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puppeteerinthewoods-blog · 7 years ago

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Discuss these oscilations of expectations, pointing out the scenes/moments/shots which function as turning points

”The Cabin in the Woods” is a movie produced and directed by Drew Goddard, who is also a co-author of the screenplay (The latter is Joss Whedon, the man who’s behind ”Buffy the Vampire Slayer”; ”Angel” or ”Firefly”).

The world premiere was on March 9, 2012 at the South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas.

From the very beginning, the makers had intended to keep viewers intrigued. It’s fair to admit that the very beginning of the movie may be perceived as at least slightly disturbing. Iconographies, which closely resemble these from sanctuaries, are battled in blood. The subject are of them is ambiguous, since the presented figures have origin on both pagan, ancient or even, when it comes to the very last one, embraces a sphere of Roman Catholicism. However, having watched it once more, it became clear that all of them have something in common - every single one pictures the scene of the human sacrifice.

It’s expected the first scene of the movie to be overfilled with the sound of begging people, practically begging for sparing them, or at least some indirect proofs which confirm the audience’s assumptions about the movie’s genre. Instead of that, there is an unexpected change of scenery; after a total close-up to a coffee advertising tagline, after that, there’s a dissolve transition between this and the next cut; in which two middle-aged men, drinking hot beverages in the breaking room, are chatting about one of their wife’s fertility treatment. The light’s bright and the dark music from the opening has been substituted by a smooth muzak. There’s a brief take on the corridor and suddenly, their conversation has been interrupted by a lab coat wearing woman who conveys them some work-related information; the more information is being revealed during their conversation, the more difficult is getting to search a common denominator between the spooky opening and the relatively mundane first scene.

After the emergence of a colossal movie title, the motion picture is set in the next location - This is one of many quiet streets of American suburbs. Even though, an indie background music additionally calls up a mood of coziness, the font of the opening credits is kept in the similar style as the beginning of the movie - Having briefly appeared on the screen, the bloody red letters vanish in the same way as blood irrigates a land.

The first introduced to the audience heroin, is a young girl. She’s doing the packing, yet a moment later, there’s an exchange between her and the other girl. Based on what can be seen on the screen, the situation might be absolutely clear - A red-hair girl named Dana has an eternal crush on one of her college professors; a blond-hair girl named Jules pities her and strives to get him out of Dana’s head. Dana is supposedly shy and modest; Jute’s supposed to be her exact opposite and be fierce. In the beginning, the scheme does work - Jute’s swearing and Dana’s blushing. However, there’s an unexpected plot twist - Dana’s not so innocent though - She happened to have an affair with the professor, who has dumped her recently. On the other hand, Jules turned out to be scathingly witty only to cheer Dana up. What’s more interesting, she has just had her hair bleached, so she’s not confident about her appearance at all.

When it comes to Jules’s boyfriend, Curl, the audience may be misled because of his physical appearance - he’s a well-built good-looking guy, wearing a college sport-team jacket. Because of that, he can be assumed as a self-important prick who tends to sleep around with a different girl every night. Yet, in point of fact, he’s an intellectual, who recommends more insightful course book for Dana and besides, he’s a committed boyfriend, who is ashamed to see Dana in underwear.

Marty Mikalski, who was introduced as a last one, cannot be categorized as a mediocre character as well. Even though, he was displayed as a junkie for the first few minutes, it transpired that he can be acknowledged as a knowledgeable man, who’s no stranger to sophisticated vocabulary. He formed his own theory of global imbalances and he’s eager to share it with his friends.

From that point, it’s getting more challenging to calculate a genre of the movie - A group of students who decide to get out of town on weekend and at some point, come to realize that they get lost, so they ask a mysterious stranger for a direction, may indicate a slasher, which is a sub-genre of horror movies. However, the makers decided to extend the duration of a previous scene, in which Marty join the rest of the group. The moment they set off, camera reveal the presence of a mysterious guy, who closely resembles an FBI agent; it hasn’t been confirmed yet however it feels natural to connect this eerie character with the organization from the first scene of the movie.

The scene, in which there is the encounter with an ominous owner of a gas station, can be classified as a standard element of a slasher - the man’s supposed to alert him that they might be in as inevitable danger.

Nonetheless, the following scene, during which the group carries on their journey and they reach a mountain tunnel, contains another unexpected turning point - an invisible wall must be an artifact type created by well-known to the audience, organization. That organization, which eventually turn out to be in control of the main characters. Not only it prepared an ambush for the group in the middle of nowhere, but also monitor every their move. The terrifying owner of the petrol station apparently also is in the pay of this network. The moment an oblivious group of students settles down in their rooms, the action of the movie set to take place in two places simultaneously and consequently, the audience of the movie have become the witnesses of puppetry. This little escapade turned out to be a well-organized form of a human sacrifice. The behavior of the characters is becoming more intense controlled to meet up with the ritual’s principles.

Even if, the makers of the movie did prove up that it cannot be classified to any of typical movie genres, there is one last terrific turning point. After the series of traumatic experiences, both Dana and Marty are lucky enough to survive and have a real chance to escape. However, through an ironic twist of fate, they get into the building of the organization. As a result of a direct confrontation with a wide range of monsters, they finally comprehend their situation and from that moment cease to remain the creatures of the diabolic institution. The motive of the main characters’ resistance and consequently, the role reversal can be linked with B-action movies, in which when it comes to the main character, there’s a transition from a prey to a predator. Eventually, after the contribution to the purge the organization of their personnel, Dana and Marty face the head of the organization - Her decision about revealing all of the secrets of the ritual is a delightful nod to a cut-and-dried black character’s monologue.

After the defeating of the organization, the flooded with blood characters sitting on the stairs, calmly anticipate an inevitable end of the world, therefore they resemble badass characters from action movies, who in the face of death, obtain catharsis.

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puppeteerinthewoods-blog · 7 years ago

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The film also draws heavily on a number of earlier titles across a range of genres. Select at least 5 examples and discuss them

”The Cabin In The Woods” is a movie which draws heavily on a number of earlier titles across a range of genres. It pertains to both the plot line and technical aspects. When it comes to the story, there are three movie titles, which certainly are the biggest sources of inspiration: ”The Evil Dead”; ”The Hills Have Eyes” and ”The Truman Show”

”The Evil Dead” is a movie, on the basis of which ”The Cabin In The Woods” is mostly created. There are few - more or less - direct references to that film.

To cut a long story short, a group of friends, who go away for the weekend, ended up getting killed by the ominous forces of evil. The moment the characters get to the cabin is a virtual homage to the classic example of slasher movies, which is ”The Evil Dead”. There’s a direct reference to the original scene, during which one of the boys - the owner of the cabin, cautiously strolls through cabin’s rooms. He looks worried seeing a disturbing house equipment (like a room fulfilled with hunting trophies), yet the rest of the crew seems to be relaxed.

When it comes to ”The Cabin In The Woods”, Dana, who happened to come inside as a first one, is not the only one who’s worried about this place - Marty’s also not convinced whether they should spend the weekend there. It’s vital to remember that since his character was originally intended to go outside of the box, he’s the only member of the group, who is not under control of the organization, which made him a prescient character.

The most significant sequence in both movies is a resurrection of monsters. When it comes to ”The Evil Dead”, the aspect of the importance of a basement is pointed out in the scene preceded the actual beginning of the plot scheme. A girl sketching is a first witness of an evil force, which briefly takes control of her body. After that, there’s a close-up to a shaking entry to the basement. Undoubtedly, this shot does herald a dramatic nature of the plot. When it comes to ”The Cabin In The Woods”, the motive of basement entry randomly opening performs a function of a jump scare - Even though, this solution seems to be more mystique, the solution used in ”The Evil Dead”, provides the better foundation for keeping the suspense.

The aspect worth mentioning here as well is a gender role reversal. In ”The Evil Dead” it was a man, who at the beginning of the movie, walk into a house as a first one and later on, is brave enough to walk down to a basement. He additionally is that investigative that he finds an old book, the most lethal artifact of the movie. But in ”The Cabin In The Woods” that role was signified to a woman. Dana, who earlier enter the cabin before anyone else, dared by Jules to investigate the interior of a basement, takes risks and get down there. Eventually, she happened to pick a diary over other artifacts. Therefore, vis-a-vis ”The Evil Dead”’s heroines, both Dana and Jules distinguish by the much more courage.

As it was stated before, the scene, which takes place in the basement differ substantially. ”The Evil Dead” present only two boys, who are jaunty enough to take a closer look at the mysterious accessories from the hidden room under the floor. However, apart from the evil book, there are any other murderous artifacts left down there, yet it ought to be borne in mind that the scene, which precedes the moment of searching the area, is a great example of building up the suspense. A great amount of fast dynamic cuts; there’s also present a Kuleshow effect. The gloomy non-diegetic sound is also a great solution in the scene.

The scene used in ”The Cabin In The Woods” is quasi-similar, yet building up the tension is replaced by the more peculiar interior of the basement - the room is cluttered with an enormous number of disturbing items. Rewatching the movie, the audience is aware that every single object herald designated type of misery, so their preplanning is not random. The worth mentioning is the scene, in which the dissolve transition between a few consecutive shots is really fluid. Plus, there’s an accumulation of non-diegetic sounds. All of these elements combine together builds up the enormous tension.

Finally, during preparing a set-up for Curt and Jules, there’s a single take, which the picture a little amount of thick smoke. It fulfills a function of a turn-on for Jules, however the most dedicated fans of ”The Evil Dead” know that it is a direct reference to the scene, which spells the beginning of the most ferrying events, with which the characters have to deal soon.

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puppeteerinthewoods-blog · 7 years ago

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“The Hills Have Eyes”

There’s only one shot in „The Cabin In The Woods”, which was inspired - and only slightly modified - by ”The Hills Have Eyes”. The group of friends runt out of gas and make a decision about stopping by a seemingly abandoned petrol station. When they reach there, they encounter with the actual owner of that virtual ruin. He warns them off, telling a story about his designated place, which has changed hands for decades. This shot seems to be a homages to the classic horror movie, which undoubtedly is ”The Hills Have Eyes”. Yet, as it was stated before, there are some adjustments worth listing.

The figure of a man, who run the gas station - In comparison to the original, where the guy seems to be private yet pleasant man, who gives them directions how to reach California; the character from ”The Cabin In The Woods” seems to only play the role of the bearer of bad news.

In the opposite of the classic, in which this scene may be the last while before the beginning of gruesome events, the moment they start to talk with the old man, it is becoming clear that the mare is in the air.

When it comes to technical aspects, it is used a color gradation in the original one, there is a pervasiveness of warm colors, even the majority of characters are worn in bold color or pattern, clothes. ”The Cabin In The Woods” is marked by slightly tinted takes and the lack of gaudy elements within the frame.

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puppeteerinthewoods-blog · 7 years ago

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“The Truman Show”

The most surprising source of inspiration seems to be ”The Truman Show”. Nonetheless, the motive of manipulating the unaware man/a group of people is directly connected to both productions.

The first scene, in which the audience has a chance to see the first reference to ”The Truman Show” is undoubtedly the moment when the shot of the students settle down in the cabin fades out and there is a wipe transition to the room, in which the members of organization observe them on mini-tiny screens. A frame within a frame is one of the principles of composition, using to add depth to the take. Additionally, in ”The Cabin In The Woods” is a confirmation to a question whether the group of people is supervised or not. From that moment, this technique solution tends to be used a few more times.

The struggles of people, fighting for keeping their lives is watching by a relatively big group of people. As it was mentioned by one of the main members of staff, it’s not only the result is vital, but also the entertainment character of the process. All of the students have to die eventually, but they also have to do it in spectacular way. Therefore, it is necessary, from time to time, to guide them on the right path of events.

The plot of ”The Truman Show” bear the hallmarks of insanity, since a small group of the movie makers decided to create an existence of one man to appease the audience. As a consequence,he lives in a captivity - in an artificially created world, which meets up with the expectations of the director.

It is a high time to break the pattern; due to his junkie habits, Marty turnouts to be immune from the organization’s tactics. Therefore, for a long time, he is the only one who senses the real danger. Apart from that, he accidentally exposes one of the cameras in his room. All of these factors considered make him even stronger and eventually, unbeatable even by the highest power of the organization. However, it was Dana, who truly comprehends the whole situation. She put all of the pieces of the puzzle together, so she becomes a real independent heroine, who takes the matters into her hands.

The character of Truman Burbank’s combine both Dana and Marty’s features. Initially, he is only a puppet, so he can be easily manipulated. However, as a result of dramatic experiences (the first encounter with his father since their incident on the sea), he ceases to be naive. The turning point is a moment, where he discovers the wire in his car. These are two situation, lead to his sudden shift of perceiving the world. Eventually, he takes a risk, so he can get to know the truth about his origin.

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