Fighting evil in the woods

MANILA, Philippines - Five friends go to a remote cabin in the woods. Bad things happen. If you think you know this story, think again. From cult filmmakers Joss Whedon (The Avengers, Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and Drew Goddard (Cloverfield, Lost), comes a mind-blowing horror film that turns the genre inside out and explains why young people want to be terrified. Titled The Cabin In The Woods, it topbills Chris Hemsworth, the sensational star of last summer’s hit, Thor.

“At first I thought,” remembers Chris the first time he read Whedon and Goddard’s script, “Oh, this is a regular horror movie. I don’t get it. And then it just continued to unfold and open up and blow me away every page. It just got crazier and crazier and crazier until — well, until never. It just doesn’t stop. It leads you down a path that seems recognizable, and slowly it completely subverts everything you know.”

On the other hand, both Whedon and Goddard agree that “Chris has a presence that’s impossible to deny, and you can feel it the moment he walked into the audition room. He can inhabit that star quarterback role that’s common in this type of movies, but he has an instinctual ability to find the character’s humanity without playing the stereotype, which was crucial to casting this role. As Curt, the film’s lead character, he’s perfect.”

Born and raised in Australia, Chris made his US film debut in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, playing the pivotal role of George Kirk with Chris Pine and Zoe Zaldana. After playing the title role of Thor in Kenneth Branagh’s highly anticipated and well-received film version of the Marvel comic book Thor, he has become one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood today. He reprises the role of Thor in The Avengers alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Samuel L. Jackson and stars in Universal’s Snowhite and the Huntsman opposite Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron. Chris will next be seen in Dan Bradley’s remake of Red Dawn starring in the role originated by Patrick Swayze. He is also set to star in the lead role in Ron Howard’s drama Rush in which he plays British Formula One driver James Hunt.

 The Cabin In The Woods also stars Kristen Connolly, Fran Kranz, Anna Hutchison, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford. It opens May 2 in cinemas nationwide.