Read what Joss Whedon Thinks About the State of Horror Films

While many filmgoers may be more excited about Joss Whedon‘s upcoming superhero blockbuster, I find myself giddy with anticipation about his soon to be released horror entry The Cabin in the Woods.  Over the years, the completed film sat on a shelf waiting to be lifted out of obscurity while studios released one film after another that seemed to simply follow in the current trend of whatever was popular the year before.  Maybe the studio executives were afraid of what the deconstructionist film had to say about horror trends.  Or maybe they simply underestimated the intelligence of horror audiences.  Either way now the film is about to gain more attention as it is about to screen at the upcoming SXSW Film Festival in Austin.  To hear what the man has to say about the film that he calls his “loving hate letter” to the genre and the state of horror films in general, check out his comments below.

“On some level it was completely a lark, me and Drew [Goddard, director] trying to figure out what the most fun we could have would be. On another level it’s a serious critique of what we love and what we don’t about horror movies.”

On his own genre passion, he added, “I love being scared. I love that mixture of thrill, of horror, that objectification/identification thing of wanting definitely for the people to be alright but at the same time hoping they’ll go somewhere dark and face something awful.”

And on the things he hates about lame horror, Whedon said: “The things that I don’t like are kids acting like idiots, the devolution of the horror movie into torture porn and into a long series of sadistic comeuppances. Drew and I both felt that the pendulum had sung a little too far in that direction.”

The Cabin in the Woods opens in theaters on April 13. . . Friday the 13th!

Source: Total Film