Lionsgate
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SXSW kicked the film portion of the week with Josh Whedon’s Cabin In The Woods, which is already garnering rave reviews. But with things just beginning, find out which other films are creating buzz at the festival in Austin.

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Cabin In The Woods
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Lionsgate
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First off, “Cabin In The Woods” is getting rave reviews everywhere. It seems like Josh Whedon and Drew Goddard have hit the ball out of the park with this one. Apparently, the dissection of the “cabin in the woods” sub-genre of horror makes the point that the genre is tired and worn, and desperately in need of a fresh makeover. As writer Matt Goldberg noted over on Collider, “This kind of brilliant deconstruction could only have been done by people who know not only the horror genre inside and out, but understand storytelling inside and out.”
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Jen Yomato, from Movieline, digs deep in her review as well, stating, “The film is at its cleverest when it’s peeling away layers to turn clichés on their head, and it turns out that isn’t just confined to the kids in the cabin in the woods; Whedon and Goddard aren’t just having a fun little go at tired horror movie conventions — they’re trying to nuke the entire genre so it can be restarted anew.”
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We’ll definitely be looking forward to seeing this movie when it hits theaters in April.
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21 Jump Street
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Sony Pictures
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This movie went into SXSW with high anticipation from audiences, many of whom remember the old FOX TV series that launched the career of Johnny Depp. Taking the storyline of that show and adding a unique R-rated comedy twist, 21 Jump Street appeals perfectly to its target demographic, the age group of 17 to 34. According to Marc Weinstock, president of worldwide marketing for Sony Pictures, “SXSW is a very 17-34 audience festival, and that’s our core audience for this movie. It’s just the right atmosphere to play in — and I think it’s going to be huge.” It seems the target demographic would agree. Reviews have been positive, although not all of them. Peter DeBruge, of Variety, really hones in on his issues with the film:
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“Maybe those raised on a diet of “Family Guy” don’t require the courtesy of a script that cares about its main characters, but why bother packaging the story as a male-bonding experience if the plan is merely to undermine it with vulgarities and homophobia? Where “Superbad” set the standard for mixing high-school sentimentality with gross-out humor, this lesser effort seems content redefining audiences’ idea of “dirty cops.”
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We’ll have to reserve our judgement until after the film hits theaters this weekend, but with stars like Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, we think we’ll be rolling in the aisles.
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Frankie Go Boom
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Ministry of Content
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Just seeing Ron Perlman in drag is enough to make me think that Frankie Go Boom is worth a look. The buzz surrounding this heartwarming film began with the offbeat description at SXSW: “A flick by Bruce about his little brother Frank who’s a crybaby f&ck who shouldnt do lameass imbarrassing sh*t if he dozn’t want people to 2 see it on the internet.” Spelling and grammar aside, this definitely sounds like a welcome break from the “perfect” family dynamics of most films.
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The big star of the film, however, appears to be Lizzie Caplan. As Christopher Rosen put it over on Huffington Post, Caplan performs with “the fervor of someone trying to become your next favorite indie queen. She manages to lift what could have been a rote comedy of sibling rivalry and escalating embarrassment into something heartfelt and human.”
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The film hasn’t been picked up for distribution (yet), but after its performance at SXSW, we’re sure it will. Look for Frankie Go Boom to come to a theater near you soon.

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Sinister
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Summit Entertainment
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Ethan Hawke made a huge impression with a surprise screening of Sinister on Saturday night. While not garnering as much hype as Cabin In The Woods, Hawke brings to life the story of a novelist in search of inspiration. Reviews are giving Hawke good grades on his performance, and that’s saying something considering no one even knew this film would be at SXSW. We’ll have to wait seven months to see it in the theaters, and then we’ll see if we agree.
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What do you think about the film buzz coming from SXSW? Which film(s) are you looking forward to seeing?