Lionsgate books 'Cabin' for 2012 release

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SANTA MONICA, Calif., July 21 (UPI) -- Lionsgate says it has acquired worldwide distribution rights to Joss Whedon's horror film "The Cabin in the Woods" from Hollywood's MGM studio.

The movie is scheduled for release April 13, 2012, it was announced Wednesday jointly by Joe Drake, president of the motion picture group, and Jason Constantine, president of acquisitions and co-productions.

The company will distribute the film in North America and the United Kingdom, with Lionsgate's international sales team handling overseas sales.

The film was co-written by Whedon and Drew Goddard, and marks Goddard's directorial debut.

Whedon also produced the film, which he has described as "the horror movie to end all horror movies."

It stars Chris Hemsworth as a young professional who visits a quaint cabin in the woods with a group of friends and ends up scratching the surface of something so massive and horrific that they can only begin to fathom it as time quickly runs out, Lionsgate said in a synopsis.

The film co-stars Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford and Kristen Connolly.

"This is a movie that operates on many levels, and it works gloriously on every one of them," Drake said in a statement. "There is intense fan anticipation for this film, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to deliver what we're sure will be a major zeitgeist movie and an instant horror classic -- and on a Friday the 13th no less."

"Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard are two filmmakers who I have long admired, and it's an honor and a delight to be in business with them," Constantine added. "They've made an incredibly terrifying, mind-blowing movie that simultaneously celebrates and innovates the genre that they both know and love so well."

Whedon and Goddard previously collaborated on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Cloverfield."