[Book Review] The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companion

The Cabin in the Woods is one of my all time favorite movies. When I first watched it, I was expecting a true horror film, but I was so happy to learn that it was a wonderful mashup of horror comedy!

So when I saw a copy of The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companion at my local Goodwill, I was ecstatic! Of course I snatched it up immediately and went directly to the register.

This was absolutely everything I was hoping it would be.

Let’s dive in to my review!

My Thoughts on The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companion by Tim Lebbon

The forward by Drew Goddard was such a great start to the book! It was so funny and interesting and it made me ever more excited to read on!

Next up was an interview with Josh Whedon and Drew Goddard! I really enjoyed getting to learn more about the two of them and what their process was like in making this film. One of my favorite facts that I learned: the two of them locked themselves into a hotel room to write together and get the screenplay down!

I really enjoyed that Josh and Drew discussed the genre of horror overall and just how many horror elements went into this film. One of my favorite bits was where Drew explained how this is a film that is, “designed to be watched repeatedly.” That was so exciting for me to read because I have been saying that for years! I have told so many people that you can’t just watch this film once; the more you watch, the more you get out of it because you will notice more and more each time!

Also in this section, there were wonderful photos included of the two of them on set during various situations such as the first day of shooting at the gas station when it was snowing, or inside the cabin directing the actors.

The main chunk of the book was the screenplay. I absolutely adored this section! It was so wonderfully put together! I loved that there were lots of photos, short interviews with the characters, blurbs about the characters, and fun facts mixed in with the screenplay! And I mean, just reading the screenplay itself was awesome, but all the extra bits really added to the excitement!

The texture on each of the pages was awesome! There was just so much going on if you took the time to look at everything rather than just cruising through the story and looking at the photos. Check out this photo below for example. This was one of my favorite scenes from the film, and just look at that background!

Next was the “Creature Feature,” which was absolutely incredible! I loved learning more about the “creatures” and seeing photos of them up close all while reading short blurbs from David Leroy Anderson and Heather Langenkamp Anderson who discussed how the effects and creatures were made.

The book concluded with a section from Josh Whedon, which wrapped things up wonderfully.

My Favorite Passage from The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companion

MARTY
Nemo, man, you gotta wake up. Your shit is topsy-turvy.

My Final Thoughts on The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companion

An absolute must read for any fan of the film! I thought that this book was wonderful! It was organized really well and the imagery and overall design was just perfect. I’m so happy that I own this one!

Now, I’m off to re-watch the film again!!

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Thanks for reading!
Have you watched this film? If so, what did you think?