Here are pictures taken from âThe Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companionâ
Quick descriptions of the pictures :
Picture 1 and 2: Picture of the Basement. In it we can see the pile of old-fashionned dolls and Venitian/carnival masks (among which is the specific mask that invokes the âDollsâ or the âDoll familyâ) ; all the film suit-cases and the projector which invoke Kevin, a box shape like a heart, and a strange lampe-like objects that I canât quite identify.Â
Picture 3: Picture of the Merman about to devour Steve Hadley.Â
Pictures 4 and 5: Pictures of the Werewolf
Picture 6: A picture of the Basement. We can see Jules looking at the wedding dress on which is found the necklace (which could invoke the Bride), and in the background other elements such as a fan on the wall and a record player.Â
Pictures 7 to 9 : Pictures of the âTarp Manâ or âMan in Transparent Tarpâ
Picture 10 is a concept art for a Mutant.
Fun facts and infos the book reveals:
# The book mentions the existence of the âvomitting mutantsâ, of the âkrakenâ, of the âevil clownâ, of a âshort version of a Reaverâ and of zombies (mentionned with the âzombie stairwell feeding frenzyâ scene). Are also mentionned the Killer Robot, the Giant Snake, Vampires (interestingly it is pointed out that vampires actually look âjust like peopleâ because they have a âLost Boyâ and âGothâ vibe to them), the Werewolf, the Unicorn, the Merman and the Ballerina.Â
# The Cabin in the Woods is a movie that was made and designed not to be watched but to be ârewatchedâ again and again, each time revealing a new detail, a new monster, a new clue hidden somewhere.
# Among the monsters, there is âThe Huronâ, which is âjust an Indianâ. The presence of this character was explained by him being the embodiment of the âfear of the early settlers. It was the thing they were scared of in the woods, the people to which the woods belongedâ. It is also explained that the presence of the Huron was to highlight the evolution of this ancient ritual, âbefore the movies cameâ. A quite interesting mention when you remember that, in the movie, it is mentionned that the monsters are the things ânightmares come fromâ, aka the source of humanityâs fears - but in the interviews, it seems the filmmakers rather claim the monsters are born from humanityâs fears and culture.
# A very interesting piece of info : in the very early stages of development, the Merman was absent. The monster Hadley wanted so desperatly to see was going to be a Wendigo. However, this idea was abandonned when our filmmaking duo realized no one exactly knew what a Wendigo looked like - or rather no one could agree on a specific iconic look, or on a uniform description. So, they ditched it, and decided to go with something which had a more âiconicâ look and that everyone could visualize just by name : a Merman.Â
# Hellraiser was a big influence on the movie, and âBuzzheadâ (aka the Hell Lord) was a clear reference to Pinhead.Â
# The filmmakers spent a lot of time discussing how the âDoll Peopleâ (aka the Dolls aka the Doll family) should move. They wanted them to have a certain elegance and confidence that they were going to get their prey, and thus they never chased people down. They wanted them to have a slow walk, like artists, everything seeming like a big dance move - even as they are pouring gasoline on people.Â
















