The Cabin in the Woods starts off with a cliche. A group of five friends embark on a college trip during which they plan to stay at a cabin deep in the woods. They make a stop at a gas station, where they encounter a very strange attendant who seems to know way too much about their plans.  
 
I think I have spoiled enough for you if sit warmth down here – this is not just a stuck place in America; rather, we refer to it as the situational center of predicaments possible. Underneath lies sub Montis Electronics Laboractors Inc., which claims to conduct parody like experiments. Tech nerds like Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford perform manipulations like pulling levers and screwing knobs just to contain these subjects into situations after which mind manipulation can be executed and some desired results can be observed!
The Cabin in the Woods (2011) - IMDb
 
In any your average horror flick, this would be enough to scream: OMG! The cabin is in fact operated by some secret facility under it! Trust me though, that is just the tip of the iceberg. Joss Whedon, famous for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel as well other prominent tv shows alongside his business partner Drew Goddard who co-produced and co-wrote this film with him also directed and wrote Cloverfield. As we all know, Whedon himself said that it was made to serve as a loving hate letter to horror films and is a provocation into how one can plunge into the genre itself: It has five basic characters in the ever so generic cabin in the woods setting. We can think of the lab scientists as the directors and writers trying to figure out what will happen next with their characters in a sort of controlling god way. In way Jenkins' and Whitford's charactesr symbolize Whedon and Goddard.
The Cabin in the Woods (2011) - IMDb
 
Indeed, horror fans are different. It reminds me of the Canadian literary critic Northrup Frye, who examined literature with the same level of detail as horror fans approach their favorite films. The Cabin in the Woods appears to be assembled like a puzzle specifically for horror aficionados. What cliches are being toyed with? Whose works are being alluded to and referenced? What is the film critiquing?
 
When looking at most genre films, there is usually one simple question that comes to mind: “Does it work?” The Cabin in the Woods manages to evoke some legit terror, but that isn’t what stands out—similar to a fanboy’s final exam focused on other priorities.