13 Movies That Completely Changed In One Scene

4) The Cabin in the Woods

The Cabin in the Woods has to be one of the most delightfully surprising mainstream movies of the last ten years, an unexpected gem of a film that came out of nowhere last year and amazed audiences with its self-awareness and incisive takedown of some of the worst offenders in the world of horror clichés. Like a lot of people, I went into it the first time knowing little about it aside from the promotional campaign that promised a fairly typical slasher movie. I didn’t even know about Joss Whedon’s involvement until just before seeing it, and I dismissed this detail as an anomaly because there was nothing in the images or trailers or speculation that I had come across to indicate something as satirical and gratifying as the movie ended up being.

The first giveaway for me had to be the opening scene of the movie, which on first viewing feels so out of place that one has to raise at least one eyebrow while watching it. It consists of Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford, two fairly recognizable character players who don’t exactly make a habit of appearing in dumb movies, having the most banal conversation imaginable. Then, all of a sudden, their dull back and forth is interrupted by a loud classic horror sound as the title bursts onto the screen.

This is not normal. It was enough to induce laughs, and more importantly to immediately pique immense curiosity. What the hell was that scene in there for? The first act of the movie progresses and for a while we forget about these two technician guys, until more and more of the details of this Facility are revealed and the opening scene becomes all the more poignant.

We may consciously forget it for a while, but it’s in the back of our minds even as we’re being introduced to the dumb characters who will end up going to the titular cabin. It sets the stage for a movie unlike any we’ve seen before, and announces itself in a way that fits the distinct and rather brilliant tone of the film with perfection. And the rest is just gravy.