11 Best 'Gameshow' Horror Films

A little different to the other entries on this list, The Cabin in the Woods creates a world where our protagonists have no idea they’re participating in a game. Instead, a host of government officials are pulling the strings from behind a screen, trying their hardest to kill off their players in a specific string of events.

Playing out as an insanely clever spoof film that pits genuine laughs against horrible scenarios, it might seem on first watch like a cliche reenactment of many films that came before it. But fear not, The Cabin in the Woods knows exactly what it is doing, and plays us as much as it plays its poor, unsuspecting characters in the process.

There’s also a merman if that doesn’t swing it for you.