The Cabin in the Woods

Five college students — Dana, Curt, Jules, Marty, and Holden — travel to a remote cabin in the woods. In a government facility beneath them, technicians Sitterson and Hadley monitor every room, pump pheromones into the air to nudge decisions, and take bets on which monster the group will choose. They are running an ancient ritual: five archetypes must be sacrificed — the Virgin, the Athlete, the Whore, the Scholar, and the Fool — in specific ways to appease the Ancient Ones, colossal entities who once ruled Earth and will destroy civilization if the ritual fails. In the cabin cellar, the students handle artifacts that select their fate — they activate a family of zombie redneck torture killers. The friends are killed one by one in classic horror fashion. Only Marty and Dana survive long enough to find the facility's elevator and descend into it, releasing every monster held in the underground zoo. The creatures massacre the staff. Marty and Dana reach the ritual chamber and choose not to sacrifice themselves — accepting that refusing the old gods' demands will end the world. They sit together and wait for it.