Cabin Fever is one of the quintessential cabin in the woods horror movies and was first released in 2002. Let's put on a party hat and throw some confetti because the film just reached its 21st anniversaryโmy, my, how time flies when trying to avoid flesh-eating viruses. The idea of a relaxing vacation in nature, in a woodland area that turns dangerous and frightening, is a well-established trope in horror films. It's because of the isolation of that serene cabin, how difficult it can be to get help, and there's no one to help you should anything go wrong that is so appealing to horror writers and directors. Read more: 1983: Stephen King's Year Of Fear.
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The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
Even though The Cabin in the Woods wasn't released until 2011, it is a hilarious and spooky horror comedy that is so meta that it is a blueprint for the sub-genre. The film was co-written and directed by Drew Goddard and stars Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, and Fran Kranz. The cabin with the group of friends storyline collides with the mythology of a pact that humanity has with a group of monsters so powerful that they can only be looked at as gods. It's part slasher, part monster movie, and part Lovecraftian pact with all the bells and whistles. Even J-Horror gets its moment in this greatest-hits package of terror. There's even a merman, and what a merman it is.
The Ritual (2017)
This British horror film was directed by American David Bruckner (The Night House, Hellraiser) and concerns four friends who go hiking in Sweden after the tragic death of one of their friends. While the group spends time wandering in the wilderness, things get much worse every time they find a cabin. It's the cabin, you guys. The film stars Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier, and Sam Troughton and is graced with the presence of a monster the likes of which you probably haven't seen before. Read more: The 5 Best Horror Movies From The Venice Film Festival.
Evil Dead (2013)
In the tradition of the Evil Dead films, much of the action in Evil Dead (2013) takes place in a spooky cabin. A group of friends go there to help one of their detox from heroin, so it's not a vacation this time. However, someone makes the error of reading from the Naturom Demonto, and the demons start running wild. The film was co-written by director Fede รlvarez and Rodo Sayagues and dispensed with Ash Williams-style comedy and piles on the gore and violence. It stars Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, and Jessica Lucas. Read more: The Nun 2 Conjures A Big Opening Weekend At The Box Office.
Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007)
Joe Lynch's Wrong Turn 2: Dead End is a slasher joy. From the shocking and gruesome opening sequence to the very end, this film keeps you on your toes and entertained. A group of reality show contestants and their drill sergeant host and film crew stumble into the same group of cannibals from the first film with the kind of results you could expect. For extra entertainment value, the host is played by Henry Rollins. Wrong Turn 2 also stars Erica Leerhsen, Texas Battle, and Kimberly Caldwell. It's hilarious and super gory. The opening kill is a work of gore art and doesn't get the love it should.
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010)
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is a cabin in the woods dark horror comedy that inverts the idea of the people in the country as killers. It was written and directed by Eli Craig and stars Tyler Labine, Alan Tudyk, Katrina Bowden, and Jesse Moss. Tucker and Dale are sweet guys who bump into a group of friends who immediately make assumptions about who they are. The guys save Allison, a member of the group, but every time her friends see her with the pair, they assume the worst. Granted, the film takes place 20 years after a local massacre, so their suspicions aren't totally out the window at first. Still, Tucker and Dale survive and triumph through a mix of good-heartedness and outright luck., but spoiler alert, some body parts get cut off. Read more: 11 Horror Movies From The Sewer, Creeping Up On You.
Creep (2014)
Creep is a found footage movie and a stealth slasher. Co-written and starring Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass, Brice also directs the film. It proves that Southern California also has creepy cabins in Crestline available for serial killers to use. The setup is that a videographer is lured to that remote hideaway ostensibly to film a video diary for a terminally ill man. The videographer, Adam (Patrick Brice), notices that what Josef says starts not to add up and realizes he is at the mercy of a dangerous man.
Hush (2016)
Hush is Mike Flanagan's fourth feature film that stars Kate Siegel, one of his most frequent collaborators and wife. The pair collaborated on the script about a deaf and mute woman living in an isolated cabin whom a masked killer attacks. This collaboration yielded a tense and thrilling film in which a woman must defend herself from a completely unexpected attack. It also stars John Gallagher Jr. and Michael Trucco. Don't worry; the cat makes it.
Knock at the Cabin (2023)
M. Night Shyamalan's Knock at the Cabin obviously takes place in a cabin. It is similar to The Cabin In The Woods because it is about sacrificing yourself for the good of humanity. It is based on Paul G. Tremblay's The Cabin At The End of the World and asks what you would do if the four horsemen of the Apocalypse showed up at your home and told you that the world was about to end unless one of your family members die. It's really a terrifying idea and puts the theory first advanced in The Cabin In The Woods from a different perspective.
Friday the 13th (1980)
When you make a list of horror movies about cabins in any kind of woods, you can't neglect the classics like Friday the 13th. As anyone who has ever been to summer camp or watched a summer camp slasher film knows, there are always a bunch of cabins at camp that attract slasher killers like honey attracts flies. It's a timeless part of the horror genre that really gets filmmakers and fans' minds working overdrive. Respect must be paid to one of the genre's classics and one of the prototypes of this particular idea.
Honeymoon (2014)
Honeymoon stars Rose Leslie (Bea) and Harry Treadway (Paul) as happy newlyweds who unfortunately decide to honeymoon in a rustic cabin. That was their first mistake. Unlike many films on this list, the problem isn't a homicidal killer, the Apocalypse, or monsters or cannibals. Bea and Paul fall asleep, and Paul wakes to find Bea gone. He finds her in the forest, and in the coming days, she seems to start losing her memory and hurting herself. Exactly what has happened to Bea is the puzzle that Paul must try to solve.