Release Date: April 13th, 2012

Let me put a disclaimer at the beginning of this review. I’m not a fan of what passes as horror these days. I haven’t seen any of the SAW films and have no desire to, I haven’t kept up with PARANORMAL ACTIVITY since the first one (I’m talking about THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT), and I have stayed at many a hostel without any incident. Ever since I was a kid, however, I’ve loved the Universal monster movies, I barely made it through THE EXORCIST unscathed when I saw it way too young, and I still find THE SHINING absolutely terrifying. I guess I just don’t understand the desire to see the uncomfortable/disgusting torture porn that accounts for most of today’s horror. Luckily, it turns out that Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard – the creative geniuses behind CABIN IN THE WOODS – were just as disillusioned with the state of horror films today as I was, and together they have fashioned a film right in my wheelhouse. Judging by the hype train that has steamrolled since its premiere at Austin’s media festival SXSW, I’m not alone in that sentiment.

This horror comedy (it has more laughs than frights, especially for students of horror) is the brainchild of Joss Whedon (the man responsible for…deep breath… BUFFY, ANGEL, FIREFLY, SERENITY, DOLLHOUSE, and the upcoming AVENGERS) and Drew Goddard (LOST, CLOVERFIELD, ALIAS, more). Goddard got his start working for Whedon on BUFFY and ANGEL, and it is clear that as they co-wrote this film they were envisioning it as an indictment of the Hollywood horror film franchises of today. And yet, CABIN also manages to glorify and exult in these horror tropes, becoming a twisted love letter. Goddard makes his dignified directorial debut, while Whedon oversaw the long and tortured production. Originally purchased and made by MGM in 2010, their subsequent bankruptcy delayed the movie until now, distributed by Lionsgate (having a monster 2012 thus far, with HUNGER GAMES still atop #1 at the box office).

My first kiss went a little like this

What makes CABIN work is how funny, scary and clever it is, and how it stands up as a movie on its own, even without all the witty criticisms of the genre. While it makes fun of the archetypes, the obvious plot twists and devices we’ve all seen a dozen times over, it also embraces them, as you’ll be able to tell by the synopsis to follow…

We open on the beautiful, virginal redheaded Dana (Kristen Connolly from…AS THE WORLD TURNS), conveniently wearing underwear, packing for an upcoming trip (don’t forget pants…). Jules (Anna Hutchison of POWER RANGERS JUNGLE FURY fame), a newly blonde (she laughingly just dyed it) buxom bombshell injects even more bawdy sex appeal into the scene, helping her pack a skimpy red bikini. Stop me if you’ve seen this before. Of course you have, that’s the point. Big stud athlete (and Jules’ boy toy) Curt (THOR and AVENGERS’ Chris Hemsworth before he was famous) appears brandishing a football and a leading man’s smile, and he’s brought a studly and studious friend with him to fix up with Dana, Holden (GREY’s ANATOMY’s Jesse Williams). But things don’t get rolling, literally, until Marty (the fantastically hilarious DOLLHOUSE alum, Fran Kranz), appears, hotbox-ing his trashy car and joining his unlikely friends in an RV en route to Curt’s cousin’s—you guessed it—cabin in the woods.

It's never a good idea to go into the cellar. But it helps if you go with someone wearing their letterman.

But, we actually don’t open on these oversexed teens. We open on two mysterious, sexist, sardonic corporate desk men, Sitterson (one of the most underrated actors there is, THE VISITOR’s Richard Jenkins) and Hadley (Bradley Whitford of THE WEST WING and STUDIO 60), cocky and cryptic about the day’s work ahead. We have no idea what it is they do in the large, white-washed halls they golf cart around in, but it’s certain that they have a sinister (and comical) role to play in the carnage to come. Add in another dash from the Whedonverse in Lin (DOLLHOUSE’s excellent Amy Acker) for a foil for these two jackasses, and that’s all I will say about the source of the massive twists and turns that makes CABIN IN THE WOODS so fun, original and awesome.

If Michael Scott made horror films...

We learn that there’s a reason these five guys and girls were chosen, why they are who they are, even why Jules dyed her hair blonde. Whedon and Goddard hew closely to the horror rule book, but mold it like silly putty into a horror fanboy’s wet dream, all the while garnering a few scares along the way. It’s nothing that will give you nightmares, but it definitely makes you jump, and you’re constantly wondering what it is Whedon and Goddard will dream up next, because the world they create is limitless in its creativity and innumerous in its horrors to the point of hilarity, turning the audience at my screening as giddy as a couple schoolgirls discussing Team Edward. And underneath it all, Whedon and Goddard have created their own version of the underground conspiracy to explain not only their movie, but maybe all horror movies.

For the most part, our young victims in the cast are forgettable eye candy, but that’s kind of the point. But they are all certainly convincing in portraying their stereotypes (Anna Hutchison deserves some sort of medal for making out with the mounted head of a wolf). It’s impossible to keep your eyes off Chris Hemsworth, as he commands the screen, providing a glimmer of his future as the heir of Asgard. Kristen Connolly, in prime form as the innocent wide eyed ingénue for which we all yearn to see live/die in equal measure (the crux at the middle of this and all other horror films in the HALLOWEEN and SCREAM mold), shows enough acting chops and a look that’s irresistible that should promise a modest Hollywood future, or at least a role in a CW series. But, without a doubt, the runaway, breakout star and scene stealer is Fran Kranz, as stoner soothsayer Marty. He is the audience – skeptical, unnerved and incensed at what is happening and how Curt and the others react to the increasingly ridiculous circumstances of their camping trip gone wrong. He says what characters should have been saying in horror movies since they first hit the big screen. Kranz proves that he deserves a spot in a Judd Apatow produced ensemble comedy, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him become a star in the burgeoning comedy marketplace if given a good script and a chance.

Why do they call it a one-way mirror?

CABIN is almost an impossible movie to review with any sort of substance without giving anything important away, but the punchline, and the plot within the plot, is the whole reason for watching, and I wouldn’t dare ruin it for those on the fence about seeing it. Let’s just say IT’S WORTH IT. I had some theories based on the little I did know going into it, and while some of it was proved right, Whedon and Goddard go further than I think most in the theatre would have dared dream possible. This movie deserves a big audience. Whether you love THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE or abhor it (or found that Two Girls, One Cup was enough), whether you’ve been disappointed by horror films since THE DAWN OF THE DEAD, or even if you ignore horror altogether, CABIN IN THE WOODS is a whip smart, clever, choose your own adventure style popcorn movie that creates a ridiculous world that I didn’t want to leave by the end; a self-aware ticking time bomb puzzle that delights the audience almost as much as it delights in itself. It’s a horror movie within a horror movie about all horror movies with a wink, a pair of boobs and buckets of blood. It’s the best movie so far in 2012.

Do you feel that shiver slithering up your spine? That’s because the trailer has just hit for THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, the long-anticipated ‘slasher to end all slashers’ directed by CLOVERFIELD screenwriter Drew Goddard and produced by BUFFY creator Joss Whedon. The film was shot in 2009 with a cast including Chris Hemsworth, Jesse Williams, Kristen Connolly, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, and Richard Jenkins. There’s been a lot of mystery surrounding the story and what makes this script really tick, and now with the first trailer released from Lionsgate, we get our first clue…

A group of five friends going on a quiet cabin retreat scratch the surface of something so massive and horrific that they can only begin to fathom what might possibly be going on just as time quickly runs out.

This trailer is packed with a LOT of tantalizing images, but without the context I think there’s still a lot of secrets left. If anything, it only asks more questions. How do you feel about the film? Will you be seeing it when it comes out next April on Friday the 13th? I know I will.

Wow, that was a stretch even by my standards.  Anyway, THE TWILIGHT ZONE movie looks to be picking up steam, as news has hit the web via Variety that Tony Peckham of the aforementioned HOLMES would be doing rewrite duties on the big screen adaptation of the classic Rod Serling series.  Jason Rothenberg originally wrote the script.

Matt Reeves (CLOVERFIELD) is already slated to direct the film, which will be produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and Appian Way.  Whereas the first ZONE movie was an anthology composed of films from four different directors, the upcoming Warner Bros. film will be one stand-alone story that uses various elements from the show.

It will be interesting to see just what these elements could be.  Some interweaving of various TWILIGHT ZONE classics to create one unified tale, perhaps?  With a treasure trove of original ideas to cherry pick from, this is one remake we at Famous Monsters can most certainly get behind.

Forget the rumors of Nolan, Bay and Cuarón. Variety reports that the new Warner Bros THE TWILIGHT ZONE feature will be helmed by Matt Reeves. Director of CLOVERFIELD and LET ME IN, Reeves has a lot of upcoming work on his plate in addition to the new ZONE flick.

Reeves is attached to direct THE DARK ENDEAVOR, a take on the Frankenstein tale for Summit Entertainment; a THE PASSAGE, an adaptation of the Justin Cronin vampire novel for Fox 2000; and 8 O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING for Universal, in which a man awakes to an alien controlled society. With all these projects underfoot, it’s hard to imagine when Reeves will squeeze in time for THE TWILIGHT ZONE.

Warner Bros and Leonardo DiCaprio are looking to produce this new TWILIGHT ZONE movie as a single stand-alone narrative as opposed to an anthology with multiple tales and directors like the 1983 version. The film is expected to have a strong emphasis on themes used in the original Rod Serling TV series.

Do you think Reeves is a good fit for THE TWILIGHT ZONE? Tell us your thoughts in the comments

Phil Tippett, a full-in man

We met at Tippett Studios’ Main Building in a active, funky mixed-use neighborhood in Berkeley, where PR rep Lori Petrini gave me a quick but thorough tour of the various departments. What struck me while studying the many sculptures, puppets, models and sketches adorning the lobby, and later when screening the house demo reel, was the quiet ubiquity of Tippett Studio’s work.

Most of us will remember Phil’s tour-de-force from days gone by, the tauntauns and the Hoth ice battle from 1980′s “The Empire Strikes Back”.  A strong heritage of character animation has led the firm to deliver monsters, talking animals and zoomorphic machines in quantity to the major studios, and yet I was surprised at how rarely I connected the studio to its memorably impressive work.  This is no slight but rather a testament to the old-school competence and delivery of the company, much like the “Invisible Art” practiced by the great effects people of yore.

Talking Animals, Big Bugs, Squid Sentinels, Colossal Monsters - Tippett Studio delivers

Killer drones before they were cool (or even existed) on “RoboCop?” Check. Talking pets in “Cats & Dogs?” Check. Squid robots in “The Matrix?”  Check.  Bugs in “Starship Troopers?”  Check.  Biggest. Movie. Monster. Ever. “Cloverfield.”  Check.  And then there’s the werewolves of “Twilight: New Moon” and the horror of “Drag Me To Hell”, just to note some current work.   When we sat down to talk in a screening room, Phil Tippett seemed satisfied with his work and his team, and happy to talk shop.

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The Ackermonster in the Ackermansion

FM: Please talk about your connections to Forrest J Ackerman and “Famous Monsters of Filmland.”

PT: Well, Uncle Forry was the man, such a sweet, generous guy.

I grew up down in San Diego, where the only other guy I knew who was into sci-fi and stuff was a friend of mine named Greg Bear, who’s now a successful science-fiction author.  After I graduated from art school I went to work at a little studio called Cascade Pictures, where I worked with Jim Danforth, Dennis Muren, Dave Allen and Harry Walton and others.

Cascade Pictures, 1975 - courtesy Harry Walton

We all loved Ray Harryhausen’s movies, and somehow we wound up getting invited up to the Ackermansion to meet Ray H. when he was in town, and to hang out and gawk at Forry’s amazing houseful of cool stuff.   There were film fests there, and I remember meeting Richard Corben at one in the late 60′s.  He showed us a tracing-paper animatic of what would become his “Den” comic.

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FM: What were and are the greatest artistic influences upon you?

PT: Stop-motion? Ray Harryhausen.

Ray Harryhausen working - courtesy "Sergio Leone & the Infield Fly Rule"

It all began with Ray and his work, and he was the most accessible of the “old masters,” well, I mean, Obie was no longer with us by then.

I’m an omnivorous consumer of culture. William R. Stromberg, an independent filmmaker, was my mentor (I helped Bill on his 16mm production of Ray Bradbury’s Sound of Thunder) and through him I met Jon Morgan, who now works with Bill’s son reconstructing motion picture scores for some of the classic Steiner & Korngold pictures. It was through John that I became interested in classical music as introduced through motion picture scores.

Reading?  H. G. Wells, Jack London, Edgar Rice Burroughs, H. P. Lovecraft…standard boilerplate stuff. (grins)

Jon Morgan, Anita Bonn & William T. Stromberg - courtesy "Monster Kid Online"

I collect lots and lots of periodicals — “Forensic Pathology,” “New Scientist,”"National Geographic,” “Newsweek,” “Art Forum” and so forth. At the end of the year I plow through this pile and make clippings – mostly pictures, some articles.  It fills my “unconscious sandbox.” It’s a way of staying in touch.  I have tons of files, and I can go back to the old ones and look across all the media.  If I have time I start organizing them into collages and finding images in them; sometimes they go into scrapbooks.  I also go to movies, and to art shows, but I don’t track pop trends all that much.  The major studios do that.

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FM: What interests you today in SFX and sci-fi/fantasy/horror filmmaking?

PT: Well, what’s NOT being done, really.  Most of the stuff being done today is pedantic and uninteresting.  Like late-19th Century symphonic music; a Bruckner symphony never ends…

The potential is really terrific.  The problem is, it’s no longer one guy in a dark little room.  It’s huge barns full of people and millions of dollars.  To justify the costs the product must have the broadest appeal, hence the most homogenized results.  We’re in franchise mode for a while, I’m afraid.

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Hell Hath No Fury...from "Drag Me To Hell" (2009) - courtesy Tippett Studio

FM: I wanted to ask about a shot in Sam Raimi’s “Drag Me To Hell.” A young woman is dragged down into a hellish hole between some railroad tracks.  I understand that was a miniature shot rather than CGI.

PT: Yeah, I suggested that they might just as easily do the shot with a miniature as with CGI, and the old-school effects worked great.  But what I thought was interesting is that they shot each element separately, rather than all at once in one take like we had to do back in the day.  That seemed weird, except that now you have to shoot that way, in order for the shot to remain malleable.  Nothing is locked down now; the studios, producers and directors want to be able to change everything later.  And that requires lots of separate elements, barns full of people and lots of money.

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FM: If you could resurrect a lost, abandoned, never-made film project, what would it be?

PT: I’ve got drawers full of stuff that I want to make! I don’t need to go looking for any.

Werewolf Against a Hazy Sky - "Twilight: New Moon" (2009)

I love irony and black humor, but when it comes to putting up money no one knows how to sell those qualities.  These days there isn’t demand for ‘just some’ effects — it’s either pedal-to-the-metal or none at all.  It’s great to get an occasional “Cloverfield” job, where we can apply ourselves without blowing out the screen.  In “New Moon“ we’re doing some 60 special-effects shots,  mostly only the werewolves.  In “Jurassic Park” 60 shots was the sum total of ALL the dinosaur effects shots, and it left the audience wanting more.

Once I’m finally forced into retirement I have some things I want to try.  When I left ILM in the 1980′s I made a little film called “Prehistoric Beast” in my garage, for the educational and fan markets.  The staff here are scanning and printing the old film now.  In the late 80′s – early 90′s I shot some material I called “Mad God.”  I’d been reading a lot of surrealist literature and this was an attempt to animate some primal myths in the odd, almost infantile mode of expression I found in those books.  I abandoned the project when CGI came along, but again we’re now restoring and rescanning the original.

Concept sketches for Phil Tippett's "Mad God" - courtesy Tippett Studio

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FM: Thanks, Phil, for your time and enthusiasm.

PT: Thank you guys for bringing “Famous Monsters” back!  Keep up the good work!

Based on a best selling book from Sweden, the film is about “Oscar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl who turns out to be a vampire feasting on his neighbours.”

Speaking of Cloverfield, Comingsoon.net rallied fans of the film together again over the weekend when they revealed there will be a sequel to the box office hit. The site spoke with producer J.J. Abrams of the film at the Wondercon in San Francisco who confirms they’re actually working on a second entry right now. Imagine my surprise because when the movie hit theaters, Abrams and director Matt Reeves rejected the idea of a potential sequel altogether. Read below or see Comingsoon.net for all the details.

“We’re actually working on an idea right now,” Abrams told the packed crowd. “The key obviously at doing any kind of sequel, certainly this film included, is that it better not be a business decision. If you’re going to do something, it should be because you’re really inspired to do it. It doesn’t really have to mean anything, doesn’t mean it will work, but it means we did it because we cared, not because we thought we could get the bucks. We have an idea that we thought was pretty cool that we’re playing with, which means there will be something that’s connected to ‘Cloverfield,’ but I hope it happens sooner than later because the idea is pretty sweet.”

Richard Jenkins (The Broken) and Bradley Whitford are moving to The Cabin in the Woods. Jenkins is on board and Whitford is in final negotiations to star in the mystery-shrouded MGM/UA horror project written by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, who also is directing. Whedon is producing.

Much like Cloverfield, which Goddard scripted, the Cabin story line provides a new twist on a classic scenario — in this case the young-people-stranded-in-the-woods horror trope.

“It’s really just your basic typecasting: When you need two actors to run through the woods in low-cut nighties, you immediately think of Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford,” Goddard joked. Whedon said the casting signals what kind of movie they are hoping to make. “They’re the first proof that though The Cabin in the Woods is a classic horror film, it isn’t one you’ve seen before.”

While the studio and filmmakers were loath to provide character details, it is understood that Jenkins and Whitford will play white-collar co-workers with a mysterious connection to the cabin.

The UA production is prepping for a spring shoot and will open wide February 5, 2010, with MGM distributing.

“Remakes should be made of movies that aren’t very good, that gives you the chance to fix whatever has gone wrong,” Alfredson tells Moviezine. “I’m very proud of my movie and think it’s great, but the Americans might be of an other opinion. The saddest thing for me would be to see that beautiful story made into something mainstream. I don’t like to whine, but of course – if you’d spent years on painting a picture, you’d hate to hear buzz about a copy even before your vernissage!”

If you’ve been following our coverage of Let the Right One In (review), you will understand how furious this news makes me. I’ll agree that an English-language remake may expose the film to millions more fans, but potentially sacrificing everything we have loved about the movie seems too great of a risk (seems likely the way Hollywood is nabbing remake rights). Can we not read subtitles anymore? If the film gets proper exposure (something Magnet Releasing may want to reconsider), the film could be a potential masterpiece even in the states. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ring a bell? Alfredson’s stunning success in the film comes from being subtle and leaving more to the viewers’ imagination for the scare, something we used to see in the good ol’ Hollywood days.

“My dream is to work with [Goddard and Reeves] again, but do something that’s [new],” Abrams told the press. “Having said that, Drew and Matt both, separately, have really good ideas for what [Cloverfield 2] could be. So I don’t know. We’ll see. I know the studio wants it.

“But the truth is there’s another idea that I’d rather do with the same people than do a sequel. It’s a whole new thing.”