Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard’s horror film ‘The Cabin In The Woods’ has been in limbo since 2010. After going through a series of pushbacks, shelvings, and studio switched, the movie is finally ready for the public’s viewing pleasure today, Friday the 13th.

The official synopsis basically says “Five friends go for a break from reality at a remote cabin, where they get more than they bargained for. Together, they must discover the truth behind the cabin in the woods.” Sounds like your run of the mill horror film doesn’t it? Well, I thought so too before I knew who was behind it. That damn Joss Whedon is a tricky one, don’t cha know!

‘The Cabin In The Woods’ is like every horror movie I’ve ever seen, while still remaining unlike any horror movie I’ve ever seen. As confusing as it sounds, it makes sense once you’ve seen the movie. Simply put, this movie really takes a good hard look at the horror genre, which has become pretty repetitive over the years, and turns it on it’s head.

Right about now is when I’d get into the plot, setting, and characters of the film, but I’m not going to this time. Why? Because it’s for your own good. Seriously. If you’re planning on watching this movie, which you should be, you need to stop watching trailers, TV spots, featurettes, and clips. Don’t even read any more reviews or coverage of the movie. You can keep reading mine though. I’m consciously trying my best not to come close to anything that may spoil the movie for you. And even if I did, it still wouldn’t spoil the movie entirely for you.

Here’s the thing about ‘The Cabin in the Woods’: There’s so many twists and turns in the movie that finding out one thing about it won’t ruin it. For example, if you know that Bruce Willis is *SPOILERS* dead in ‘The Sixth Sense’, then it ruins it for you. The trailers appear to give away the whole story of ‘The Cabin in the Woods’, but that’s not even close to the case. Based on what I saw in the trailers and in the first 15-20 minutes of the film, I really, really thought I had the story figured out, but then it throws a curveball at you and takes you deeper into another level of the plot. I was caught completely off guard and pleasantly surprised by everything that was presented before me.

If none of that really convinces you to see the movie, I will tell you that it has something for everyone. Fans of horror will love the scares and the gore. In my interview with Fran Kranz, the actor informed me that ‘The Cabin in the Woods’ uses more blood than any other movie in history other than ‘The Shining’. For those of you who are scared of horror movies, there are plenty of humorous moments scattered throughout the engaging story to keep you in your seat. And for you pretentious film majors out there, in essence, what this movie is is a satirical look at the horror genre done completely straight. It explores all the things that have become clichéd and played out in the genre and how desensitized the general public has become to all of it. It takes what Wes Craven did with ‘Scream’ to an entirely new level.

In summary, ‘The Cabin in the Woods’ has a solid story that has a lot to say. It brings it’s A-game in the horror department and the comedy department and it makes you think. What else would you expect from the team of Whedon and Goddard? Performances all around were excellent, especially from Fran Kranz, Richard Jenkins, and Bradley Whitford. If there’s one movie that you see this weekend, make sure that it’s this one. It’s my favorite film of the year so far. On my infamous five-star scale, I give Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard’s ‘The Cabin in the Woods’ a 4.5.