The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companion [Paperback]

Joss Whedon (Author), Drew Goddard (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 17, 2012

From Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Drew Goddard, writer of the monster movie phenomenon Cloverfield, comes the horror film to end all horror films!

The details of the plot are a closely guarded secret, though Joss himself has described it as “a straight-up, balls-out, really terrifying horror movie,” adding,"it is not just a slasher in the woods. It's a little more complicated than that..."

All will be revealed in the Official Visual Companion, featuring in-depth interviews, the full screenplay by Whedon and Goddard, stunning production art, and hundreds of color photos!

Editorial Reviews

Review

“In classic Whedonesque style, this movie doesn’t just have fun with the genre, it blows it up. Deconstruction is kid’s stuff—this one delves deep into the psychology behind the universal need to confront evil. The turns it takes are pretty mind-boggling, and the end of the movie is truly demented. You’ll still be laughing, but nervously.” Marti Noxon, writer and producer of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and writer of the 2011 movie Fright Night

"Awesome, detailed looks at the behind the scenes." - Ain't It Cool

"This seriously gorgeous book includes just loads of concept art and production photos, which give you a way better look at [spoilers, sweetie!], plus all the millions of other details you might have missed." - io9

"...a certified joy for the movie's already-sizable cult of worshippers. The interview offers up essentially everything you could possibly want to know about the film and the mad scientists behind it." - JoBlo

"There is absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t go out and buy this right now." - Comic Book Movie

"[The Cabin in the Woods: The Official Visual Companion] will have you uncovering “hidden truths” long after the credits roll." - Strange Kids Club

"A great look into the minds of one of the genre’s most influential and original filmmakers..." - Anything Horror

"There is no reason to not buy this. It will make you so happy." - Film.com

"Easily the best companion book that I have ever seen.  It is not only caters to fans of Whedon but all horror fans a like." - MediaMikes

About the Author

Joss Whedon is the creator and guiding light behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly and Dollhouse. He also wrote and directed the movie Serenity. 
 
Drew Goddard wrote Cloverfield, and has also written episodes of Alias and Lost.He also wrote and directed the movie Serenity. 

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Titan Books (April 17, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1848565240
• ISBN-13: 978-1848565241
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.5 x 10.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #145,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #69 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Movies > Genre Films

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Detailed & Packed With Information April 20, 2012

By Nick Wagner

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is an outstanding companion piece to the film. It includes the following:

+ The full screenplay
+ Interviews with producer Joss Whedon and director Drew Goddard about writing and developing the film
+ Character biographies
+ TONS of concept art and color photos of the characters, monsters, sets and effects
+ Interviews with the special effects crew about how they brought some of the monsters and effects to life

I had extremely high expectations for this book, and it delivered. I really wanted to see lots of pictures and concept art of all the monsters and creatures since there were so many in the movie. There's a whole section at the back of the book dedicated to this, comparing various concept art to the final monster designs shown in the film. Some of the ideas the production designers came up with are wildly creative, even if they didn't make it into the film. The amount of detail they put into the monsters and sets is remarkable.

The screenplay takes up a good chunk of the book, with photos and behind-the-scenes information displayed chronologically as you read it. At first I thought this was a bad layout idea, but after reading some of it, I found it really hard to put down. It really sucks you in and (for me) it brought back vivid memories of the film. The interviews with Whedon and Goddard are at the beginning of the book (before the screeplay starts) and are a great look into the how they developed the story.

In short, this is a fantastic look at the creative process behind The Cabin In The Woods. It's a must read if you liked the film as much as I did, even more so if you want a behind-the-scenes look before it hits home video!

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars This should be required reading before posting on the IMDB board for this movie April 18, 2012

By K. Myers

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a well designed book that clears up most of the questions one might have after watching the related film. 90% of the questions that are posted repeatedly on the IMDB page for this movie are answered in this book. The answers are from the writers/director/producer and technical staff, and are authoritative.

There is a still shot of the white board in the control room, which is handy to read all of the monsters the employees can bet on. Most of the obscure ones are explained, such as "Kevin" and "The Huron."

There is a lengthy interview with Whedon and Goddard and a lot of sketches and still shots from the film.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars In a genre noted for mediocrity, this visual companion rocks. April 19, 2012

By Greg TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I guess the publishers understood that with the picky fanboy cult following that Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard have, they couldn't get away with shlock, because this is a masterly example of the breed, head and shoulders above the norm, and at a very good value. Loaded with color photography, the entire screenplay, interviews, and production artwork, "Companion" is a great way to relive and deepen the experience while we're waiting for DVD to come out.

Word of warning that should hardly be necessary, but just in case: If you have not already seen the movie, do not even so much as open to a random page in the book. The risk of spoilers is extremely high, as virtually every page has some level of "reveal" you really want to experience as intended, at the proper rate, within the context of the plot.

But having SEEN "Cabin," this book will help you put together some of the story elements that might have seemed obscure in the theater. It's kind of hard to catch absolutely everything when you're laughing and/or flinching.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Not what I'd hoped January 26, 2013

By Benu Athanasia

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm a huge fan of Cabin in the Woods; I watch the last half hour about three times a week, so you can imagine how excited I was to get this book. What a disappointment! It doesn't offer any real insight into the heart and soul of the movie at all. The interviews with Goddard and Whedon were fifty or so pages of (more or less):
Did you change anything? - no
Was there anything you'd do differently? - no
Was there anything you enjoyed but had no choice but to cut? - no
Is the mermaid based on anything? - no

Thanks for all those stunning pearls, boys!

And listening to them anytime they talk about each other. Ugh! All it is, is:
Goddard: You're the best
Whedon: No, you're the best!
Goddard: No, we're the best!
All I hear is: "Me, me, me ME!"

Having a copy of the script is cool, but it's formatted weirdly. There's nothing to distinguish set/movement direction from dialogue, so you lose a bit there.

The third part of the book is the "creature feature" - it's pretty cool to see the designs behind all the prominent monsters, but what about the ones that flit by so quickly? A splash panel of all the different elevators would have been awesome and completely make this book.

Also, more information about the objects in the basement. It's mentioned how EVERY single object in the basement would have summoned a different monster, but they don't tell you what summons anything so you're stuck figuring out most of them for yourself (thankfully, quite a few are obvious: the conch, the unicorn, the music box, the dolls, the clown toys, the lament configuration, etc). This book doesn't add much of anything to the movie.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book for what I wanted June 23, 2012

By Jason

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

First of all, this book had a lot more than I expected, and for that I loved it. However, it was also a bit short on some things I was hoping for. Nevertheless, I'm glad I bought the book and it let me get a lot out of the movie, especially since it's not out on DVD yet.
The book is essentially split into three parts. There's the interview with the two writers, Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon, who are also the director and producer respectively. It's a very long, in-depth piece which gives plenty of insight into what they were planning. You can see how they wanted certain things to be implemented with the original uncut script, the next part. It shows a bunch of behind the scenes shots, including a beautiful spread of the cellar the teens went in.
The final part of the book is a bunch of artwork and pictures of all the monsters. It's got a bunch of good ones, but I wish they included more detailed pictures of a lot of the things I was interested in, such as Kevin, that robot, the tree, sexy witches, and more. But man, did they think of a lot of those things. It's this third section I wish was more expanded. Hopefully that's what the DVD is for, though. We'll see.
Still, great book.