Producer Joss Whedon and director/co-writer Drew Goddard have been coy about how The Cabin in the Woods turns the eponymous horror sub-genre on its head.  The first trailer for the movie has gone online and now we can see what they meant.  The Cabin in the Woods genre usually revolves around something supernatural with only a mystical explanation as a vague guide.  Judging by the trailer, it looks like Whedon and Goddard have thrown together the scientific in the supernatural.  It was an approach Whedon took in the fourth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but instead of Frankenstein, Cabin looks something more along the lines of Hostel where hapless tourists are subjected to the sadistic whims of a shadowy organization.  That organization also has forcefields.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film stars Chris Hemsworth, Kristen Connolly, Anna Hutchinson, Fran Kanz, Jesse Williams, Bradley Whitford, and Richard Jenkins.  The Cabin in the Woods opens April 13, 2012.

Click over to Yahoo! Movies to see the trailer in HD.