AUSTIN, Texas – The Cabin in the Woods, the latest project from nerd wunderkind Joss Whedon and his former Buffy the Vampire Slayer cohort Drew Goddard, is amazing. It's so amazing, in fact, that we hope no one ever says another thing about it.

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Why shouldn't anyone speak of this masterpiece of horror/comedy cinema? Because trying to explain Cabin in the Woods is futile – and succeeding at the task would ruin the fun of seeing the film cold and getting shocked by it's every twist and turn.

"I hope you enjoy it, and then sort of keep it to yourself," Whedon told the crowd at the film's premiere at the South by Southwest Film festival Friday night.

He wasn't kidding. To know much about the plot of such an expertly crafted and completely entertaining horror/comedy would be devastating. Unlike most films, where knowing who the bad guy is or whether the main love interests end up together is simply a bit of a let-down, knowing key details of Cabin's plot could prove devastating, because trying to figure out what's going on in the f ilm is a game in and of itself.

But here's what is worth knowing, just to whet your geek appetite.

(Spoiler alert: As few plot points as we could feel comfortable sharing follow.)

The Cabin in the Woods is an R-rated metanarrative comedy about the science of horror movies. It starts with the most pedestrian of slasher-film tropes – the group of young, attractive people going away for a fun weekend in a creepy old cabin – and then turns that story into a series of smart questions:

What if every horror movie were playing out some sick show for a larger purpose? What if the similarities in the characters and plot were part of that purpose? And what if we, in our quest to be entertained, were like some sort of horrific higher power, always needing more gruesome satisfaction and more young blood spilled to feed our thirst?

The resultant film, directed by and Cloverfield writer Goddard, offers up a veritable Scooby-Do crew of archetypes – the jock (played by Thor star Chris Hemsworth), the stoner (Fran Kranz), the virgin (Kristen Connolly) , the brainiac (Jesse Williams) and, of course, the ho (Anna Hutchison) – all of whom get thrown into a hilarious orgy of every horror tropes (there's even something Goddard calls the "Angry Molesting Tree").

While they face certain death, something bigger and far more sinister is at play. There's also a moment where somebody actually crashes into the fourth wall and an ending for which "all hell breaks loose" is a gross understatement. (The film also contains the world's coolest bong and one of the best uncredited cameos of all time.)

Actually, most people probably couldn't describe Cabin in the Woods even if they wanted to. And while Goddard and Whedon, who said they wrote the screenplay together in three days (one act per day), have created what star Richard Jenkins called "an incredible script," they also may have turned too many slasher-film staples on their heads.

During the post-screening Q&A, one viewer asked the assembled panel, "Did you intend to make the last horror movie of all time?" The crowd laughed, but there was a sense that it wasn't a joke – a lot of gore gets blown out of the proverbial water with Cabin.

Whedon, at least in jest, agreed.

"Yes," he deadpanned. "That's it for horror."

And to think this movie almost didn't see the dark of night. The film got shelved in 2010 when its studio, MGM, filed for bankruptcy, but luckily it got picked up for distribution by Lionsgate last year. Now, thanks to that deal, fans don't have to wait too much longer to see what everyone is keeping so mum about.

The Cabin in the Woods hits theaters April 13. See more pictures from the movie's SXSW premiere, as well as the trailer, below.