The Cabin in the Woods
Directed by Drew Goddard
Written by Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon
Starring Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, and Amy Acker
Lionsgate
Release Date: April 13, 2012

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: a group of college kids visit a remote cabin in the woods to partake in irresponsible activities such as (but not limited to) alcohol, illicit drugs, and premarital sex.

One by one, these nubile teenagers are hacked to pieces by an axe-wielding maniac in the woods (or God-forsaken summer camp).

Sound familiar? It should. You’ve seen this genre convention in horror films like The Evil Dead, Friday the 13th, Cabin Fever, Sleepaway Camp, The Burning, and Tucker & Dale Vs Evil. The Old Dark House has become The Cabin in the Woods, a subversive, spirited deconstruction of the genre. Even the film’s title is a reference to the archetypes it celebrates and simultaneously dissects.

Though the movie was finished filming in 2009 and originally slated for release in 2010, The Cabin in the Woods is just now giving us a first official trailer.

The movie, which is written and produced by Joss Whedon and written and directed by Drew Goddard, fell victim to MGM’s major financial woes, and like many others it found itself stashed away in the attic, left to gather dust.

But thankfully for all of us, Lionsgate eventually showed up to save the day and set a new release date of April 13, 2012.

You can check out the first trailer for The Cabin in the Woods by continuing on below.