Dana Polk (portrayed by Kristen Connolly) was one of the main characters in The Cabin in the Woods. She was a college student who joined her friends Curt Vaughan, Jules Louden, Marty Mikalski and Holden McCrea on a weekend trip to a cabin in the woods owned by Curt's cousin. Their entire trip had been secretly orchestrated by a mysterious organization as part of an annual ritual of blood sacrifice to appease the Ancient Ones: deities slumbering beneath the earth that will awake and destroy humanity if they are not continually satisfied. The Organization would designate Dana as The Virgin, the one member of the party whose death wasn't necessarily required to complete the Ritual. What mattered was that the Virgin suffered while the others all died, then the Facility would let fate decide whether or not Dana would escape or join her friends.
During the group's time at the cabin, they find a trap-door leading into the basement. On a dare, Dana goes down into the basement where she discovers a trove of various antiquities. Little does she know that these items were placed there by the Organization in order for their sacrifices to determine how they would die. While the others look around, Dana finds a diary belonging to Ann Patience Buckner, a member of a sadistic, pain-worshipping cult. She reads aloud a Latin inscription in the diary, and the Facility staff deploy the zombified Buckner family to kill the teens.
Whilst out in the woods having sex, Curt and Jules are attacked by the Buckners and Jules is killed. Curt runs back to the cabin and he and the others barricade the front door to keep the zombies out. At first, Curt suggests that they all stick together, but the Facility staff release a pheromonal gas into the cabin that causes Curt to change his mind and suggest the teens split up, locking themselves into their separate rooms. It is then that Marty accidentally discovers a hidden camera in his room, thus the Facility prioritize his death. One of the zombies smashes through his bedroom window and pulls him outside, dragging him off into the forest.
Dana, Curt and Holden then tried escaping the cabin, making it to the RV that brought them there. They manage to get as far as the mountainside tunnel which is then remotely collapsed by the Facility staff. Seeing a chasm between the blocked sides of the road, Curt attempts to jump across it on his dirt bike and come back with help. It appears he will make the jump, but he dies when his bike smashes into the invisible forcefield surrounding the ritual site. Holden and Dana then take the RV back the way they came, planning to cut through the forest, but then Holden is killed when one of the Buckner zombies stabs him through the neck, causing the RV to crash into the lake.
Dana survives the crash and surfaces, but is then attacked by Matthew Buckner. However, Marty, believed to have been killed earlier, suddenly appears and rescues Dana, pushing Matthew into the lake. The two surviving friends then discover the elevator hidden in a grave that was used to transport the zombies from the Facility. They take it down into the Facility where they witness countless monsters sealed inside cube-shaped cells. It is at this point that Dana realises that she and the others chose which creatures would kill them when they were messing around with the objects they found in the cabin's basement.
As they walk around the Facility, Marty and Dana are intercepted by security personnel. They take cover inside a control booth and Dana pushes a button marked "System Purge" that releases all of the caged monsters. As the horde of nightmare creatures slaughter all of the Facility personnel, Marty and Dana make there way towards a temple-like chamber in the heart of the complex.
Death[]
Inside the temple, Marty and Dana face The Director of the Facility. She explains the Ritual to them and how the Ancient Ones will rise and destroy the world if they are not placated. She then tells Dana that she must kill Marty to save the world. When Dana points a gun at Marty, Marty doesn't tell her that the werewolf is behind her and she is attacked. The Director attacks Marty and they fight before she is killed by Patience Buckner. Marty shoots the werewolf and helps Dana. He apologizes to Dana for not warning her about the werewolf and for causing the end of the world, but Dana agrees with him that perhaps it's time for humanity to crumble and someone else to have a go. Dana and Marty share one last joint before the Ancient Ones arise, destroying the Facility and then the entire planet.