‘Cabin In The Woods’ Was Supposed To Be Direct-To-DVD In Australia, Until The Fans Spoke Up!

Movies
Posted by EvanDickson on June 27, 2012 @ 10:01am
Category: Movies / News

Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon’s The Cabin in the Woods is my favorite horror film of the year so far and, while I’m excited to own it on Blu-ray in a month or two, I’m very grateful I had the chance to see it in theaters twice. As much as the theatrical experience can be a pain in the ass these days (I literally get angry about people texting before I even get to the theater), when it goes well there’s nothing like watching a great movie with a room full of people who are eating it up.

But Australian horror fans almost didn’t get the chance to have that experience. Village Roadshow, who is handling some of the foreign territories for the film, almost released to straight to DVD in that territory according to The Daily Telegraph. So what happened? The fans spoke up. They emailed the studio, they posted on its Facebook page and they wouldn’t relent.

Finally the studio caved. Per The Telegraph, “A major distributor bowed to fan pressure – something that rarely happens – and announced that ‘The Cabin in the Woods’ would be getting a theatrical release after all, albeit very limited. Despite only playing on seven screens in Australia it still managed to take $85,152 in its opening weekend – a considerable feat for a film you have to actively seek out.”

What’s the lesson here? Fight for good horror (and good films in general). Let the studios know that there is an audience that respects the film. It’s not about supporting “studio horror” or “indie horror” – their are plenty of terrible films on both sides of the fence that shouldn’t be supported. But support the stuff you love – that’s the only way to make sure you get it and it continues to even be made. READ MORE