Not since "Scream" has a horror movie subverted the expectations that accompany the genre to such wicked effect as "The Cabin in the Woods," a sly, self-conscious twist on one of slasher films' ugliest stepchildren: the coed campsite massacre. The less auds know going in, the more satisfying the payoff will be for this long-delayed, much-anticipated shocker, which was caught in limbo for more than two years during MGM's bankruptcy. Finally surfacing as the opening-night selection of SXSW after sneaking last December at the Austin-based Butt-Numb-A-Thon, this Lionsgate release should cause something of a sensation when it opens April 13.

Given the provenance of the project, which was co-written by Joss Whedon and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" collaborator Drew Goddard, it's no wonder the film has assumed near-mythic status in the imaginations of fear-friendly fanboys. Designed as a response to the recent torture-porn strain of horror cinema, "Cabin" feels less like the final nail in that trend's coffin than the start of something new: a smarter, more self-aware kind of chiller that still delivers the scares.

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With plot holes aplenty, fanatics can pick the film apart if they please. For starters, the setting only makes sense for a couple of the scenarios at hand. But the idea is so ambitious and fresh, most will gladly play along. If the execution brings any regrets, it's that first-time director Goddard (who co-wrote "Cloverfield") seems somewhat outmatched by the considerable demands of his own high concept. Given all the film gets right, there's no question this is one of the most exciting feature debuts of the last few years, but it's a shame Whedon (who directed the second unit) or someone more polished wasn't there to make the cabin, the woods and the cardboard characters as entertaining as the mind-warping secret that lies beneath.