Welcome To Our Nightmare II: The Return of Terror and Wooley

I was somewhat disappointed by Eyes of Fire when I saw it, I think it was ~five years ago. I can't put my finger on exactly why. But it did have a lot going on for it, I found the idea of the flash of two, very geographically-separated, non-Christian mythologies colliding around a group of puritans to be an interesting idea. I even got a bit of a very slight Aguirre vibe when they're on the raft. It was, if nothing else, distinct, and I do want to revisit it at some point. Since it's in the All our Haunts collection, I do have a copy of it.


I'll probably save it for a group watch with friends or until my curiosity gets the best of me. Whichever comes first. (The queue for the former has been getting ridiculously long)

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As I always do one day every October, I woke up this mornin' with a bad case of The Cramps!

Twelfth viewing.

I'm sure everyone's seen this but if you haven't this is a horror movie about a group of college kids who go off for a weekend at a cousin's Cabin In The Woods and are surprised to find themselves behaving strangely and then suddenly being pursued by a Zombie Redneck Torture Family. Which is a "totally different species" than zombies. "It's like the difference between an elephant and an elephant seal.”

Well, obviously, I like this movie a lot. It's a sort of subversion, but in the most reverent possible way, of all Horror movies, with even some Lovecraft lore thrown in, and it is meticulously fun and funny (perhaps too much so for some), from Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford who run “the scenario”…


… to the Merman spouting blood out of his air-hole.

I really liked how the movie subverted the one-dimensional nature of so many Horror characters by having The Jock be a well-read and very nice sociology major, The Scholar/Nerd also be really attractive, The Whore be a really sweet supportive friend to The Virgin who is just coming out of an affair with one of her professors. And the Stoner is the smartest guy in the room whose alleged stoned-paranoid delusions turn out to be sharp insight since he "sees farther than them and will bind them with ancient logics."
It’s also really interesting to me how hard, and I mean into scary and violent territory, this movie turns after the Wolf scene.


I mean, it’s pretty light and fun, with just a few hints of shadow, up to that point, but as soon as that Wolf happens and then the cellar door blows open, it’s on.
I’ve always really enjoyed and admired the way the three characters that have to be altered by the chem department slowly and subtly change their personalities from being normal multi-dimensional people to becoming just tropes of so many lazy slashers and other Horror movies.
I also enjoyed the lore the movie created. As I've mentioned, it's Lovecraft running in the background the whole time, and then the very Lovecraftian idea that all horrors in this world through all the years are real and come from the same Evil.
“They’re like something from a nightmare.”
“No, they’re something nightmares are from.”
And even going so far as to have a pretty fleshed-out backstory to the Zombie Redneck Torture Family that specifically comes for our victims.
One fun note from this year as compared to last year:



So, another year, another viewing of one of the most fun movies, particularly for any genre fans and especially the ones that really know their Horror movies, that one can watch in October.

Yeah, The Cabin in the Woods is a real blast. Not sure how to feel about the ending, but the rest of the film is excellent.

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Oh, I need to hear what your uncertain feelings over the ending are.

I've seen it maybe 3 times and it's the kind of script that seems like it must have taken decades to write. So many hidden details.
I can think of another example of this, but you're probably watching it later this month.

Ever since Scream did the cheeky self referential thing back in the 90s, which I initially really loved, I'm just suspect towards anything that goes that route these days. Cabin in the Woods is a really clever movie, but I think clever is one of the last things I want a movie to be. Thankfully it does still at least work as a horror film, but that winking meta 90s shit just keeps me at arm's length. It's impossible for me to truly bring these sorts of movies to my heart.

I had a good friend advise me not to watch because I would be pissed about the ending. I trust his word.

I'd still recommend watching the film. While the ending doesn't do a whole lot for me, I don't think it ruins the rest of the film or anything. You should still find plenty of things to enjoy about it.

Maybe I will try to fit it in this month but a have a good size list already.

That catman jumping down from the....tree?...is classic stuff

I like the ending of The Cabin in the Woods.

Landed on his feet, naturally.

It’s fantastic. As is the movie itself.

Ah, I didn't feel like it was out of nowhere, but maybe that's because I'm such a Lovecraft fan, I thought that was what the whole movie was about. And really, I think it's structured that way, they keep saying throughout that if the scenario doesn't work, it's
But the fact that they chose to go there rather than let off the gas is one of the many things that makes the movie truly special. I mean, how many Horror movies end with, Maybe Demons and a few others. It's a big-boy/girl move in my opinion.
And then the funny dialogue that goes with it:

I mean, if the movie is too slick or winking for you like it is for crumbs, I can kinda let that go (I was thinking of crumbs when I said it might be too meticulously funny for some), but to me, the ending is just balls-out and leaves me with this huge shit-eating grin.

I am happy you watched this. I'll try to slip this in in the future.
But I am absolutely going to counter with this film's better known counterpart soon.
I am currently three reviews behind my viewing.

This is because you are a smart person with good taste.