In 2012, a fantastic thriller featuring Chris Hemsworth's "Cabin in the Forest" was released worldwide. The picture received good reviews, which is surprising, because the plot looks absolutely ridiculous and in some places unlikely. But still, the young film crew managed to conquer both critics and viewers. What is the secret of this film?
The creators of the picture
The thriller “Cabin in the Forest”, reviews of which were positive in all countries where the picture was shown, was shot by director Drew Goddard. He wrote the script for the horror film.
Drew is known in Hollywood as a screenwriter for the hit movies Monster and Lost. Having earned a good reputation on these projects, in 2012 the director received a green light from the Lionsgate film company to shoot his own film.
The producer of the horror film “Cabin in the Woods” was Joss Whedon, who, in 2012, was simultaneously releasing the first part of Avengers for a wide rental.
As an operator, Peter Deming was invited to the set, the arsenal of which includes work on the cult films "Scream-2", "Scream-3", "Scream-4", as well as "Mulholland Drive" and "Jacket".
The music for the picture was written by composer David Julian, who worked on the soundtrack for the thriller "Prestige" by Christopher Nolan.
Short story
"Cabin in the Forest" - a new interpretation of the classic plot of a horror movie. The film begins quite predictably: five college students go to a country house to have a fun weekend.
All who meet them on the way hint that students should not go to an ominous mansion. But they don’t listen to anyone and yet they arrive at their destination. The viewer starts to yawn a little, anticipating the “hackneyed” and “jammed” cliches that are found in any horror movie, but then something incomprehensible begins to happen on the screen.
Suddenly it turns out that in the basement of the house where friends were housed, there is a hidden laboratory, whose employees are seriously preparing for some kind of special operation. They begin to experiment with students: they set zombies on them, cut off all the paths to retreat and calmly watch the death of the main characters.
And so, when it seems that almost all the victims died, a call comes from the “boss” to the laboratory and it turns out that the two still survived - drug addict Marty and young girl Dana. They burst into the laboratory, somehow miraculously destroy the guard, get to the location of the director of the whole spectacle. At this stage, it turns out that the death of their friends is the supreme craft, a kind of sacrifice to the ancient gods. But since the guys disrupted the director’s plan and survived, the angry gods will now rise and destroy the world.
Inspired by the success of the first part of the horror movie, the Lionsgate film company tried to release a sequel, saving on the cast and budget, but based on a story about ancient gods and demons requiring sacrifice. However, the film “Cabin in the Forest: A New Chapter” failed miserably at the box office and received extremely negative reviews.
Kristen Connolly as Dana Polk
Kristen Connolly is a young American television star. She began acting in TV shows and low-budget films in the early 2000s, playing cameo roles.
In 2012, Connolly got the main role in the horror film “Cabin in the Forest”. Her heroine, Dana Polk, is the only girl who survived after all the monstrous experiments with all kinds of attacks by monsters and zombies.
Participation in a commercially successful project had a positive impact on the career of the actress. In 2013, she got a role in the series Thriller "House of Cards" with the participation of Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright.
In 2014, Connolly paired with Adrien Brody starred in the Houdini biopic.
Chris Hemsworth as Kurt Wogan
Chris Hemsworth - certainly the main star of the film "Cabin in the Forest." It was participation in this project that subsequently opened Hemsworth the doors of America’s largest film studios.
Hemsworth's hero, Kurt Vaughan, is the initiator of a trip of five friends to a country house. Unfortunately, the hero dies almost in the middle of the film, trying to escape from the advancing zombies.
Chris Hemsworth became famous worldwide for his role as the god of thunder and lightning Thor in a series of paintings produced by Marvel Studios. Filming in "Avengers" and other films, the action of which is built on the basis of popular comics, enriched the actor. The fee for participating in Avengers: Infinity War, for example, amounted to $ 5.4 million.
Anna Hutchison as Jules Lowden
Actress Anna Hutchison in the fantastic thriller Drew Goddard got the role of Kurt's girlfriend - Jules Lowden. Hutchison destroys the screen heroine in the first 30 minutes of the film. But even such a short appearance in the popular horror film pushed the performer's career to development.
Immediately after filming in "The Cabin in the Forest", the girl was invited to star in the series "Spartacus: War of the Damned", where she played the role of a Roman woman, who became the mistress of the protagonist.
Other role performers
The most colorful character in the picture "Cabin in the Forest" can be called a student Marty Mikalski, who indulges in marijuana and lets out stingy jokes throughout the film.
Due to his dependence on drugs, the guy was unpredictable and invulnerable to all kinds of experiments. It was Marty who turned the tide in the development of the plot, helped Dana survive and destroy all the "villains." The role of Mikalski was played by actor Fran Krantz, who also starred in the TV series "Doll House".
You can also see Jesse Williams (Anatomy of Passion), Richard Jenkins (Visitor), Bradley Whitford (West Wing) and Brian White (Middle-aged Men) in the film.
Premiere and fees
So how much was the thriller “Cabin in the Forest?” Earned at the box office.
Reviews of the film quickly spread in the press and on the Internet, so there was no end to those who wanted to see an intriguing horror movie. Not a dollar was spent on marketing, but the picture at the same time raised $ 66,486,080 at the box office, with peak interest in the tape being observed in the first few weekends.
A "cabin in the forest" was seen in Great Britain, Russia, Ireland, Canada and in another 40 countries. In the Russian Federation, 333.6 thousand viewers watched the picture, who left a total of two million dollars at the box office of movie theaters.
The Cabin in the Woods (2012): Criticism
Horror as a genre is gradually becoming obsolete. But filmmakers like Drew Goddard, who are interested in such a movie, are trying to refine themselves and cross horror movies with other genres, allowing the industry to stay afloat.
Critics were pleasantly surprised by the "Cabin in the Forest." The reviews indicate that even professional observers did not expect that in the final picture the crippled and practically destroyed students would take and cope with hordes of monsters, as well as with those who sent them, and even with the director of the whole experiment.
Everyone was satisfied with the work of the director for one simple reason: he managed to “refresh” the usual course of events with unexpected twists and plot add-ons.
"Cabin in the forest": reviews from viewers
Spectators longed for the good old horror movies, filled with a lot of surprises, when you literally jump in place from fear and surprise. They found all this in the creation of Drew Goddard, plus they had the opportunity to admire the brutal Chris Hemsworth, which ultimately gave good rental revenue.
But the continuation of the horror - “Cabin in the Forest: A New Chapter” - received depressing reviews. The audience advises to avoid this picture, as it has nothing to do with the first part, either in terms of the quality of the plot, or in relation to the film crew and the cast.