12 Greatest Horror Films Of The Last 5 Years
7. The Cabin In The Woods (2012)
If there was too much horror in Adam Wingard's The Guest for you and not enough laughs, perhaps this one will do the trick. Directed by Drew Goddard, the film sees five friends head to a remote cabin in the woods for a relaxing break. The twist is that they're actually being watched and manipulated by an underground facility that essentially manufacturers horror movie tropes, drugging the friends and prompting their actions in order to encourage their inevitable murder.
There's nothing remarkable about the performances in the movie (though they're all completely serviceable); it's the strength and cleverness of the writing that really makes it stand out. Watching the various genre clichés subverted and deconstructed is extremely satisfying, and there are enough twists to keep viewers on the edge.
What's great, however, is that there are plenty of traditional scares too during the moments when the friends are being stalked and killed, extending to when the survivors manage to enter the facility where everything is being controlled.