The works of have inspired countless incredible horror movies, and the greatest Lovecraftian release of the past two decades boasted a young Chris Hemsworth among its cast. As a writer whose work was concerned with the unknowable terror of the universe, the cosmic dread inherent in existence, and the mental anguish of simply being alive, the themes and ideas originated by Lovecraft have informed many of the best horror movies of the 21st century.

While there have been plenty of incredible Lovecraft adaptations over the years, . As a fascinating horror satire that shone a light on the tropes and cliches of the genre, it’s amazing how this Lionsgate modern classic blended exceptional storytelling with timeless Lovecraftian themes of existentialism and the dark implications of a vast, unknowable universe filled with ancient threats and bleak terrors.

as a group of teenagers planned to spend the weekend at one of their cousin’s cabin in the woods, a setup that has been seen time and again in movies like The Evil Dead. With this, audiences may think they know what they're in for, only to be later confronted with the most effective Lovecraftian movie of the past 20 years. While The Cabin in the Woods felt familiar initially, as the dark truth of the cabin unfolds, everything changes.

That’s because the so-called cabin that the college student protagonists were staying in was anything but normal and actually part of a secret underground facility orchestrating their every move. From here, the true Lovecraftian underpinnings of this story reared its head, revealing a hidden world of ancient gods, cosmic rituals, and humanity's insignificance in the face of unknowable forces. By the time the third act arrives, packed with countless supernatural forces.

With characters whose fate was predetermined, the satirical way The Cabin in the Woods played with genre tropes embodied much bigger Lovecraftian themes around the futility of rebellion against cosmic forces. The college students represented five sacrificial archetypes in horror, including the whore, the athlete, the scholar, the fool, and the virgin, and their ultimate demise highlighted how Lovecraftian terror trumps genre tropes. While many would assume the virgin, Dana Polk (Kristen Connolly), would inevitably survive, her death highlighted how The Cabin in the Woods has more in common with the themes of Lovecraft than pre-established horror movie conventions.

Another great performance was Chris Hemsworth as Curt Vaughan, the sociology major dubbed the athlete. As a handsome and charismatic male lead, Curt represented the typical sporty star seen in other movies like Barry Cox in I Know What You Did Last Summer. Curt was viewed by the movie’s Ancient Ones as the perfect embodiment of this archetype, and during his stay at the cabin, he was chemically altered to become more jock-like. It was great performances like Hemsworth’s that helped ensure .

, the race who wish to revive themselves and destroy humanity. As creatures who require blood from ritual sacrifices to wake themselves up from their sleeping state under the Earth, these antagonists point toward endless mythology that could be continually expanded in subsequent sequels, spin-offs, and extended media. With a Cthulhu-like creature even spotted at one point in the facility, it’s impossible not to imagine how The Cabin in the Woods would have played out if given the franchise treatment.

Had The Cabin in the Woods been the inception point of its own Lovecraftian franchise, different installments could have satirized different aspects of the horror movie landscape and been a more cosmic answer to other satirical works like Wes Craven’s Scream. The Cabin in the Woods ended on a terrifying note with the Ancient Ones successfully awakening and offers the potential for an epic sequel exploring the consequences of a post-apocalyptic landscape ruled by Lovecraftian monsters.

The hints and allusions to various creatures seen in the facility also point toward a litany of prequel or spin-off stories focused on the origins of these creatures, different facilities around the world, or even an anthology series that tackles various aspects of Lovecraft’s legacy. , and it’s surprising that its franchise potential hasn’t been properly explored in the years since its release.

While , it’s far from the only example. In recent years, Nicolas Cage movies Mandy and Color Out of Space have found great success due to the pairing of Lovecraftian influences with that actor’s firm commitment to play every role he gets with a level of intensity most performers can only dream of. Lovecraft’s writing taps into the futility of pushing back against powerful cosmic forces that we do not understand, and this is a timeless theme that will never not be relevant.

Incredibly well-constructed worlds like the Shimmer in Alex Garland’s Annihilation were also very much informed by the works of Lovecraft. There’s also no denying that the mental anguish felt by Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe in The Lighthouse wasn’t representative of the kind of psychological unraveling felt by countless Lovecraft characters. While released many of his most iconic stories more than 100 years ago, it’s a testament to his undeniable influence over the horror genre as a whole that his legacy can still be felt so strongly today.