8 Horror Movies That Get Better The Deeper You Go

Essentially Evil Dead turned up to 11, The Cabin in the Woods sees a group of stereotypical teenagers - a rambunctious jock, a promiscuous bimbo, an intelligent nerd, a ridiculous stoner, and a shy virgin - head out to the titular cabin for a weekend away. Only, instead of a weekend of fun, the group are accosted by a zombie redneck torture family that have been awoken by messing with a book in the basement, slowly picked off in increasingly violent ways.

The premise is one that's all too familiar, or at least, it appears so - until a government agency is discovered to be controlling the group behind the scenes in order to maintain a pact with ancient gods that threaten to wipe out the planet if not appeased. You know, your average stakes then.

What makes The Cabin in the Woods so brilliant is that this agency adds another layer to just about every horror movie out there in existence. Instead of horror films being an effort in creating the most gruesome entertainment possible, this movie gives meaning to the sadism and explains why tropes are so common in a genre that has room to be so experimental - becoming a wider theory that sprinkles a healthy dose of fun throughout film experience as a whole.

Combined with the countless references to horror film greats that make for some good old fashioned scavenger hunting with the pause button, and The Cabin in the Woods holds a tale that only gets better the more you bury into it.