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Cabin in the Woods isn't just about the twists
Fran Kranz, the Dollhouse star who also appears in the upcoming horror movie Cabin in the Woods, says the so-called game-changing movie isn't so much about a twist.
Writer/director Drew Goddard and co-writer/producer Joss Whedon remain secretive about the plot of the film, saying only that it will subvert the horror genre.
Kranz, who plays computer genius Topher in Whedon's Fox series Dollhouse, wouldn't elaborate on his own intriguing description of the movie, saying only that it has to do with "the order in which these people kind of die," he said in an exclusive interview Thursday at the Television Critics Association summer press tour in Pasadena, Calif. "That's kind of the fun of the movie. We're not hiding that we are so aware of the kind of context that we're in. We make fun of it, and we have a lot of fun with it. The movie is extremely ambitious, lot of different stuff going."
In other words, you'll just have to screen the movie.
"Reading the script was such an unreal experience," Kranz said. "The way the movie unfolds, there's not just sort of one twist. It's not really a twist movie. It's kind of like, the entire time you're wondering what the hell is really going on. While it's amazing and entertaining, it slowly is unfolding. There's not anything really to spoil unless you see it, so in that sense you've got to just wait and see it."
It's still the classic setup of five teens who go into the woods and bad things happen, as Kranz described. The classic archetypes don't change.
"They want to go party out in the woods. One of them has a cabin. That's that," Kranz said. "Then bad things happen. Woods are scary. They've always been scary to us, going back to [Nathaniel] Hawthorne or something. We're afraid of the woods, so that's where all the monsters are. It was a natural setting, and also Vancouver's gorgeous, so it was an opportunity to go hang out there in the woods."
As in the familiar story, each of the five teens fills an archetypal role before the film shakes things up. "I'm the party guy," Kranz said. "I'm that guy. You know how it is. There's the jock guy. There's the virginal kind of girl. There's the party, slutty girl. There's the kind of nice guy who kind of gets the girl. Then there's the stoner. I'm that guy. I'm the party animal stoner guy, and it's a lot of fun to play."
The Cabin in the Woods opens Feb. 5, 2010.
By Due01 at 6:06 PM ON 08/07/09
Let's see, based on that description, I'm thinking that there's a way that the general public, or select group is watching what is happening to the teenagers and they vote who dies when and how.
By Michael at 11:22 PM ON 08/07/09
Yawn! Personally, the last thing I want to see is a SURVIVOR meets THE EVIL DEAD. I'm getting kinda tired of filmmakers trying to exploit the popularity of boring so-called reality shows. Besides, didn't we already see that in a horror movie? WRONG TURN 2 comes to mind...
By former buffy & angel fan at 4:15 AM ON 08/08/09
whedon is a pathetic hack that does nothing but exploit other people ideas and mulches them into crappy generic action/sci-fi scripts for hollywood big wigs looking to make a quick profit and takes credit for the anything that marginally produces success. This is just his latest attempt at the same thing. I wish him and all the other lame hollywood slimball loser hacks would stop getting bankrolled and subsequently be forced to actually take jobs where they belong, like the drive thru window at burger king or taco bell.
By Jill_Ion at 1:20 PM ON 08/08/09
Sounds like someone peed in "former buffy & angel fan"'s late-night cereal.
I don't watch horror movies, but this one has my interest piqued.
Joss has never been generic.
By trala huh? at 1:23 PM ON 08/08/09
"former buffy & angel fan" are you on drugs?
By OpenlyLewdComics at 3:13 AM ON 08/10/09
Once the guy typed "whedon is a pathetic hack", he lost a lot of credibility. "Cabin in The Woods" could suck, but Whedon is in no way a "hack".
By Michael at 9:16 AM ON 08/10/09
Since the verb SUBVERT means to "ruin, or overthrow, or pervert," I don't understand why Writer/director Drew Goddard and co-writer/producer Joss Whedon are "saying only that [this film] will subvert the horror genre." As a fan of the genre, this doesn't really make me want to go see this film.
By george at 12:01 PM ON 08/18/09
its this a remake of evil dead?
please someone answer me
By Maxxie at 8:46 PM ON 09/07/09
No, this isn't a remake of Evil Dead. This is the horror version of The Truman Show.
Lame, lamer, lamest.
By thomas j handle at 10:38 AM ON 09/11/09
This movie takes peices of the 80's Waxwork , Gravesteppers, and the Knowing movies with a splash of TVs Lost and puts it into a tongue-in-cheek, gore-fest. SPOILER**************************************************************************************** There is a gov't-type area51-esque setup in the woods. Very Darma like from TVs Lost. This entire area is enclosed in a force field that only allows you to go in. Before you know it, death ensues via zombies, monsters, aliens, and robots. The question is why...Well, the reason is the area is stagged for ritualistic deaths to please the gods that have been living in the center of the earth for millions of years (which explains the area51esque employees seen during a few scences in the beginning of the movie." These gods need to be pleased by fangoric and origoric deaths or they will raise from the earth and destroy humanity. The question is, will there be a sequel - let's just say the gods are unpleased and 'lend a hand'.********************************************************************************************************************************************* The movie has beautiful outdoor scenery, but it is very difficult to admire with intense scenes. Most people will probably be disappointed by the plot once they see it. However, it is scary and intense throughout. The ending will be *hush,hush* by movie goers, either because they don't want to spoil the ending for others or they feel robbed of their $10 and want others to think it is a great movie so they, too, can lose $10.
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thomas j handle:
This movie takes peices of the 80's Waxwork , Gravesteppers, and the Knowing movies with a splash of TVs Lost and p...More »