New Photos from The Cabin In The Woods and why it's taken so long to be released

The Cabin in the Woods was filmed back in 2009, but it’s see more than it’s share of delays mostly thanks to the bankruptcy of the film’s original studio, MGM. But all those delays ended when the film finally opened at SXSW, and for those not lucky enough to be in Austin for that, will have to wait until April 13^, 2012.

But just what the heck have Cloverfield scribe and Lost executive producer Drew Goddard and Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator and Avengers director Joss Whedon cooked up for their horror comedy?

Cabin has the basic plot: Bad things happen to five college kids  when they drive out to a remote cabin in the woods. Yeah, yeah you’ve heard this line before, but with Goddard and Whedon, you know there’s a twist. Many in fact, its jam packed with so much demented, twisted and delicious fun, that Goddard and Whedon were a little surprised that they were even allowed to make it.

Longtime friends and collaborators Goddard and Whedon envisioned the film as an alternative to “torture porn” movies like Hostel and Saw. “We’ve had a growing disconnect between watching people getting murdered and ‘horror,’ which is not actually about murder,” says Whedon. “It can contain murder, but it’s not limited to it. We wanted to go back to old-school thrilling scares”

In July 2008, MGM announced it had acquired and greenlit the Cabin script. The project was further developed at MGM’s subsidiary United Artists. Then came the bankruptcy. Finally, last April, Lionsgate announced it had picked up the movie’s distribution rights.

Whedon says he is well aware of the irony that the company is home to both the Saw and the Hostel franchises. “It is actually perfect that it’s them,” he says. “Not despite the fact that they’ve released some of the movies this is a reaction to, but because they have. Cabin is an insane frolic in some ways, but it is a horror movie. Their passion for horror is a great match.”

Lionsgate pushed to debut the film at SXSW, and so far the reviews that followed have been most ecstatic. And unfortunately for those of us not there, the critics seemed determined to heed Whedon’s prescreening plea that audience members “enjoy it, and then sorta keep it to yourself.” Thankfully it’s not a one trick pony, so even if a cat escapes the bag, there’s still a whole cluster of them.

“It’s not a movie that is based on one twist. I’m much more interested in escalation,” Goddard says. “I like people to put all their cards on the table…and start stabbing each other over them!”

Source: EW