The Cabin in the Woods

Joss Whedon, producer and co-writer of the upcoming horror movie The Cabin in the Woods, told a group of reporters on Tuesday night that the film looks great, but it’s a struggle to get there. The film, a new take on the traditional forest-set horror thriller, marks the directorial debut of Whedon protégé Drew Goddard.

"I think it’s going to be gorgeous," Whedon said in a group interview in Hollywood, where he was taking part in a Paley Fest panel for his Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. "I think it’s going to be quite a movie, but it’s also a little out of control. We’re not quite halfway through filming, and it’s utter chaos but mostly the good kind. Apparently, as producer, I’m the guy who’s supposed to be controlling it, so I have to figure out how to do that."

Whedon’s cavalier take on the management of a film may make studio heads nervous, but he clarified he was kidding. "Oh, no, it’s just the usual," he said. "It’s just the usual stuff. When you’re almost halfway through, you feel like you’ll never be done, but the stuff we’ve got is so dynamite. I’m pretty excited about it. Drew’s kicking it out."

Still vague about the top-secret premise of the film, Whedon assured fans it would not be the usual slasher picking off teenagers. "It is not just a slasher in the woods," he said. "It’s a little more complicated than that."

Pressed for more details, Whedon would only eliminate one random possibility. "It is not a musical slasher in the woods, I’m sorry to say," he said.

MGM is scheduled to release The Cabin in the Woods on Feb. 5, 2010.