The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

The second film in our Self-Aware Horror cycle is the 2012 postmodern bonanza The Cabin in the Woods. What happens when the Post-Scream style of ironic horror goes past the event horizon? The infamous Joss Whedon teamed up with Drew Goddard to create this send-up of the horror genre. The Cabin in the Woods is in many ways the paradigm of self-aware horror. It doesn't really work unless you are a horror fan and you can easily translate the winks and homage. Unlike the straight parody of Scary Movie, The Cabin in the Woods tries to move the genre past the shadow of the Scream 90s and reboot 2000s, but we are unsure of its success. Special Guest, Evan Crean from Spoilerpiece Theatre, helps ups dissect this endpoint of horror film. Or was it really just the beginning of a new era? All three of us grapple with Whedon's sullied legacy, and how the artist behind the story can deeply color our interpretation of the messages both intended and unintended. For our chaser film, we have chosen 2007's Teeth, a mostly forgotten indie horror comedy that bites down hard on the vagina dentata myth. Written and directed by famous artist Roy Lichtenstein's son Mitchell Lichtenstein, this small film did get a lot of praise and hype back when it was premiered. It won the Special Jury Prize at Sundance in 2007, but it sadly sat on the shelf for a year and was released DOA in Jan 2008.