Lorraine: I’m sure most of you are reading this post right now all, “snark-a-what now?” It’s okay. Things around here happen pretty quickly and we’re often starting new things when we can barely keep up with what we already have going on. (So, like, Firefly this Friday. For real.)
#Snarkathon came about thanks to some Traumateers who wanted to live Tweet The Cabin in the Woods, the 2012 Joss Whedon vehicle staring Thor, Topher, Fred, Lena’s new boyfriend in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, and a girl IMDB told me played the Yellow Cheetah Ranger. Take this idea, add a Google hangout and voila.
We’ll touch a little more on the #snarkathon thing at the end of the post, but first, The Cabin in the Woods (#spoilerssweetie):
We start the movie at an official looking facility. Amy Acker tells two guys that Stockholm failed so it’s down to Japan and them (the US) to do some important thing we don’t know about yet. The title card pops up suddenly. It’s possible I had a mini-heart attack.
Next, we meet our other main characters: Dana (a sweet looking girl who just got dumped via email), Jules (a pretty girl who objects loudly to books being taken on a vacation) Curt (CHRIS HEMSWORTH OM NOM NOM who throws a football after 1 second of being on screen) and Holden (who is also FOINE.)
I think it’s only fair that I say I wouldn’t turn Fran Kranz away from my bed either. This is a good looking cast.
The gang take off. They right away establish that they are beyond the reach of cell towers. It reminds me of that one time that we read a Goosebumps book that could’ve been avoided if someone had a GPS. To get to the cabin, you have to pass through some death tunnel. The cabin itself is your quintessential murder cabin. It’s dark, things creak, and there is a creepsome painting of a cow slaughter in one of the rooms.
The Cabin Crew have fun in the lake while the Murder Masterminds (in the facility where Amy Acker works) bet on assorted evil ways to die. Andrew from Buffy the Vampire Slayer shows up for a few seconds. Because Whedon.
We learn that even though the Murder Masterminds are manipulating the setting, the Cabin Crew are going to be made to choose their own deaths. And with that:
I don’t think Whedon’s characters ever learn this lesson, no matter how many times he tries to teach it.
Dana reads the Latin and we watch a family of zombies pull themselves up out of the ground. The Murder Masterminds cheer, though one of them is pissed because he wanted mermen. Alas, we’re left with zombified, pain-worshiping backwoods idiots.
We get a quick cut of a group of school girls in Japan screaming as a ghost appears in their classroom. Worst school day ever.
From this point on, the murdering begins. Jules and Curt go outside for reasons unknown. Dana and Holden flirt. Marty is suspicious of everything but then digresses.
Outside, Jules and Curt make-out and undress. So basically what I’m saying is that 5-6 of us sat around on the Internet and watched the Yellow Cheetah Ranger’s boobs for a minute.
Things don’t progress beyond that because they are attacked by the zombies. Jules’ head is chopped off. The Murder Masterminds pull a lever and we see Jules’ blood being collected.
Meanwhile:
And:
Curt gets back to the cabin all bloody. He says they need to barricade the house and stick together. That’s too sensible, though, so the Murder Masterminds hit a few buttons and he changes his mind.
They do indeed split up. Marty is promptly attacked by a zombie. We watch him get knifed in the back and dragged away. His blood is collected.
Dana and Holden are attacked by one of the zombies but Dana stabs the shit out of him. Small detail, but the Murder Masterminds hit a button and the knife Dana holds crackles. She drops it. BECAUSE THEY ALWAYS DROP THE WEAPONS THAT WOULD BE USEFUL.
Dana, Curt and Holden make it back to the Winnebago and drive away. In Japan, the school girls defeat the evil ghost. BEST SCHOOL DAY EVER!
Dana and Holden get back in the van. Mid-pep talk, Holden is stabbed in the neck by a zombie. The van goes into the lake, but Dana escapes and swims to shore, where she is attacked by a zombie. The Murder Masterminds celebrate because apparently, the virgin’s death is optional, as long as she suffers. (We’ve already titled a post “hold onto your virginity, kids,” but you know.)
The celebration is halted when the Murder Masterminds get a call informing them someone is still alive. IT’S MARTY, BITCHES. He makes his triumphant return by saving Dana from the zombie that’s been seriously attacking her for forever. She’s okay though. Don’t even worry.
Eventually, thanks to Marty being a genius, they get to an underground elevator he found and can rewire to take them downstairs. Once in the elevator they get a little show of different evils in boxes much like their own. Each evil corresponds to a nicknack in the cellar.
Dana and Marty finally get to the facility and the entire set-up is explained to them: the Murder Masterminds’s job is to offer sacrifices to placate “the ancient ones.” Marty must die. An army is sent after them, but they lock themselves into a control room that conveniently has a button that releases every evil thing kept in the elevator storage boxes.
Blood bath.
Finally, Dana and Marty make it even lower in the facility where Sigourney Weaver (?) shows up to say five young people must always be punished and sacrificed:
Or, you know, the relative virgin.
They have 8 minutes to finish the sacrifice or the world ends. Marty’s all, “WELP. I GUESS THE WORLD’S GONNA END.” Dana isn’t so sure, and points a gun at Marty. He’s saved by the sudden appearance of a werewolf who chomps on Dana. Marty manages to get the gun, shoots the wolf, then wrestles Sigourney Weaver. A final zombie enters the ring and she kills Sigourney Weaver. Marty knocks them both down into the abyss.
And the world does indeed end as we see the arm of an Ancient One bust through the earth and we cut to black.
Kirsti: First off, y’all need to know that I got up at 7am on a Sunday morning for #snarkathon because a) time zones, and b) that’s how much I love you guys. I knew pretty much nothing about this film going into it, other than that it was Whedon-y. It wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever seen (I’m fairly certain that honour goes to any Adam Sandler movie that’s not The Wedding Singer), and I spent a fair amount of my time focused on Twitter rather than the film itself. Plus, I’m an epic wuss so don’t know enough about horror movie tropes to see which ones they were destroying.
I was NOT expecting Sigourney Weaver to show up, and Chris Hemsworth wins a prize for Most Ridiculous Death Outside of An Episode of Supernatural. I loved the bloodbath scene, the dancing Murder Masterminds, the “fuck you” to the tiny Japanese schoolgirls, and the death by merman. On the whole, I would rate it fun but confusing. Because, you know, not really paying attention and also tropes I don’t know about.
Sara: All of Kirsti’s favorite parts are all of my favorite parts, too! And you really can’t go wrong with Death by Unicorn. If there’s any way to go, that is my choice. This movie is so wonderful to me, because it’s one of those that takes multiple viewings to fully love. (At least, it did for me.) I liked it the first time, loved it the second time, and thought it was pretty damn genius the third time. I don’t really care for horror movies, either, so this one was great for a person like me. Every time something extra terrifying would happen, we would get a cut to a scientist scene and get to catch our breath or giggle for a minute before getting back to the scares. This movie also might be extra exciting for me, because I convinced my friends to play a drinking game to it a few weeks ago, and we. got. hammered. Either way, this is at the top of my list for favorite scary movie of all time.
Sweeney: This was only my second watching of the movie – my first involved my best friend and her then-fiance giggling at me and another friend as we reacted to all! the! things! and expressed our general confusion for most of the movie. AND SO, it was really fun to be on this side of it. By which I mean, “It was fun to occasionally creepily stare at the Google Hangout screen and watch people watching a movie. Internet people are the best people.
As promised, here’s the part where we get to that whole #snarkathon thing. The original plan was just for everyone to procure their movie snarking aids of choice and watch a movie alone-together via Twitter. So, in addition to the Google Hangout fun times of watching other people watch a movie (which was delightfully awkward in the best way possible) we also had a heaps of fun discussing this movie on Twitter. So here, again, is a short recap, as told through the day’s best tweets:
What’s so bad about that painting? I have it hanging in my foyer… #snarkathon
— SaraSwearsALot (@SaraSwearsALot) December 7, 2013
You guys, this two way mirror in the bedroom. I think Christian Grey owns this cabin. #snarkathon
— Ashlea (@AKobukowski) December 7, 2013
#snarkathon because that guy went into the room knowing the painting was off. Flirting master class to strip tease in seconds.
— Dutchface (@Dutchface) December 7, 2013
@melbsonmymind I feel like if PLL taught us this lesson, everyone should know it. #snarkathon #traumalandlessons
— it’s all in my head (@BlameMyBrain) December 7, 2013
Guys, it’s the basement of don’t go in there! #snarkathon
— Ashlea (@AKobukowski) December 7, 2013
#snarkathon creepy cellar. What else would be down there. Fucking cake?
— Dutchface (@Dutchface) December 7, 2013
DO NOT READ THE LATIN. NEVER READ THE LATIN. #snarkathon
— Clément Polge (@polgeclement) December 7, 2013
@SweeneySays @TinyLionRoars If that was the way it worked, there never woulda been any magic in the Buffyverse. #snarkathon #takeLatinJoss
— it’s all in my head (@BlameMyBrain) December 7, 2013
#snarkathon one of the options on the board was The Doctors… I know it isn’t. But still.
— Dutchface (@Dutchface) December 7, 2013
I just had to stop and check that I should be confused right now. I should be confused, right? #snarkathon
— Lorraine (@LateLorraine) December 7, 2013
Why would you even have sex in the woods anyway? Bug and dirt could get into weird places. NOPE. #snarkathon
— Ashlea (@AKobukowski) December 7, 2013
And this is why you don’t have sex in movies. #snarkathon
— Lorraine (@LateLorraine) December 7, 2013
I have a very serious fear of dying naked. #snarkathon
— SaraSwearsALot (@SaraSwearsALot) December 7, 2013
This is why I got sober. So I didn’t die if there was ever a horror movie. Cause it’s always drugs or sex. #snarkathon
— Ashlea (@AKobukowski) December 7, 2013
I have tried to use the he’s got a husband bulge IRL and crack up every single time I try. #snarkathon
— Wendy Reed (@wlr312) December 7, 2013
“Where’s Jules?” “She showed her boobies, so like…” #snarkathon
— Lorraine (@LateLorraine) December 7, 2013
Does this mean Jules is dead? Damn, she’s the only one I know the name of #snarkathon
— Wilhelmina Upton (@WillieSun) December 7, 2013
You guys to realise I will hold you all responsible for my nightmares later, right? K then #snarkathon
— Wilhelmina Upton (@WillieSun) December 7, 2013
@SaraSwearsALot My money was on Marty until he peed outside. #snarkathon
— Lorraine (@LateLorraine) December 7, 2013
Get it, little Japanese girls! #snarkathon
— Nicole Sweeney (@SweeneySays) December 7, 2013
I am so bad at driving in reverse. We would be screwed if I was in charge of getting out of that tunnel. #snarkathon
— SaraSwearsALot (@SaraSwearsALot) December 7, 2013
I want to run down a hall yelling, “MAKE A HOLE.” #snarkathon
— Lorraine (@LateLorraine) December 7, 2013
“No matter what happens, you gotta stay calm”. Well, with a line like that, you were clearly about to die. #snarkathon
— Melbourne on my Mind (@melbsonmymind) December 7, 2013
Oh look, that’s where The Hunger Games got their electrical field from #snarkathon
— Wilhelmina Upton (@WillieSun) December 7, 2013
I feel most bad for the music guy about Thor’s colossal failure. The music guy really believed in/was rooting for him to make it #snarkathon
— it’s all in my head (@BlameMyBrain) December 7, 2013
GUYS, WE’RE NOT EVEN HALF WAY AND THEY FUCKING KILLED THOR. #snarkathon
— Clément Polge (@polgeclement) December 7, 2013
OH MY GOD, being a stoner saved him. I just LOLed. Hard. #snarkathon
— Lorraine (@LateLorraine) December 7, 2013
I feel like the bosses are throwing so much shade on the scientists right now. They did their best at killing everyone. Right? #snarkathon
— Ashlea (@AKobukowski) December 7, 2013
Which creature would YOU most like to be murdered by? #snarkathon
— SaraSwearsALot (@SaraSwearsALot) December 7, 2013
NOPE CREEPY MASKS. NOPE. #snarkathon
— Ashlea (@AKobukowski) December 7, 2013
SIGOURNEY WEAVER WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK??? #snarkathon
— Melbourne on my Mind (@melbsonmymind) December 7, 2013
“I’m sorry I let you get attacked by a werewolf & then ended the world.” Um, oops….guess we’re solid. #snarkathon
— Streetlamp Ashley (@TinyLionRoars) December 7, 2013
@Dutchface “My phone waited until the end to die.” Like Marty! *awkward pause* He waited until the end to die… #snarkathon
— Streetlamp Ashley (@TinyLionRoars) December 8, 2013
#Snarkathon Saturday: where you too can sit in silence with internet people and watch movies.
— Snark Squad (@Snark_Squad) December 8, 2013
Lor: And of course, we really wanted to have a place where you all could share your Cabin related thoughts. Feel free to do so in the comments.
In the end, the #snarkathon was one half awkward and one half awesome, so clearly we’re all about trying it again. We all joined the Google hangout, counted to three and pressed play on our respective movies. We were watching each other watch a movie while Tweeting. Is that the most Internet-y thing you’ve ever heard or what?
If you’d like to join us for the next round, we’ll be watching I Know Who Killed Me. Join us on January 4th, 2014 at 5:00pm EST, either on the Hangout (the link will be Tweeted out that day), on Twitter, or both!