Joss Whedon is no stranger to scary stuff like demons, vampires, werewolves, outlaw space cowboys and creepy corporations that pimp out programmed humans, but this week's release of The Cabin in the Woods marks his first foray into the world of the big-screen horror flick.
In an age where scary movies are endlessly one-upping each other to achieve the goriest of gory kill scenes, a flick written by Whedon (and directed by Lost alum Drew Goddard) promises to be a bit heavier on the smart plot twists and witty one-liners than the cheap gross-outs (not that there's anything wrong with that). After all, that's part of why we love him so.
The man behind cult favorites like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly and Dollhouse rarely disappoints his legions of devoted fans. That's probably why Titan Books can get away with publishing "Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion." There are few people I'd want to read dozens of essays about and interviews with, but Whedon is certainly among them. Fans like myself just can't get enough Whedon.
There are dozens of reasons why Joss Whedon is the best, but I've amassed ten of them. Did I miss yours? Share your own Joss-love in the comments section! (Haters, beware of devoted citizens of The Whedonverse.)
1. He turned a campy movie cheerleader named Buffy into one of the most badass-yet-relatable heroines TV has ever seen.
2. He gave us Angel, the most swoon-worthy vampire in recent memory (sorry, Lestat).
3. He wrote Toy Story. Toy Story! With Woody! And Buzz! And Mr. Potato Head!
4. He helped make the amazing Nathan Fillion (Castle) a star by casting him as the suave outlaw captain Mal Reynolds on Firefly. A very wise casting choice indeed, as I'm sure all Browncoats would agree.
5. He stays loyal to his favorite actors, like Eliza Dushku and, well, Fillion (Buffy, Firefly).
6. He had Neil Patrick Harris singing (and getting wedgies from Nathan Fillion!) in Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog.
7. He almost always has a sassy sexpot around who's quick with the one-liners like Cordelia and Anya on Buffy, Inara on Firefly and Adelle Dewitt on Dollhouse.
8. He was way ahead of the "nerds are cool" trend, with Buffy's nerdy cool role models Willow and Xander.
9. He's always thinking of his obsessed fans who want more by doing things like the Buffy spin-off Fray or the companion book to The Cabin in the Woods.
10. He directed the who's who of superheroes in The Avengers.
Just look at how often his favorite gal, Amy Acker, is in his works!
I loved Cabin, I know his style isn't for everybody, but I like cheeky!
And he's directing the Avengers. Day-by-day leading up to May 4
Btw, Nathan Fillion was in Buffy prior to being Capt'n/Mal.
But, yes, Joss does have a growing stable of actors that he likes to use whenever possible. There are several faces in Cabin that will be familiar to viewers of Buffy, Angel and Dollhouse.