"The Cabin in the Woods" and the self-aware horror flick

I finally watched "The Cabin in the Woods" last night and I loved it.

It was funny, entertaining, scary, thought-provoking, and most importantly: original.

I've gone back and read most of the threads on here about it, and I got to thinking about how perhaps two of the best horror movies, IMO, have been very self-aware, and self-parodying ("Scream" being the other).

And that got me thinking about the process that led to the creation of those films. For "Scream," it was the staleness of the slasher genre. It had become boring and predictable, full of sequels with no redeeming value, and then out of all that, a gem like "Scream" pops out.

And that same thing kind of happened with the process leading to "The Cabin in the Woods." I don't even know how I'd best described horror of the 2000's, but the word "good" wouldn't be used. It was bland, cheesy, and made for PG-13 audiences. But then out of all that, a gem like "The Cabin in the Woods" pops out.


So the question becomes: Does the horror genre depend on this kind of a cycle? Do we need to get into a rut before we can finally break out of it? Is the rut necessary in order for a film like "The Cabin in the Woods" to be appreciated?