long birthday-day).

In fact, a couple people left the theater during that time and didn't return. I wanted to yell "you're gonna miss the good part," I was trying to show some faith.  

We liked it overall but the fact is, it's maybe going to make $40 million domestically. Supposedly the budget in 2009 was about $30 million. Clearly it's not capturing the mass's imagination despite mostly enthusiastic reviews. Since in essence you can't really talk in trailers about the film's best parts, I don't blame the masses for just dismissing it as another Stupid Horny Teens Get Hacked Up waste of time. It's a shame, but I don't pretend to be a movie marketing genius.

[hepcat]

Tedious?  Couldn't disagree more.  I loved the whole thing.  Some of the best laughs and setups were in the first half.

Tedious in that my brother and I have seen that kind of movie (the early part) 100 times since we were teenagers. Horny teens and sets up of The Jock, the Bong Meister, the Slut, the Good Girl etc. are not to our minds exciting or refreshing.

No offense, but I seriously doubt you were paying attention if that was your impression (I'm guessing you really did fall asleep due to the long b-day).  Otherwise you would've realized they were playing with those conventions repeatedly during the first half of the film.  They became parodies as the film went on, that was the point.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Also, did you just skip over the scenes back at Sacrificial HQ?  They were numerous and certainly NOT standard slasher film tropes.  The first 2 minutes of the film were even great.  

And I hate to call you out, but I highly doubt anyone walked out of the movie showing you attended.    

[Chaz]

This kind of movie was always going to make a huge chunk of its income through DVD/BR sales.  Given its strong word of mouth, it'll probably have a pretty long tail on home video while the people who weren't interested originally keep hearing us yell about it.  Those people might not be curious enough to see it in the theater, but will probably give it a try via rental or outright buying.

[Bullwinkle]

Tedious?  Couldn't disagree more.  I loved the whole thing.  Some of the best laughs and setups were in the first half.

Tedious in that my brother and I have seen that kind of movie (the early part) 100 times since we were teenagers. Horny teens and sets up of The Jock, the Bong Meister, the Slut, the Good Girl etc. are not to our minds exciting or refreshing.

No offense, but I seriously doubt you were paying attention if that was your impression (I'm guessing you really did fall asleep due to the long b-day).  Otherwise you would've realized they were playing with those conventions repeatedly during the first half of the film.  They became parodies as the film went on, that was the point.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Also, did you just skip over the scenes back at Sacrificial HQ?  They were numerous and certainly NOT standard slasher film tropes.  The first 2 minutes of the film were even great.  

And I hate to call you out, but I highly doubt anyone walked out of the movie showing you attended.    

I have to agree.  There are more then enough moments to make anyone paying even a little attention say, "Wait, what is going on?" if they aren't already piecing things together.  It's decidedly not typical.

There are even enough clues in trailers and posters to indicate that it's not going to be typical, so I'd be surprised if that is a factor in ticket sales.

There are a couple of moments that I could see making people uncomfortable enough to walk out (though again, not due to anything typical):

Spoiler for Hiden:

The mounted wolf head make-out scene is not only full of creepy tension, it's also ripe for making older couples feel uncomfortable.  Plus I do think the first murder is pretty gruesome.

I don't imagine that's a common response, though.

[Bullwinkle]

Cabin in the Woods?  Try Outfield in the Ballpark.  Skip to 1:33 for the good stuff. 

Spoiler for Hiden:

I'm guessing this is where at least one denizen of the facility went after she escaped.

Or just check the void (I'm starting to suspect a conspiracy).

[hepcat]

Cabin in the Woods?  Try Outfield in the Ballpark.  Skip to 1:33 for the good stuff. 

Spoiler for Hiden:

I'm guessing this is where at least one denizen of the facility went after she escaped.

Or just check the void (I'm starting to suspect a conspiracy).

Dude, I can't keep track of every post embedded in 2500 page threads.  Let's just assume you never post anything and we'll go from there.

[Bullwinkle]

Cabin in the Woods?  Try Outfield in the Ballpark.  Skip to 1:33 for the good stuff. 

Spoiler for Hiden:

I'm guessing this is where at least one denizen of the facility went after she escaped.

Or just check the void (I'm starting to suspect a conspiracy).

Dude, I can't keep track of every post embedded in 2500 page threads.  Let's just assume you never post anything and we'll go from there.

I think that's how it works.

[hepcat]

On a side note, anyone check out these awesome 8 bit landscape renderings?   I stumbled across them on another site.

[CeeKay]

Cabin in the Woods?  Try Outfield in the Ballpark.  Skip to 1:33 for the good stuff. 

Spoiler for Hiden:

I'm guessing this is where at least one denizen of the facility went after she escaped.

Blackjack already posted that yesterday.

[Bullwinkle]

It's so dark in the void, I think I'm going to be eaten by a grue.

[Azhag]

If anyone cares, amazon finally has a realistic blu ray price. Now $19.99 pre-order

[Razgon]

Tedious?  Couldn't disagree more.  I loved the whole thing.  Some of the best laughs and setups were in the first half.

Tedious in that my brother and I have seen that kind of movie (the early part) 100 times since we were teenagers. Horny teens and sets up of The Jock, the Bong Meister, the Slut, the Good Girl etc. are not to our minds exciting or refreshing. They worked for set-up for later, but there was nothing funny or surprising about the first 30-40 minutes to our eyes/ears until it gets going and even then, I kept waiting for The Twist (which certainly delivered). I almost fell asleep at one point early on (it was a long birthday-day).

In fact, a couple people left the theater during that time and didn't return. I wanted to yell "you're gonna miss the good part," I was trying to show some faith.  

We liked it overall but the fact is, it's maybe going to make $40 million domestically. Supposedly the budget in 2009 was about $30 million. Clearly it's not capturing the mass's imagination despite mostly enthusiastic reviews. Since in essence you can't really talk in trailers about the film's best parts, I don't blame the masses for just dismissing it as another Stupid Horny Teens Get Hacked Up waste of time. It's a shame, but I don't pretend to be a movie marketing genius.

Its clear that Whedon is playing at this point with the horror genre, and why things happen the way they do in horror movies. On top of that, there's some very remarks going on that is foreshadowing a whole lot of stuff happening later on in the build-up phase. I think you were too hung-up on what it seemed to be, to notice what it actually was.