Director Drew Goddard talks ‘Cabin in the Woods’
Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard on the set of 'Cabin in the Woods'
I recently had the opportunity to sit in on a discussion with director Drew Goddard about his new film and feature length directorial debut Cabin in the Woods. Goddard, a pleasant, down-to-earth individual, started off as a writer that was stuck in a room alone for ridiculous amounts of time and now he’s working with 300 different people with a common goal of making a fun enjoyable film. Take a look at what I got out of the discussion, then make your way to your local cinema to have the most fun in a movie than you’ve probably had in a long time. I call Goddard the “Michael Bay Killer” and that’s not far off.
Goddard is the co-writer and director behind the horror film Cabin in the Woods. You may know him as one of the writers of Lost, Cloverfield, Alias, Angel, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He then took his experience working on television and applied it to writing and directing Cabin in the Woods. When Goddard set out to write Cabin in the woods with Joss Whedon (of Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse and Toy Story fame) they just wanted to make something that they would want to watch. They didn’t think about how the film would sell or how marketable it would be. They just knew that, based on their background, they wanted to make a horror film that worked as one of the sub-genres that made you laugh as much as it scared you.
The process that Goddard used to create this film leads to one word: fun. “There’s nothing like a good rowdy horror movie,” he says. “I just want people to enjoy it, we really want to make the ultimate date movie.” He even went on to mention that Cabin in the Woods was extremely fun to make and that the studio didn’t hold them back from what they were trying to do, and he was thankful for that. There was a lot of energy in the cast and the crew during shooting and it shows on the film. Part of the fun in making the film was using practical effects. His current favorite movie is The Thing and it was one of the inspirations that pushed him to use practical effects whenever possible. Which, in my opinion, always look best.
When asked if Goddard would be looking to direct more features after Cabin in the Woods, he mentioned that he would love to, but he doesn’t want to close himself off to other opportunities. He won’t push himself into only a certain type of film because he doesn’t know who he will be in a couple years down the road. But he will do what he’s been doing and choose things that he thinks will be enjoyable to work on. Based on this film and his past work, I think we can look forward to more work from Goddard that is just as fun and entertaining as Cabin in the Woods.
After making Cabin in the Woods Goddard learned a few things about himself. He learned that he “loved blood more than he realized” which really comes through after seeing Cabin. Any fan of horror films can attest to this strange love. Even people who are not fans of horror films will love this film. “If you don’t like horror films you might still enjoy this because it’s different. If, I could be the gateway drug to [non-horror fans] then it’s a job well done.” Whatever you have to do make sure you go see this movie!
