Better Than Citizen Kane (The Cabin in the Woods Review)
This week's installment of the Halloween Horror Marathon is The Cabin in the Woods (2012)! Horror? Comedy? Sigourney Weaver? Need we say more?
Review Overview: Enjoyable, fun movie.
Best watched with a group. Even better if you go in blind with it.
It does its job.
7/10 - Ryley
6/10 - Kat
Both: [00:00:00] Hello
Kat: and welcome to
Both: Easy Bake Takes,
Ryley: the podcast!
Kat: Where we read you the one star reviews of your favorite movies and more. My name's Kat
Ryley: and I'm Ryley,
Kat: and this is week five, four- five- is this week five?
Ryley: This is, this is week four cuz we've done four horror movies.
Kat: This is five then, we've already done four. So this is week five.
Ryley: Oh.
Kat: Week five of Halloween Horror Marathon. And this week I wanted to do a horror comedy. If you saw on our Instagram, you saw that the schedule said that I was gonna do Teeth. Um, we decided not to do Teeth because-
Ryley: For obvious reasons.
Kat: That's a lot right now. Okay, that's all I'm gonna say. [00:01:00] But I, I wanted to still do a horror comedy, so I picked the Cabin in the Woods.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: Which came out in 2012, is rated R and is a cute little hour and 35 minutes long. So the plot. In an underground laboratory. Oh wait, okay. Also, I wanna add for, if you haven't seen this before, and you don't know anything about it, go watch it first.
Ryley: Yes.
Kat: Because that is the best way to watch this movie.
Ryley: Exactly.
Kat: So go watch that and come back, please.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: Thank you. But for everybody else. In an underground laboratory, engineers, Gary Sitterson and Steve Hadley discuss plans for a mysterious ritual after a similar operation in Stockholm has just ended in failure. American College students, Dana Polk, Jules Louden Curt Vaughn, Holden McCrea and Marty Mikalski are spending their weekend at Curt's cousin's cabin in the forest. From the lab Sitterson and Hadley remotely control the cabin and manipulate the students by intoxicating them with mind altering drugs that have effects such as hindering rational thinking and increasing libido. The lab [00:02:00] departments take bets on what kind of monster will attack the students and discuss the failures of international operations. In the cabin cellar, the group finds bizarre objects including the diary of Patience Buckner, a cabin resident abused by her sadistic family. Dana recites incantations from the diary and inadvertently summons the zombified Buckner family. Hadley releases pheromones to induce Curt and Jules to have sex outside. They are attacked by zombies and Jules is decapitated while Curt escapes. Marty discovers concealed surveillance equipment in his room before being dragged off by a zombie. The lab workers learn that the rite in Japan has also failed, meaning that the American rite is humanity's last hope. Curt, Holden, and Dana attempt to escape in their rv, but Sitterson triggers a tunnel collapse to block them. Curt attempts to jump a ravine on his motorcycle to seek help on the other side, but crashes into a force field and falls to his death. Holden and Dana realize that their experience is staged and controlled. As they try to escape in the rv, Holden is killed by a zombie and Dana is attacked once the RV [00:03:00] crashes into the lake. The lab employees seeing that Dana is the only survivor, celebrate the success of the rite but are interrupted by a call from the director, revealing that Marty is still alive. Marty saves Dana and takes her to a hidden elevator he discovered. They descend into the lab and discover a large collection of different monsters locked in cages. Dana correlates them with the objects in the cabin cellar and realizes that the objects determine which monsters are released. Cornered by security personnel, the pair release all the monsters, which wreak havoc and slaughter the staff, Hadley is killed by a merman while Dana accidentally stabs Sitterson who bleeds to death. Dana and Marty flee and discover an ancient temple where they are confronted by the director. She explains the worldwide annual rituals of human sacrifice are held to appease the ancient ones, a group of cruel subterranean deities. Each region has its own ritual, and the American ritual involves the sacrifice of five slasher film archetypes, the Whore, Jules, the Athlete, Curt, the Scholar, [00:04:00] Holden, the Fool, Marty and the Virgin, Dana. The order of the killings is arbitrary as long as the Whore dies first and the Virgin dies last or survives. The director urges Dana to kill Marty to complete the ritual and spare humanity as all other rituals had failed that year. Dana is about to, but is attacked by a werewolf while Patience kills the Director. Marty proceeds to kill all except Dana. Deciding that humanity is not worth saving at the price of human sacrifices, Dana apologizes to Marty for almost killing him and the two shared joint while waiting for their fate. The temple floor collapses and a giant hand emerges from the ground destroying the facility and the cabin as the world ends. The end.
Ryley: Crazy movie.
Kat: It is. It is. And if you don't know that this is a comedy, when you go into it, even better.
Ryley: Yes, yes.
Kat: This movie was directed by Drew Goddard and written by Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon, who worked together on Cloverfield, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel.
Ryley: I love Cloverfield.
Kat: And the cast is [00:05:00] Kristin Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchinson, Jesse Williams, Fran Kranz, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, Brian White. And most importantly, Sigourney Weaver.
Ryley: Our star.
Kat: The star of my heart. The tagline for this movie was, five friends go to a remote cabin in the woods, bad things happen.
Ryley: Okay.
Kat: They kept it real vague.
Ryley: Yeah, they did. I like that though. I'm glad there was no like, surprises with that.
Kat: Yeah. Like the, that does happen.
Ryley: Yep. Mm-hmm.
Kat: But the, the first kill in the movie doesn't happen until about 44 minutes in.
Ryley: Oh.
Kat: It's a long time in a horror movie to go without anyone dying.
Ryley: Yeah. Definitely.
Kat: I guess I can get into that when we do our thoughts, but I was just gonna say, it doesn't feel like it takes that long.
Ryley: No, because it's entertaining. It's really fun all the way through
Kat: because it flips back and forth from the lab to them to like the time flows a little better.
Ryley: Yes. And like you're sitting there wondering like, what's happening? Like what's really going on?
Kat: Yeah.
Ryley: This is weird. This is not your traditional horror movie.
Kat: [00:06:00] Yeah, exactly. I didn't remember it starting with the lab. I don't know why I didn't remember that.
Ryley: I didn't remember that either.
Kat: Yeah.
Ryley: Because I, I watched it so long ago the first time and I don't think you pick it up. I don't think you're really paying it much of attention.
Kat: Yeah. Cuz you don't know what the lab is yet.
Ryley: Yeah. You have, you don't, you don't have context for it.
Kat: That's true. That's true.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: But the Evil Dead, 1984, Resident Evil, uh, the Friday the 13th franchise and Cab- Cabin Fever and Saw are considered to be influences behind the film. And the Evil Dead one is very blatant.
Ryley: Yes.
Kat: Cause the Evil Dead Two is clearly also kind of a comedy.
Ryley: Oh, they get sillier. Have you seen the third one?
Kat: No, I've only, I haven't even seen the first one. I've only seen the second one cause we watched it in History of Horror.
Ryley: The first one is the darkest of the three.
Kat: Makes sense.
Ryley: The second one is definitely it knows what it is. And they're just having fun with it.
Kat: I love the second one.
Ryley: The second one's so fun. The third one is times travel. Well, I don't wanna, I don't wanna say it.
Kat: Well, doesn't well, doesn't the last [00:07:00] one end with him time traveling?
Ryley: Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
Kat: Okay. So it picks up, it picks up from the time traveling.
Ryley: It picks up right after that.
Kat: That's hilarious.
Ryley: It's bonkers. I totally watch it.
Kat: That sounds insane.
Ryley: It's so much fun.
Kat: I'll definitely watch that. I, I knew there were other ones. I forgot that it ends with him time traveling.
Ryley: It's hilarious. And I love Bruce Campbell, he's just fantastic.
Kat: Well, Bruce Campbell was considered to play the director, so Sigourney Weaver's role in this movie.
Ryley: Dang, that would've been funny.
Kat: Yeah. And then also the film takes place in a cabin in the woods where most horror elements take place.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: And then Campbell obviously is known for his role as Ash Williams in the Evil Dead franchise, which primarily takes place in a cabin in the woods.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: The camper that the characters drive in the beginning when they're going to the cabin is a reference to the Hills Have Eyes.
Ryley: That's a dark movie.
Kat: It is.
Ryley: So sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. I just, I just, that movie just gives me-
Kat: The willies?
Ryley: That make that movie, makes my skin crawl.
Kat: Mm-hmm. But the, the coffee mug bong was fully functional and the [00:08:00] prototype cost $5,000 to make, so you could actually use the coffee mug bong.
Ryley: Oh, I love that.
Kat: That's such like, the fact that it collapses like that, that's insane that it actually works too. Like.
Ryley: The ingenius-ness of stoners is, it's pretty impressive.
Kat: Genuinely is.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: But like, that's the whole thing with his character, I guess, is that he's like a really smart stoner.
Ryley: Yeah.
Kat: But the failed rituals from the other countries are references to various classic horror movies, obviously, and the monsters in them. So the Kyoto Ritual, the reference to the ring.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: The Buenos Aires ritual is a reference to King Kong. The Stockholm ritual is reference to John Carpenter's the Thing.
Ryley: Oh.
Kat: The Madrid reference appears to reference Dracula. And then the Latin that Dana reads from the diary is Dolor supervivo caro, dolor sublimus carro, dolor ignio animus. It means pain outlives the flesh. Pain raises the flesh. Pain ignites the spirit.
Ryley: Oh, so they are actual like words?
Kat: Mm-hmm.
Ryley: That's pretty cool.
Kat: And if anyone knows Latin, and I said any of that wrong, that's [00:09:00] too bad. It's a dead language.
Ryley: Don't say anything about it.
Kat: Leave that to yourself. But the movie's opening was a deliberate attempt by the filmmakers Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon to confuse the audience and make them think they walked into the wrong movie.
Ryley: Yeah.
Kat: Immediately after an early preview screening with fan Q and A, the first question director Drew Goddard was asked was, will there be a sequel? To which he responded, have you seen the ending to my movie ?
Ryley: The World Ends, dude. No, of course not.
Kat: What? What's sequel? The next Civilization, like.
Ryley: You could possibly make a prequel. Possibly.
Kat: I guess you could. It wouldn't have the same air.
Ryley: Yeah, there- I don't see the point. There wouldn't be a point.
Kat: But among the various possible monsters on their control room whiteboard, one of them just is just listed as Kevin and-
Ryley: it's Kevin Jonas.
Kat: Although Kevin is never seen, in the tie-in book, the Cabin in the Woods the official Visual companion, co-writer, Drew Goddard, [00:10:00] said that Kevin was meant to be a sweet looking guy who seemed like he might work at Best Buy until he dismembers people.
Ryley: Kevin Jonas. I love that.
Kat: Oh my God. Okay. But the last trivia fact I have is that Jamie Lee Curtis was actually considered for a Sigourney Weaver's role.
Ryley: That would've been good too.
Kat: I think so too.
Ryley: I love Sigourney and I'm, I'm fine with her and the role that she plays. But I would've loved to see Bruce Campbell be in that role.
Kat: Yeah.
Ryley: Just as a horror fan, that would've been just like a little cherry on top. You know?
Kat: It would've, and I think, like, as a horror fan, Jamie Lee Curtis would've been really good too.
Ryley: Yes. Mm-hmm. that would've been, yeah. Oh yeah. Of course.
Kat: The, the Final Girl. The Final Girl.
Ryley: Yeah, exactly. That actually would've been really, really cool. Like, that would've like just tied it all. Yeah.
Kat: That would've been perfect.
Ryley: That would've been perfect.
Kat: But, that's all the trivia, so I'll pass it on to you. What did you think?
Ryley: I saw it years ago with my family, and I don't think we knew we, I don't think we knew. I don't, I don't think anyone who went to go see this movie knew what, what exactly it was.
Kat: [00:11:00] Yeah. And I don't think it was marketed to like.
Ryley: No.
Kat: Yeah.
Ryley: Everyone just thought it was gonna be a messed up movie.
Kat: Mm-hmm.
Ryley: I think we did know it was gonna be like a little bit different, but when we watched it, we were confused, we were thrown off, and then we were like, oh my God, this is so smart. It's a great parody. It's great satire and it's just really smart.
Kat: In a different way than like the scary movie movies like this is.
Ryley: Exactly, yeah, exactly. It's really fun. This is a really fun movie. This is like different from the other horror movies we've talked about where I just like horror movies in general. It's not really horror. I mean, it is. You can argue it is.
Kat: It's not a horror in its truest sense.
Ryley: Right.
Kat: I guess. Yeah. It's more of like, it has the gore and like there's scary stuff in it, but Yeah.
Ryley: But in a parody context, so.
Kat: Yeah. It's more comedy than horror.
Ryley: Oh yeah, definitely. It's super fun.
Kat: Mm-hmm.
Ryley: and I love this movie. It's very good. I hadn't seen it in years.
Kat: Mm-hmm.
Ryley: So when I went back to rewatch it, [00:12:00] it. Just, it's a good treat. You kind of forget about it and then when someone brings it up, you're like, that was a good movie. It's one of those movies.
Kat: I agree. I didn't see it when it came out. I didn't watch it until I took that history of horror class.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: This is one of those movies that I had no idea what it was about, had no idea anything about it. I honestly thought it was gonna be like a paranormal movie because of the poster and stuff. Like, I, I think in my mind I confused it with the movie Last House on the left.
Ryley: Mm. Yeah.
Kat: And then when I watched it genuinely, like, I'm not kidding, if you haven't seen it and like if you don't, if you know somebody who hasn't seen it and knows nothing about it, show them this movie because it will like the viewing experience of going in with nothing.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: I think it's great for any movie, but like especially a movie like this, you need to go in not knowing anything about it to truly enjoy everything about it.
Ryley: Absolutely. And so much fun to see that person watching it for the first time, realizing what it is, like, what's going on. It's very fun. It's very different. As much cliches as they [00:13:00] do, it's very unique.
Kat: It is.
Ryley: It's its own thing.
Kat: Yeah. Like there's nothing else. I can't, I can't really say that there's much else like it.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: I think you could say like the Evil Dead two, is kind of like along the lines.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: There's some movies that like kind of reach into like this satirical angle to horror, but like, not like this.
Ryley: Not like this, no.
Kat: Pretty- it's a smart movie.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: I don't know how to explain it, but it, the sincerity of it, like the parts that are serious doesn't feel cheesy.
Ryley: Mm-mm.
Kat: Everything plays well.
Ryley: I agree.
Kat: I honestly don't have much to say about it personally.
Ryley: Same. I just have a general good opinion of this movie honestly. This is just one of those movies where like, I'm not gonna pick little things out of it. I'm just gonna tell you to watch it. Just go and watch it. It's so much fun.
Kat: Exactly.
Ryley: You'll have a good time.
Kat: You will. I'm good to move on if you are. Like I know that's probably the shortest.
Ryley: It was a little quick one, but.
Kat: Yeah. But I genuinely, I was like watching it and I was like, I don't even know what to write down.
Ryley: Yeah, exactly.
Kat: Cause it would just be me listing the little bits, you know, [00:14:00] like.
Ryley: Exactly. I'm not, you know, I'm not gonna take away those. They're not gonna be as funny when I say it, so.
Kat: Yeah.
Ryley: So go see it.
Kat: It's hard to explain what's good about this movie without getting into like really detailed like analysis of it.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: And I think a lot of that's gonna be done in like the critics. So we can talk about it more there.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: If you love our opinion section, I'm sorry, it'll be short this week.
Ryley: We'll talk more.
Kat: We will. Don't worry. We'll keep talking.
Ryley: Yeah.
Kat: We'll move to the critics, they got a 92% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
Ryley: Oh, nice.
Kat: I really did have to dig to find people who-
Ryley: Disliked it?
Kat: Yeah. Not even just like disliked just hated it.
Ryley: Oh really?
Kat: Yeah. There's one or two, but this first review is from Indie Wire, written by Eric Kohn from 2012, who gave it a b plus and titled it- I guess they had watched it at South by Southwest, and so they said, "Joss Whedon scripted cabin in the woods turned B movie meta into scary pop art." And they start with quote, "the [00:15:00] deceptively simple tagline points to a movie with a lot to hide." End quote.
Ryley: Very true.
Kat: They say that it ranks among one of the most wryly self-aware works of American pop culture entertainment in years. And so- but also says that, sometimes it's too clever for its own good, however, by successfully analyzing these tired formulas that they are critiquing in the movie, they give them new life.
Ryley: I never understand when they say sometimes, and this will be to anything, it'd be like, it's too clever for its own good. I never understand that
Kat: I think its- in my mind, I read that when I see stuff like that, I know it's probably not to this extreme, but it just kind of gives me the same sentiment of saying like, someone was stuck in their own dick.
Ryley: Mm.
Kat: Going too hard on trying to be clever, I guess. I guess. Not that it tries too hard, but it's like it's trying.
Ryley: It's too confident.
Kat: It's too confident in how clever everything they're doing is, which like, I guess you could kind of say.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: Sort of.
Ryley: Yeah.
Kat: But they said that in the beginning, the goofy chemistry of the character seems like if the Scooby Doo gang [00:16:00] wandered onto a B movie set and that comes up a lot comparing them to Scooby Doo.
Ryley: I was about to say, I thought of that too. That's what I thought.
Kat: They just need a dog.
Ryley: Yeah. Honestly.
Kat: Mm-hmm. They mention how it parallels events from Evil Dead, and they say, quote, "this much we know from the start, the survivors exist in an apparent rat maze subject to the whims of their mysterious captors, whose headquarters resemble the backstage control hub of the Truman Show. Constantly dissecting the onscreen action, they sound more like neurotic screenwriters than mad scientists. If you've ever watched a crappy movie and wondered who writes this shit, look no further, it's these guys." End quote.
Ryley: Oh dang.
Kat: Quote, "horror purists will rejoice at this nugget of gospel. Despite the puppet masters genial matter, their elusive agenda eventually takes on an air of mischievousness. Even then, the scheming steals the show by satirizing the notion of pat storytelling methods by reducing them to office bureaucracy." End quote.
Ryley: Yeah, and that's the, I think the cleverness of this movie, it's, it's-
Kat: To them it's another [00:17:00] day at the office.
Ryley: Exactly. Even this horror cabin where teens go, and get murdered.
Kat: Mm-hmm.
Ryley: Is someone's job, someone's office job. They're like, don't talk to me until I've had my coffee.
Kat: Like they have like a Yeah, they have like so many departments too. They have like an engineering department. They have like an electric department. Like.
Ryley: It's very funny. It's so comical in that, in that sense.
Kat: Like my favorite thing, like one of my favorite lines in this movie is at the end when Dana's just sitting there, she's like, I don't even think curt had a cousin. I don't think he has any cousins.
Ryley: I don't think he has any cousins. I love that.
Kat: And then they say that the cabin cast is naive and underwhelms, but that's exactly the point.
Ryley: Yeah.
Kat: And then they end with, "all's well that ends well and the cabin in the woods nearly gets there, arriving at a madcap finale in which the id of the genre excess explodes in glorious detail. But once cabin in the woods arrives at the big tell all moment, it immediately becomes a lesser movie. The fun factor trumps its greater intentions and makes it hard to praise without the one thing it [00:18:00] lacks, namely, restraint. When it finally ends cabin in the woods never shakes the sense that it's a deeply ridiculous parody of itself, and so it's own worst critic." End quote. I could kind of see what they're saying. Like the way it ends kind of makes it point the finger at itself.
Ryley: I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.
Kat: No.
Ryley: I don't- I don't mind the ending at all. I'm just glad like once it's the end, it's the end. It doesn't keep going on.
Kat: Yeah.
Ryley: After that, cuz they could have made the mistake where they did that too early.
Kat: Mm-hmm.
Ryley: I don't think it's a bad thing to point the finger back at yourself.
Kat: I think it just makes it that much more self aware.
Ryley: Yeah, exactly.
Kat: But this next one is just somebody who didn't like it.
Ryley: Okay.
Kat: This is from The Spectator and was written by Deborah Ross in 2012. Uh, she titled it Routine Carnage. And says that this movie offers little in the surprise department and is insufferably dreary. Says quote, "it's a comic horror film, and although I do not like horror comic or otherwise, it's the only major release this week so I felt compelled." End [00:19:00] quote.
Ryley: I think it's the funniest thing to say I hate comedy. Anytime someone says that. I, I, I think that's the funny, I think that's the funniest thing to say. I hate comedy.
Kat: Yeah.
Ryley: I hate to laugh.
Kat: I feel like it's usually the kind of people who don't realize that there's comedy in everything.
Ryley: In everything.
Kat: Do you hate like fun?
Ryley: Yes.
Kat: Do you get mad at kids when they're giggling? Like?
Ryley: That's what I, I think anyone who gen genuinely says, I. Comedy. It is like, oh, what do you do then?
Kat: Yeah.
Ryley: What do you do? What are, what are you like ?
Kat: It just, it see, like it gives the energy of a, a really old teacher who never wanted to teach to begin with.
Ryley: Yeah.
Kat: And they're just constantly yelling at their class.
Ryley: It's so odd to me. I love how they said there's no surprises. What do you mean? No, sur you, you predicted what was gonna happen. You predicted all that?
Kat: Yeah.
Ryley: Wow. You should write movies then.
Kat: They also mentioned that they went to see it because it had a 95% on Rotten [00:20:00] Tomatoes, and I feel like they only wrote this review to bring that number down a little.
Ryley: Yeah, cuz they hate comedy. They hated how much it was succeeding.
Kat: They're at fault. They're at fault for that 3% that it went down. They disagree with like the sentiments of all the other critics. Other critics were describing this movie as like a game changer. They described it as hilarious and frightening, but they disagree with all of that. They criticize the fact that the girls are hot because the hot girls are always victims in horror, especially slashers. It just seems like this person didn't realize that it was a satire.
Ryley: Yeah, that's what I'm assuming. Most- what the rest is gonna be is like they just didn't get it.
Kat: Yeah. Cause she knew it was a comedy.
Ryley: But they hate comedy, so they're not gonna be.
Kat: Yeah.
Ryley: They're uncapable of getting it .
Kat: Yeah, exactly that. That specific element in her mind, that's not a critique. That's just an upholding of a standard.
Ryley: Yeah, exactly.
Kat: They end this review with quote, "this is, I know, a self-aware film, it's cliches are parodies of horror cliches generally, but [00:21:00] to subvert a form it should first and foremost work as an entertainment, and it most surely does not." I don't think it's because I don't know enough about, "I don't think it's because I don't know enough about the genre. I got scream, didn't I? And as for the one surprise, a cameo at the end from someone who may or may not be Sigourney Weaver, I'll leave you guessing, it's purely so they have someone to blather on about appeasing the ancients while pretending the plot, which is a torturous mess, makes any sense at all." End quote. They hint towards appeasing something the whole time or stopping something the entire time.
Ryley: Well, yeah, they're always saying like, well, this like, uh-
Kat: The guys downstairs.
Ryley: Yeah, but they're like, they're always saying like, well, this site failed in this country. This site failed in this country. They literally like, there's a point where they're like, America's our only hope.
Kat: Yeah. They're like, we're banking on the Japanese they said at one point.
Ryley: Yeah. And it's constantly hinting. They just didn't pay attention.
Kat: Yeah. But the next review is also negative, and it's from Esquire written by Nick Pinkerton in 2012 [00:22:00] titled The Horror Movie Dies Again. They mentioned that Drew Goddard described the film as a very loving hate letter to the horror genre, and they say, quote, "the kids in cabin have been unwittingly cast a la Truman show as movie stars on the screens in Steve and Richard's control room. They're also stars in the filmmakers own assassination of the horror genre." End quote.
Ryley: Twice they mentioned the Truman Show, which I think is very funny.
Kat: I think this one also mentioned Scooby too.
Ryley: Oh my God, that's so funny. So they're saying like the directors and writers turn their back on the horror genre and are-
Kat: Yeah.
Ryley: Like making fun of it. Is that what they're trying to say?
Kat: Goddard himself described it as a loving hate letter. Like they're critiquing it, but they have a lot of love and respect for the genre.
Of course, of course.
This person kind of clears that up a little bit, but I think this person sees it as an like, they're putting the nail in the coffin on the old ways of the horror genre or something.
Hmm.
They mentioned that the goal of this film is to blow up everything we know about horror that came before it. And [00:23:00] Pinkerton says that the frustrations that they have with the horror genre, like the writer and director aren't misdirected, but it's really about horror movies of 20 or more years ago that they're critiquing, not like horror of the time. Which I, I, that is true.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: Like, it's, it's about old slashers.
Ryley: Yeah. But though, arguably those are like very well known in classics, some of them, a lot of them classics, especially the ones that we listed off that they were inspired by.
Kat: Exactly. Like the fact that the movie was inspired by a lot of those is exactly why they're critiquing those ones.
Ryley: Exactly. They're, they're very famous, well known horror movies.
Kat: Yeah.
Ryley: And that's perfectly fine. You can still like those movies and know what's really wrong about them. That's, you can absolutely do that. That's fine.
Kat: I, I think what they mean by saying that the frustrations are misdirected is, I think that this person feels that it's kind of, those are so old that it doesn't feel like it matters to critique them now, I guess is kind of what I'm getting from it. But like, you know, there's always room to talk about the issues with [00:24:00] stuff from the past like that that's how we learn and grow as a society.
Ryley: Exactly. And think about all those kids who are gonna see those movies. They need a movie that critiques 'em in some way.
Kat: This is definitely the genre that can critique stuff that's so old because it, it's ingrained in just how the, the genre's built.
Ryley: Exactly. The genre is just building off what it's been, but like and reflect what it is now, whatever it is at the time of society.
Kat: That's why I'm kind of glad that I ended up going with this movie because I think it, it goes well with what we're doing. Like this little marathon.
Ryley: Yeah, exactly. Good conversation about the genre, you know, brings up good conversation.
Kat: Exactly. But they also compare the- The kids too scooby do gang.
Ryley: I love that. It's true. I get it. I saw it too.
Kat: They say quote, "cabin's careful manipulation meanwhile keeps us at bay from the spooks, even going so far as to parody it's filmmakers as men behind the curtain puppeteers who talk Hollywood bottom line. Gotta keep the customer satisfied while de-eroticized tits [00:25:00] pop up in the air. Of course self-awareness in American movies is as old as Buster Keaton's Sherlock Jr., but what we're dealing with here is the boorish postmodernism made famous," in nineties, "in nineties by Wes Craven, Scream, New Nightmare, and on the more highbrow end, Michael Haneke's Funny Games, the former director, extensively name checked no less, in this years po po mo Detention by music video vet Joseph Kahn, one of those prodigious talents who can do anything with a movie camera, but probably shouldn't do anything." End quote. That was a lot of information.
Ryley: That was a lot. That was a lot of names. That was a lot of-
Kat: Talk about name dropping.
Ryley: Yeah.
Kat: The, the gist of it is that like, this isn't a new idea to critique the genre that you're making a movie in.
Ryley: Doesn't mean it can't be done again and can't be done by different people and done in a different way.
Kat: Who have different things to say.
Ryley: Who have different things to say. I'm sorry. I hate that complaint. I hate when someone goes, this isn't new. This isn't new.
Kat: It's an issue when nothing's [00:26:00] being added to it and it's just being rehashed.
Ryley: Exactly.
Kat: But they, they mentioned that cabin in the woods is not imaginative enough to justify its existence. It doesn't seem like they believe that it's really adding anything to the conversation.
Ryley: Okay.
Kat: So it doesn't justify it being made in their mind.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: But they say quote, "cabin wants to invalidate one kind of hoarder the bump in the woods while reviving another even older one. The atavistic pre-Christian evil Gods barely held at bay from our reality, familiar to any reader of HP Lovecraft or any acquainted with lovecraft's innumerable pop culture acolytes, cabins stoic waiting on the end of the world. Finale is straight from one of them, john Carpenter."
Ryley: This person loves to just name drop and talk about other stuff.
Kat: A very pretentious way to critique this movie, in my opinion.
Ryley: It is, and it's, I'm really glad I'm not reading this.
Kat: But they also say quote, "once upon a time irony and a wink could exist in the same classical narrative rather than subsuming it whole. [00:27:00] Now Gimmickry rides high and solid middle range work is next to impossible to find a few loaners like Ti West's House of the Devil, the Innkeepers." The Innkeepers. I remember, oh, sorry. This is an aside. I remember watching that movie with your mother and we got to the end of it, and we were both like that- why did we rent that?
Ryley: Nothing happens in that God forsaken movie. I hate that movie. We're never doing innkeeper. We're never.
Kat: No, I'm okay with that. I don't wanna watch that movie again. Quote, "Now Gimmickry rides high and solid middle range work is next to impossible to find a few loaners like Ti West...privately work out structural equations in what was once the fashion of the mainstream work a day filmmaker, while the Final Destination franchise offers the one certifiably original idea in the reissue repackage heap. Goddard and Whedon, aged 37 and 47 respectively, can be awfully entertaining as they send up the universal horror tropes of their youth in a Turkey shoot, but that's all they're doing. Meanwhile, they've missed the opportunity to say anything about their contemporary rivals, which is understandable because in going there, [00:28:00] they have to acknowledge that they're more like them than not." end quote. This is the point they've been making the whole time, is that, you know, it's, it's critiquing older horror.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: But personally, I think in 2012, I think they're too close in proximity to it to try and do a good job of critiquing the horror was at that time. And they can do it with so much love cuz it's from their youth.
Ryley: Yeah, exactly. And I think it'd be a lot to try to do both stuff from the, from the past and then contemporary stuff.
Kat: Yeah.
Ryley: And it'd be way more, I think, in my opinion, way more complicated to do all that. And I feel like the message or the, the stuff that happens in the movie would've been been really muddled.
Kat: Yeah. You have- this movie would be so all over the place if they tried to cover all of the bases.
Ryley: Yeah. With this person I don't know. I could hardly focus on what they were saying cuz they were just talking about it's all over the place. They were just talk, they were making the most references they could make. It got lost in it.
Kat: Well, that's the thing. Usually, like with mine, I try to like, Put what they said into like in my own words, usually.
Ryley: Right, right.
Kat: But I could [00:29:00] barely.
Ryley: You just had to directly quote them cuz like, I don't even know what they're saying.
Kat: Yeah. But this next one is, the last one I have from the critics, and it was a positive one. It's from Keith and the Movies written by Keith Garton in 2012 who gave it a 3.5 out of four. I believe.
Ryley: Hmm.
Kat: Starting with quote, "I love a good horror movie, but there's no denying that the horror genre has been struggling and it just isn't as strong as it used to be. Well leave it to Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard to take the genre and turn it on its head and give it a good shake," end quote. They say that it is far from conventional, even though it starts out as conventional and that Whedon and Godard are setting the audience up for a horror comedy that ranges from satirical to critical of what the genre has become. They dabble in slasher, zombie, ghost stories, torture porn, and even creature features. They say that the kids are ones we've seen countless times. Um, and then this review was really, um, dead set on not spoiling anything so they don't go into a whole lot of detail.
Ryley: Okay.
Kat: And they say quote, "but the movie does have a few issues that keep it from being a [00:30:00] great film. The most glaring issue for me was with the gaping plot holes scattered throughout the story. There were instances where the film changed course while leaving unfinished business behind. There are also a couple times where certain characters drop off the map. The ending also requires a very abrupt acceptance of what you're seeing. Don't get me wrong, it's a lot of fun and it will have you wanting to watch the movie again. But it's so outta the blue that when the," oh my God, "that when the credits start to roll, you have to accept what you've seen and just go with it." End quote.
Ryley: Yeah, I agree cuz it. Yeah, I agree, but I don't, I don't know about the unfinished business part cuz I, I'm not really remembering.
Kat: And I think that's the, a little bit of an issue with this review is that they couldn't give too much detail.
Ryley: Exactly.
Kat: I'm, I might be forgetting, but what happens to the guy who's like doing security or whatever at their, for the scientist, the two scientists in the room, like swipes their IDs when they come in is like judging everyone for betting on it.
Ryley: Maybe that's what they're talking.
Kat: Yeah. Cuz those are the, those are the characters that kind of drop off and like the woman who was at the beginning with them and.
Ryley: Yeah.
Kat: Yeah. This [00:31:00] movie does very much like just give you what it has.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: and it, it doesn't give you a whole lot of time while you're watching it to process what you're seeing, I guess.
Ryley: You, you have to, you have to play catch up, you know, you gotta.
Kat: You just gotta roll with it.
Ryley: You do. You really just have to stick with it till it ends, and then if you miss something, go rewatch it again, so.
Kat: Exactly. Yeah. They said that the biggest strength for this film was its humor quote, "on the flip side, the movie isn't scary at all, which I found to be a bit disappointing, but then I asked myself if Whedon and Godard cared if I, if it was scary or not. In the end, this is one part homage and one part critique of a genre that has seen better days. Looking at the movie from that perspective makes it a very satisfying horror experience. And even though it stumbles with its storytelling in a few places, the undeniable freshness, good humor, and blood soaked final act make it all worthwhile." End quote.
Ryley: I. I'm perfectly fine that it wasn't scary.
Kat: And I like how they worded it or like explained that it's still a good horror experience even if it didn't scare you.
Ryley: Exactly. Exactly. And that's what I was trying to say earlier. So yeah, I'm [00:32:00] glad that they said that specifically.
Kat: It's more about shifting your comfort level in some way than it is about scaring you.
Ryley: Exactly.
Kat: But do you wanna say anything else about the critic reviews before we.
Ryley: I don't wanna go back to the ones I hated. Cause I'll just, I'm just gonna rant about them.
Kat: Yeah, that's fair. I think we've said enough about those ones too.
Ryley: Yeah.
Kat: The first review I have is a 10 out of 10 from IMDB from 2017 titled "a slasher movie for those who hate slasher movies." "I despise slasher horror. Halloween? Can't stand it. Friday the 13th? Hate it. Nightmare on Elm Street? Better, but still not great. They're all pretty-"
Ryley: Okay. Weird. All right.
Kat: "They're all pretty unimaginative, the characters are weak and there's no depth beyond hey, watch these people get brutally slaughtered and you might see some boobs too."
Ryley: They're not wrong.
Kat: No. "Cabin in the woods in this case seems like a slasher movie that was specifically made for me. The characters are all nuanced, it mocks and deconstructs every single problem I have with the genre and most gratifying of all the film is [00:33:00] so much deeper on a narrative and thematic level than even serious horror movies tend to go. It's simply a triumph, and if you're the kind of person who thinks they might hate it, watch it. It was made specifically for you."
Ryley: I like this one, this person got it.
Kat: And I'm not a huge fan of slasher horror either. I get it. I get it.
Ryley: I get it. I don't hate slashers.
Kat: I don't hate it, but it's not my go-to.
Ryley: I understand when someone doesn't like it and I think, Hey, watch these people get brutally slaughter maybe you'll see some boobs too. That's a, I understand how you have that perspective and you're not wrong. You're not wrong.
Kat: It's okay. You can say Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Ryley: You can say- yes, exactly.
Kat: It's okay.
Ryley: Um, I really like this one very, Hey, if you think you'll. Give it a chance cuz it's not like, yeah, I like that. This is a good one.
Kat: Yeah, I think so too. All of these pretty much, except for the last positive one, are from letterboxd.
Ryley: Cool. Cool.
Kat: Okay, so three stars from letterboxd from 2020. "Don't be that friend that reads Latin when someone is telling you not to read the fucking Latin. [00:34:00] Literally I will throw you to the zombies you just summoned and run the other way."
Ryley: True. Very true.
Kat: I would've been Marty that whole time. I'm like, first of all, let's get outta the basement. Stop touching things. Stop pressing buttons. Stop reading books. Get outta the basement.
Ryley: Yeah. No kidding. Yeah can we all just hang out please? Can we not be weird and just?
Kat: Somebody go make up with the wolf again. Come on.
Ryley: Exactly, exactly. It's just, uh, yeah.
Kat: The next one is four stars from 2018. "I wish I was as self-aware as this movie."
Ryley: I love that.
Kat: The next one, three and a half stars from 2018. "My tolerance for this whole situation would be pretty low I think like A, I would not want to be at an abandoned cabin in the woods in the first place. And B, as soon as a trap door flies open by itself, I'd be outta there throw Chris Hemsworth an open invite to join me and run home to get under the covers and watch Mama Mia two."
Ryley: Same.
Kat: Yeah.
Ryley: I love that.
Kat: I'm not, I love cabins, you know, I love a good [00:35:00] cabin, but I'm not going to a secluded cabin.
Ryley: Yeah. In the middle of the woods.
Kat: They went up in a mountain off the grid. No, I'm sorry. I've seen evil dead. Okay. I've seen evil dead two. I know what's gonna happen. There's gonna be a hand trying to kill me.
Ryley: Exactly.
Kat: It's kind of like the descent where it's like I wouldn't be there.
Ryley: I wouldn't be in that situation. , you know? You know what's easy? To not be in that situation, don't be in that situation.
Kat: Stay home.
Ryley: I'm not gonna be in a cave ever.
Kat: Three stars from letterboxd 2018. "95 minutes of blood soaked fun drenched with irony and B-Movie absurdity alike. Possibly the most overt deconstruction of horror tropes since scream."
Ryley: I don't think it's a bad thing though. I don't know if they meant that as a bad thing.
Kat: A lot of these that are giving it like three-ish stars, I feel like it's just a principle thing.
Ryley: They're like, I can't give it full of five stars.
Kat: I gave, I gave, it's like I gave Citizen K five stars. I can't give this the-
Ryley: I have to have some kind of like.
Kat: I have to have a standard.
Ryley: System. Yeah, there's gotta be a [00:36:00] standard play of like where I can put, okay. Alright.
Kat: So I think that's what it is, not necessarily their enjoyment, just how they would rank it among the movies they've seen.
Ryley: That's hilarious. I love that. Citizen Kane's at five. This has to be at least three. That's hilarious.
Kat: For me, this would probably rank higher than Citizen Kane cuz it's actually interesting.
Ryley: No, I, I do not like that movie, it's just, okay.
Kat: It's boring every time.
Ryley: He did stuff for that. Still last in the industry today. Okay.
Kat: Good for him.
Ryley: Good.
Kat: Okay.
Ryley: There's better movies. Someone took his ideas and made better movies. Cool.
Kat: I will pioneer the the hate campaign against that movie.
Ryley: Yeah. It's kind of fun knowing how many guys out there are like, it's such a good movie. No, it's not. This movie is better than Citizen Kane.
Kat: Next one, three and a half stars from 2020. They have the quote with Marty saying, "okay, I draw the line in the fucking sand here. Do not read the Latin."
Ryley: It's true. Don't do it.
Kat: "Then they say, uh, this [00:37:00] movie was an interesting take on an increasingly formulaic genre, but at times it kind of became what it tried to parody. The first hour was mostly just a very cliche story with short moments of meta humor that didn't always work, but when it did, it was usually pretty good. The last 30 minutes was really the peak of the movie. Where things got really crazy and the originality of the movie really started to show. The movie was not as clever as it thought it was, but it was still a fun movie. Even though it wasn't that scary. It still handled the gore and comedy well," while doing a good job parroting the hot- the- oh my God, oh my God. What? What is happening? ? Well. "While, doing a good job parodying the horror genre. If you expect a standard horror movie, you might be disappointed, but if you go in blind like I did, you are in for a unique experience."
Ryley: They went harder than the other ones. And this is like what? Three and a half? I It went harder.
Kat: Yeah, it was rated higher than the last one.
Ryley: Yeah, exactly. And they went harder in critiquing it. I don't necessarily agree with them. You sat there halfway, were like, I know where this is going. Really? I doubt it. I [00:38:00] hate when people try to say it wasn't clever it was pretty predictable. And I'm not saying that's what they're exactly saying, but them say it wasn't as clever as it thought.
Kat: Everyone who says that, you're also not as clever as you think you are.
Ryley: Exactly. Cuz I don't believe you that you sat there and went, I know where this was going. I don't believe you. I don't think you did.
Kat: Yeah.
Ryley: And I think you're just mad that you couldn't.
Kat: I agree with you. I do see where they're coming up with like the parts where you can see the originality of the movie instead of just like the critique of the other parts of the genre.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: that is a really good part of the movie.
Ryley: That's valid.
Kat: But they are correct. Like we've been saying, you have to go into this blind.
Ryley: You do.
Kat: You just have to. I agree with some of the things this person's saying, but I think I don't know. It feels a little pretentious I don't, I don't know when people critique satire.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: You're always gonna come off as pretentious in my mind.
Ryley: Exactly. Uh, it's very true. I just hate when they're like, it wasn't as clever as it thought it was. I don't- no.
Kat: Like it has to be really bad for me to agree with someone saying that.
Ryley: Exactly. And it's just like one of those things where like you can say that, but you're not clever. You're not more clever for saying that than this movie.[00:39:00]
Kat: But the next one is a half star from 2020 that says, "this movie wasn't scary because I know how to solve a Rubiks Cube."
Ryley: I love that. I love letterboxd. Little comments like that.
Kat: But the next one, three stars 2022. "Its horror wasn't exactly the one I was expecting at all. And guess what? I was glad it was that way, surreal and wacky, while still extremely bloody, although at first it felt weird seeing a comedy tag for a movie with a spooky poster. I just liked how it played on the trite people in inhuman experiments for the greater good while bending a little bit of something self-deprecating. The cabin in the woods is both a pretty humorous and scary meta horror that tries and wants to be fun, unapologetically."
Ryley: So it says, I just liked how it played on the trite people in hum- in human experience for the greater good. Is there another movie that's that's like that or rings a bell like that?
Kat: Um. The Hunger Games.
Ryley: Okay. All right. Okay.
Kat: That's-
Ryley: [00:40:00] You're wrong.
Kat: Movies where someone's basically being put in a social experiment for something bigger than them, but it's inhuman to put them there in the first place.
Ryley: I'm trying to think of a horror movie.
Kat: The human version of animal testing, I guess. I don't know.
Ryley: Yeah, it's um, I'm just trying to think of another horror movie that's like that. Cause like they're kind of saying it like, oh, it's that trope.
Kat: I don't know if it's necessarily just horror that does that.
Ryley: Okay. Okay. That's fair then that's fine.
Kat: Yeah.
Ryley: I was just curious that there was like a big one that was just forgetting.
Kat: Yeah, no, I get, I, I get that too. I can't really think of any specific ones except for the Hunger Games.
Ryley: Hunger Games is a good one.
Kat: Okay, so the next one, two stars from 2021. The third act chaos is super fun, but in my opinion, can't really make up for the grating writing of the whole thing. It's so annoying when people like Joss Whedon try to clown on like Evil Dead or Friday the 13th. I'd like to see you make something that good nerd. No interest in watching somebody look down on good movies and bring almost nothing new to the table. Oh, you figured out there's a formula to horror movies. Nice, man, I'm [00:41:00] glad you finally figured it out in 2012."
Ryley: This person's bitter. Geez.
Kat: I guess some people didn't pick up on the, the loving critique of it part.
Ryley: I said it earlier, you are allowed to like these movies and still critique them. I don't know. I don't know what this person's issue is.
Kat: They called him a nerd.
Ryley: Yeah. Like they're mad that they made a movie that makes fun of horror movies formulas.
Kat: Yeah.
Ryley: Back in the day. They're mad that someone figured it out or not figured it out, but just like, I don't know, made a movie about it and made fun of it. They're just mad that this movie was, you know, but not really even making fun of, it's just satire, dude. It's okay.
Kat: Yeah. And it's not, it's not poor- it's not mean spirited.
Ryley: It's not.
Kat: They took it to heart.
Ryley: They took it to heart really bad. I was wondering if someone was gonna do that.
Kat: Yeah.
Ryley: And this person definitely did. They're, they're mad .
Kat: Yeah, they sure are.
Ryley: Yeah.
Kat: The next one, three and a half stars from 2019. "That cabin was for sure in the woods."
Ryley: Nice.
Kat: True.
Both: True.
Ryley: So true. [00:42:00]
Kat: Three and a half stars 2021. "Count me as someone who really only likes the second half of this film, when it turns into an actual horror movie with some fun surprises. Before that, I understood the joke, but just wasn't laughing all that much. Which is odd since the original evil Dead is one of my favorite horror movies. So you'd think a parody of sorts to that film would be right up my alley. Problem there is parodies need to be funny and everything presented felt too lazy for me to get into. I think I liked all the, the homage stuff a lot more on the first watch, but wasn't excited to sit through it this time around. Still, business picks up substantially towards the end, so I'm not going to fault the overall movie. May go against popular opinion, but I think the final 15 or so minutes of the film are the strongest when there are some genuine stakes involved, and who knows, maybe when I watch again in 10 years, my mind will change on which part I enjoy more. And I'm curious as to why there was never any consideration for a sequel to this." how do you think this movie ends?
Ryley: Did you see the end? The World ends dude.
Kat: I kind of get what they're saying about like how [00:43:00] it's, it's not, you're not like laughing out loud.
Ryley: I get what they're saying and I'm not saying they're wrong for it.
Kat: Yeah, those are, that's a valid criticism of it.
Ryley: Yeah. You just, you know.
Kat: It is better the first time you watch it.
Ryley: It is cuz like you're overwhelmed with everything that's happening in it and like the twists. And.
Kat: I was excited to get to the second half of the movie more.
Ryley: Well that's when all the really cool stuff happened. I understand what they're saying. I get it. They're not wrong.
Kat: Yeah. I can't really fault anything they're saying.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: I respect that they don't fault the whole movie for the beginning too.
Ryley: Exactly, exactly. That I like, I I give that credit cuz a lot of people are like, I watched five minutes of this movie. I give it a one star.
Kat: Two stars, 2021. "The Truman Show for slasher fans."
Ryley: They should have Jim Carey in it though.
Kat: Oh my God. What if he was the director?
Ryley: Again, another great person that would've made a great cameo.
Kat: Mm-hmm. But honestly, I'm kind of upset that Jamie Lee Curtis Didn end up being the director. That would've been so meta.
Ryley: It would, [00:44:00] oh my god it would've been. Or Bruce Campbell, either one. But I think Jamie Lee Curtis, especially with the Final Girl thing, that would've been Abs- perfect.
Kat: I think the Bruce Campbell one would've been really more cool than it would've been useful.
Ryley: It would've been really fun for the fans out there.
Kat: Yeah. This next one is three stars from 2015. "I must admit that as far as horror movies go, this is certainly different. Turning the genre on its head for laughs with more blood than an abbatior, this took a new approach in its quest to find an audience wanting something original. Directed by Drew Goddard and co-written by Joss Whedon, there was always going to be creative twists and they promised us something fresh. What we didn't expect was this, but it is certainly original. Satirical and undeniably funny in places, this poked fun at the usual horror staples and took an ingenious step forward in what we should expect from future horror films."
Ryley: Yeah, pretty good. Yeah.
Kat: Mm-hmm.
Ryley: Definitely.
Kat: Yeah. A lot of, like, like you were saying, like there were some low star ones that actually just were talking about how good the movie was.
Ryley: Yeah. It, it [00:45:00] kind of bothers me, but I understand when, when you give Citizen Kane five stars, you gotta, you gotta reasonably place this one. I love that. That's that is funny. Like they don't have a bad thing to say about it.
Kat: No.
Ryley: And It's only three stars.
Kat: This one is a two star review from 2012. So this is the oldest, uh, letter box review that we have here. "This film tries to put its tongue in its cheek so hard. It has left a big gaping hole that should have been filled by a great film. Let me start off by saying that I actually like Whedon's work. Most of the stuff he's done is quite enjoyable. Here however, he is at his worst. Every single twist, turn and reveal felt like him screaming at me. Ha, look at how clever I am. I am reinventing the entire genre. The problem with Whedon's script is that he has actually written two films, one A rather funny, sometimes hilarious comedy, two, a boring generic Horror film. Somewhere in between lies the idea of a great film, which is completely blown away by the fact that we get our noses rubbed and it's unrelenting look at how meta I am scripting. What's left then is a constant hopping [00:46:00] between boring horror scene to funny sketch, boring horror scene, funny sketch. Which in the end makes it neither a successful comedy nor a groundbreaking horror film in the entire film. There are some 15 minutes where it does work. And for those minutes I give it two stars as I really enjoyed the hell out of that. Then again, maybe I shouldn't as that short period of. Only reminds me of the great film I could have been watching. Oh, and if you're wondering what that moaning sound is at the end of the film, that's Mr. Lovecraft turning in his grave."
Ryley: I had a good time watching this. I had, I enjoy this movie.
Kat: It's an issue of expectation too.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: I don't have the expectation that this is the most genius, critique of the horror genre, and it's so hilarious. But I do- I think it's really good at what it's trying to do.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: So I guess this person just took it way too seriously.
Ryley: You're, you're allowed to watch this and, you know, not like it, that that's the thing.
Kat: Yeah.
Ryley: But it's like, yeah, I just didn't take it that seriously. Like, I'm sitting there thinking like, there's no way I would've thought this hard.
Kat: I feel like it's a matter of [00:47:00] taste too at that point. You know, like, I don't see this as like a, it's in your face the whole time thing, but I, I do think it's holding up a sign at least that's like this is critique, this is satire.
Ryley: This is satire. And that's fair. That's I, I understand with that.
Kat: I don't know. This just feels like they would've liked this movie if it was a cult classic.
Ryley: Yes. If it was not as well known or did as well critically too, or with audience members, like.
Kat: And that's like, no, dig at this person and if you don't, if it's not your cuppa tea, I guess, whatever, but.
Ryley: Cool, whatever.
Kat: Yeah. I'm not gonna go to the grave defending this movie.
Ryley: That's the thing. Yeah, exactly.
Kat: But the next one, three stars from 2019. "This movie tried to convince me that Chris Hemsworth is a college student. And for that I will never forgive it."
Ryley: Fair. That's so fair. Fair critique.
Kat: They all looked like they had a, a sibling in college.
Ryley: Yes. Exactly.
Kat: Three stars. Also 2019. "Mixed feelings. It was dumb at times, and sometimes it was so crazy and funny and enjoyable. It certainly got better [00:48:00] towards the end. Some of the stuff that happened was so unpredictable, at least for me, it made everything so much more fun. The characters were cool and likable, I loved Marty, these weird twists and weird scenes. It's just that unfortunately it didn't start well and it wasn't great in the middle. Some things are also left unexplained without a care in the world. At least it was fairly original."
Ryley: It's like the last two, like the other two that we read, like where they like the latter half more and that there were some things that weren't finished or unfinished business.
Kat: Yeah.
Ryley: I get that. Okay. That's fair. That's fine.
Kat: Most of the reviews for this movie on letterboxd, were pretty positive.
Mm-hmm.
Ryley: Like if it was, at most it was just people saying the usual, you're not as clever as you think you are.
Kat: Mm-hmm.
Ryley: But anytime anyone, for the most part had something bad to say, it would be along these lines where it's like, but I still enjoyed parts of it.
Kat: Yeah.
Like there was still something fun to it, even if it had structural issues and.
Ryley: That's fair.
Kat: And maybe that's not the best maybe it's not the best choice for commentary, but I dunno, it's just a perfect movie for what we're doing right [00:49:00] now, I think.
Ryley: I think so too. And from what this person is saying, I enjoyed it probably way more than they did. I didn't have as many complaints, but I understand if you do.
Kat: Mm-hmm.
Ryley: Because I, I'm not gonna say those problems don't exist.
Kat: Yeah. And I'll just, I'll just say like, I, I see the issues people are bringing up and like some of them I agree with, some of them I don't necessarily see as issues, but at the end of the day, this isn't like my favorite movie ever or anything like that. It's just like, I enjoy it every time I watch it.
Ryley: Exactly. Well, it's like you said in the last one. It's like, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna fight this hard for that movie.
Kat: Yeah, really. But the last review I have is a positive review from IMDB from 2015 that's titled "Perfection for Horror Fans." "If you are a fan of horror movies, then you will love this movie. I'm not talking about the I love horror fans who are talking about all the bullshit excuse of horror movies that get spoon fed to us week after week with the same goddamn thing we just got. Jump scare after jump scare. The horror fan I'm referring to you know who you are, you were there when [00:50:00] Myers kept us up at night. Not the shitty Rob versions either."
Ryley: Oh, nice.
Kat: "You were there when Freddy gave you nightmares. When the thing, not the remake, made you wonder who the person is next to you. This is a horror movie to its core and knows it. It takes every stereotype in horror films, specifically slasher and pokes fun at it. This is clearly created with love of the horror genre, and any horror fan will pick up on its humor and love it. It's not terrifying it is completely and utterly and unexpected horror comedy thrill ride to get slasher fans dopamine receptors firing off. If you are a true horror film," I think they forgot the word, fan, "you will love this journey."
Ryley: Love this review.
Kat: Not the remake.
Ryley: Not the remake. You sound like plankton when you said that. Not the remake.
Kat: Karen, my computer wife.
Ryley: I love it. I love it so much. I love this review. Very accurate.
Kat: Mm-hmm.
Ryley: I love that they loved it. Um, and they got it. You know, it's poking fun at the genre. Anyone who got butt [00:51:00] hurt about this movie, it's just what it's doing. It's just poking fun. It's not that serious.
Kat: Yeah. Yeah. I do like that they are like, specifically you love these like silly slasher.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: Movies so much like that's the kind of horror you love. I feel like that's a lot of eighties horror fans.
Ryley: Yes.
Kat: I think you, this movie is perfect for you. I agree with them. Yeah.
Ryley: Yeah. If you grew up watching all those movies that they just listed, like, yes, you are gonna love the, the satire it has on them.
Kat: Yeah.
Ryley: Like, if you are, you're gonna love it.
Kat: I think that it's kind of, The opposite of the first 10 outta 10, if you remember. They were like, if you hate slashers, you'll love this.
Ryley: Yeah. It it is actu it is, but it's really funny.
Kat: It services both sides.
Ryley: It does. It works both ways. They're both right.
Kat: Yeah. So I think that's kind of what this person was saying too, like, you, you love it, but you know what's wrong with it.
Ryley: Yeah, yeah, exactly. Like it's okay to acknowledge the faults in it.
Kat: Mm-hmm.
Ryley: Perfectly fine and you can still love it.
Kat: Yeah. But what would you rate this movie out of 10? [00:52:00]
Ryley: The Citizen Kane thing really stuck with me. Like if that's out five, not saying Citizen Kane is.
Kat: No, we need a different example. The Shining. We'll say The Shining is a five.
Ryley: Okay. Okay. Okay.
Kat: If you were to say like, your favorite movies a five, where does this fall? Your favorite movie's a 10 Outta 10.
Ryley: Okay.
Kat: Where does this fall in that, that ranking for you?
Ryley: I wanna say a seven, but it might deserve more. I pick seven because that's such a good, I feel like that's a solid, like b plus.
Kat: Yeah, and it It's enjoyable.
Ryley: Very enjoyable. Very fun. I'll, if someone wants to watch it, let's put it on. Let's watch it. I'm perfectly fine with that. It's gonna be a good time. Yeah but like, is it my favorite movie ever? No. No. But it is fun. It's a good, enjoyable movie. I guess I would give it a seven, maybe more. I don't know.
Kat: I, I was gonna say like six out of 10.
Ryley: Okay.
Kat: But only because like I do, I like, I enjoy it every time I watch it, but it's never a movie I choose to put on.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: But if someone was watching it, I would, I wouldn't have any complaints, like if someone [00:53:00] picked the movie, you know? So I think I'm gonna stick with six, I think six.
Ryley: Okay. I do. I didn't. All right. I'm gonna stick with my seven. I think that's a solid rating.
Kat: Mm-hmm.
Ryley: Like a sevens like good, like it's a good movie.
Kat: Yeah. It's, it does its job.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: But it just is, it's not like ground breakly good or anything.
Ryley: Yeah. When- it's not gonna be one of my top favorites, but yeah.
Kat: It's no Jurassic Park.
Ryley: It's no Jurassic Park, exactly. is that the movie you've pictured me, like rating against it?
Kat: I, I think that's one of the few movies you've given a 10 outta a 10.
Ryley: Is it? That's hilarious. I love it.
Kat: It's no coraline. Okay.
Ryley: It's no coraline. Yeah. Yeah. No kidding. Honestly.
Kat: But yeah. So seven outta 10 for you, six outta 10 for me.
Ryley: Mm-hmm.
Kat: Is there anything else you wanna say?
Ryley: No, I think, I think I've said my thoughts about this movie.
Kat: Okay. So if you want to suggest a movie to us or you want to give us any feedback, Or critiques or you have any general gripes or memes to [00:54:00] send us you can DM us on Instagram at Easy Bake Takes. We also have a TikTok at Easy Bake takes. Our website with all our transcripts of all the episodes and where you can also listen to our episodes on our website is Easy Bake takes podcast.com. And wherever you listen be sure to leave us a review or a rating and follow us cuz it really helps us out. And thank you so much for listening. My name is Kat
Ryley: and I'm Ryley.
Kat: This has been Easy Bake takes. Easy watching out there.
Ryley: Bye
Kat: bye.