FILM · 2011 · CANADA
The Cabin in the Woods
24 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (24)
- #001
The film's opening was a deliberate attempt by producers Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon to confuse the audience into thinking they had walked into the wrong movie.
- #002
The thermal coffee mug / bong was a fully functional mug and bong as depicted in the film, and building the prototype cost $5,000.
- #003
Much of Drew Goddard's inspiration for the film came from his upbringing in Los Alamos, New Mexico, a place full of scientists and coworkers who went about their jobs and lived seemingly routine, ordinary lives even though they were building nuclear weapons capable of potentially destroying the entire world. He discusses this in the DVD's special interviews and commentary.
- #004
The only student who does not jump into the lake during the lake scene is Marty, who remains fully clothed on the dock. This was partly because Fran Kranz was noticeably, if not better than the other male students, in good shape. In the film's commentary, the writers joke that he was "ripped like muscular Jesus" and argue that showing Marty to be that fit would ruin the character. This is also partly why Marty wears looser clothing than the other students.
- #005
The studio wanted most of the office celebration scene cut from the film. Producer Joss Whedon managed to convince director Drew Goddard to do it, but it upset Goddard so much that Whedon eventually called the studio and informed them they would not be cutting anything.
- #006
The possible options on the facility's betting board include: Werewolf, Alien Monster, Mutants, Ghosts, Zombies, Reptiles, Clowns, Witches, Sexy Witches, Demons, Hell Lord, Angry Molesting Tree, Giant Snake, Deadites, Mummy, Bride, Scarecrow Folk, Snowman, Dragonbat, Vampires, Dismemberment Goblins, Sugar Plum Fairy, Merman, The Reanimated, Unicorn, Huron, Sasquatch/Wendigo/Yeti, Dolls, Zombie Redneck Torture Family, Doctors, Jack O' Lantern, Giant, Twins and Kevin. Hadley and Sitterson respectively took Merman and Hell Lord. "Mummy" was chosen by "Psychology".
- #007
According to producer Joss Whedon, the Director role was always intended for an actress well known to audiences, preferably from horror films, and he was excited to have Sigourney Weaver in the role. Weaver was also excited to finally appear in a film featuring a werewolf.
- #008
While the staff take bets on the victim's potential killers, both "Deadites" and "Angry Molesting Tree" are listed on the whiteboard in the control room. These are obvious references to The Evil Dead (1981) and its sequels, most of which take place in a cabin in the woods.
- #009
In the shot showing all the creatures in the elevator cells, you can briefly see the Tank, the Witch, the Boomer and the Hunter, four special infected characters from the Left 4 Dead (2008) game series. Their cameos were included to coincide with a planned tie-in expansion pack for the games in which players would have to fight through the film's woods, cabin and facility. Unfortunately, the tie-in was cancelled when MGM's financial problems emerged.
- #010
Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard wrote the script in only 3 days.
- #011
When Jules kisses the wolf's head on the wall, the wolf's tongue is coated with powdered sugar to give it a dusty look and to make the scene bearable for Anna Hutchison.
- #012
The rituals that end in failure in other countries reference various classic films and monsters. The Kyoto ritual is a reference to Ringu (The Ring). The Buenos Aires ritual is a reference to King Kong. The Stockholm ritual is a reference to John Carpenter's The Thing. The Madrid ritual appears to reference Dracula.
- #013
According to the director, the scene audiences tested the most was the Merman scene.
- #014
Kevin, one of the monsters on the whiteboard, is a tribute to Elijah Wood's character of the same name from Sin City (2005) and the original Frank Miller comic.
- #015
Body Count (Depicted): 69. Body Count (Implied): 6,873,741,054 (the world population in 2009, when the film was shot), as the world ultimately comes to an end.
- #016
The blood spraying from the Merman's blowhole was a very late idea added to the film. The director jokes that the blood flowed for nine minutes, but in fact only the last ten seconds of that take were used.
- #017
When Hadley releases the blood onto the Fool monolith, the office experiences a slight tremor, indicating that the gods realize they were wrong to assume that he and Sitterson had the Buckner zombies kill Marty.
- #018
The Floating Head monster was played by David Leroy Anderson, the husband of the film's special effects makeup artist Heather Langenkamp.
- #019
This was Drew Goddard's directorial debut. His first day as director was the gas station scene, which turned out to be an abrupt challenge because the film set was unexpectedly covered in snow.
- #020
In the elevator scene, when Dana realizes they chose their own monsters to hunt them, she is looking at Fornicus, Lord of Pain, who was intended to be modeled on the Cenobite Pinhead, the demonic figure known from Clive Barker's literary works and films. Fornicus wears a black latex-like outfit with multiple saw blades set into his skull. He also holds a puzzle in the form of a sphere, similar to the puzzle Kurt tries to solve in the basement, known as a "Lemarchand's box." The most famous Lemarchand's box is the Lament Configuration seen in Clive Barker's Hellraiser (1987) and its sequels; the Lament Configuration serves as a gateway that summons Pinhead and the other Cenobites from Hell to punish those who solve the puzzle.
- #021
When all the monsters are first released, if you look very closely near the top left corner of the screen, close to the ceiling, you can see the Flying Purple People Eater (per the classic novelty song).
- #022
Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon wrote the script themselves after both had come off failed film projects. To challenge themselves, they locked themselves in a hotel room and wrote almost the entire script over a single weekend.
- #023
The Latin that Dana reads from the diary: "Dolor supervivo caro. Dolor sublimus caro. Dolor ignio animus." Its meaning: Pain outlives the flesh. Pain elevates the flesh. Pain sets the soul on fire.
- #024
During the rage, one of the briefly visible monsters is a Reaver, a member of the terrifying tribe from Whedon's cult TV series Firefly (2002), though they had not been clearly shown on screen until Serenity (2005).
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- IMDb IMDb kaydı
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work