Thoughts on Cabin in the Woods: The More I watch, the more I see

  I admit, I’m a geek for (good) audio commentary and Joss Whedon always delivers.  I love hearing his thoughts on his work.  He and Drew Goddard made a lot of hilarious and thoughtful comments.  They address some thoughts I’d had about the film when I saw it last spring (more than once, it gets better on repeated viewings because you notice something new every time).  I called my film classed at WSU about Hitchcock implementing the audience for being entertained by violence happening to the characters, and creating so much tension out of not knowing which side to root for, wanting both sides to succeed ******************************spoilers******************************************************************************************************************************************(the technicians to prevent the end of the world and the kids to survive.)  They addressed that the kids in the situation actually cared about each other, unlike a lot of the films this one lampoons.  I remember the first time I saw the film I thought that Whedon had not only subverted the Cabin horror subgenre, but he had subverted his previous work as well.  The characters on Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse and arguably Dr. Horrible often sacrificed their lives, their happiness, or someone they loved to save the world or simply other people.  Buffy sent a newly re-ensouled Angel to a Hell Dimension to prevent the rest of the world from getting sucked in( I still tear up at that scene even though I know Angel comes back).  Buffy jumps in the door to save Dawn and the rest of the world in the Gift (Again, Buffy returns, but it’s still emotional knowing that).  The entire Scooby Gang and the Army of Slayers risk their lives to prevent the First Evil from taking over the world. Spike literally sacrificed himself (Even knowing he returned on the final season of Angel, it’s still emotional).  On Angel, Doyle sacrificed his life and his chance at happiness to save a bunch of strangers and so Angel could continue his work.  Angel and Spike made the painful decision to sacrifice Fred (to the worst death imaginable) to prevent Illyria from killing countless people.  In the final episode, the Fang Gang faced certain death to stop Wolfram & Hart (Wesley actually dying and Gunn most likely dying in the final scene).  In Serenity, the crew braves Reaver Space and a fleet of central planet ships (a fleet that had committed mass murder of innocent people to protect their secret) in order to get the truth out to the rest of the Verse about Miranda. Dr. Horrible is a tricky one.  Billy wanted social change from, Corporate rule and he sacrificed his happiness to get it ( his beloved, sweet innocent Penny was a casualty). On Dollhouse, the crew saw what the Rossum Corporation was capable of and what they were willing to do for power, yet the group risked their lives and freedom to stop them.  I think the casting of Fran Kranz as Marty started this whole thought.  His Dollhouse character, Topher, was a chief manipulator of other humans as he programmed actives to act a certain way.  Amy Acker played one such active (Whiskey).  In this film Amy Acker played the head of the Chem department or one of the chief human manipulators.  On Dollhouse, Whiskey figures out the truth and rejects her programming, while is Cabin Marty Figures out the truth and rejects his programming.  On Dollhouse, Topher feels such remorse over the consequences of his discoveries that he sacrifices his life so the rest of the world can be free of the Rossum control.  He sacrificed himself to save the world.  At the End of Cabin, Marty refused to die to complete the sacrifice. Dana considers shooting him (like Spike and Angel letting Fred die or Buffy sending Angel to the hell dimension), but doesn’t. She is attacked by a werewolf and whether or not she would have shot him is left unclear. 

When I saw the film a second time, I had a different reaction.  I wondered if killing Marty would have saved the world or given it a stay of execution. After all, the rituals would have happened again the next year.  In the world the film existed, humanity was a slave to the giant evil gods.  The sacrifices of the Scooby Gang, the Fang Gang, the Serenity crew, and the Dollhouse group stopped the evil.  The rituals in Cabin gave the giant evil gods what they wanted.  I have to wonder of the shooters, the Director, the workers, other monsters, Dana, or anyone or anything other than the Zombie Redneck torture family killing Marty would have satisfied the gods.  Well those are my thoughts.