For movie buffs, the month of October means one thing: 31 days of horror movies. With tons of horror flicks to choose from, The Daily Texan is going to be providing a daily horror recommendation. Whether you prefer ghosts, zombies or stark explorations of the human condition, we’ll be featuring horror films of all flavors. Check back every evening for the movie of the day. Today, “The Cabin in the Woods” satirizes the slasher genre.

With “The Cabin in the Woods,” Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon take horror satire to the next level. Whedon’s love letter to slaughtering college students is written with a biting satirical edge, but the film’s epic, mythological plot has the viewer constantly second-guessing their inherent predispositions on the slasher genre. 

First we’re brought underground to a lab filled with workers in ties. Next, we meet our soon-to-be-mercilessly-murdered scholars who are surprisingly intelligent, and then we’re off. As the kids embark to an ominous cabin in, you guessed it, the woods, and the office drones watch and regulate the goings on, we quickly get a new, meta understanding of the slasher genre.

Joss Whedon has always been a master of balancing comedy and dark melodrama and it shines especially here. The stringent devotion exhibited by the satanic dilberts is juxtaposed with hilarious water-cooler discussions commonplace in a workplace environment. The horror experienced by our young victims is countered by the hilarious conspiracy theories of the Cabin’s resident stoner, Marty. 

Goddard and Whedon lead you with a carrot for the length of the film, teasing bigger mysteries and jokes about certain monstrous creatures. But just when you think the story is over, they take the carrot, bake it into a cake, and serve it to you on a golden platter with a cherry on top . 

I won’t spoil the ending, but I can safely say that watching the final 30 minutes of “The Cabin in the Woods” was one of the most entertaining experiences of my natural life. “The Cabin in the Woods” is one of the best horror films of this generation. It’s satire of the highest tier and I recommend it to anyone who loves horror and the movies.