The buzz this week among horror and genre movie fans is “Cabin in the Woods,” a self-aware slice of horror clichés from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” creator and “The Avengers” director Joss Whedon and “Lost” writer Drew Goddard. The early word is that its either too meta or just what the doctor ordered, depending on how you like your horror flick served up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXfc12BqFkc

In other words, if you worship at the altar of “Evil Dead 2,” it may be just the ticket, but if you love the “Saw” series and thought it broke new ground, you may want to stay at home and watch “Wrong Turn 6” or whatever straight-to-video is calling your name at the Redbox.

Of course, I wouldn’t know because Lionsgate decided not to screen the movie for Kansas City critics, opting instead to spend their marketing dollars bigger cities and a web campaign to capitalize on good word-of-mouth.

In its absence, you may want to head to Kansas City on Sunday to see “Nailbiter” at the AMC Ward Parkway 14. This movie, directed by KU film graduate Patrick Rea, opened the festival Wednesday night and is showing at 12:15 pm as part of the 2012 AMC Theatres Kansas City FilmFest. It was shot entirely in Kansas and Missouri.

Rea, whose award-winning short films have graced film festivals around the country for a decade with his imprint SenoReality Pictures, knows how to build suspense. There’s a storm that is central to the story, and “Nailbiter” is at its best when it tells its story without the aid of too much dialogue. I’ve lived in Kansas all my life, and “Nailbiter” absolutely nails the unusual mix of casual bravado and creeping dread that accompany every tornado warning.

The movie’s cinematography from Hanuman Brown-Eagle switches perspectives often during the storm, and with the help of the sound design from Ryan S. Jones, it creates a swirling cacophony. These elements are the early stars of “Nailbiter,” as well as the completely convincing digital special effects of Branit FX.

There are some subtle and effective scenes of character building between a recovering alcoholic Mom (Erin McGrane) and her daughters, played well by Emily Boresow, Meg Saricks, and Sally Spurgeon. What follows will test their relationships and some formerly hidden strengths and weaknesses will be brought into sharp focus.

This middle section, where the family is trapped in a cellar, is appropriately claustrophobic (and credit is due to the entire production for keeping continuity over several years of shooting), but mood-wise, it doesn’t have the feeling of abject terror that it should. From a plot standpoint, it feels overly familiar.

To his credit, though, Rea doesn’t use cheap jump-scares very often and shows only strategic shots of whatever it is that’s down in the cellar with the women. As a filmmaker, Rea has always shown a tendency towards Spielberg expressiveness, and the fine throwback score from Julian Bickford also steers away from shock-horror convention.

If you’re looking for a family film to see this weekend, how weird is it that you might find yourself wandering into a theater that’s showing Sean Hayes, Chris Diamantopoulos, and Will Sasso doing their best Three Stooges impression?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1R4b04mxOs

The new “Three Stooges” movie has been a passion project for the Farrelly brothers for over a decade now. Since bringing us the memorable stupidity of “Dumb and Dumber” 18 years ago, the Farrellys have been pretty hit or miss, and “The Three Stooges” is no exception.

The difference this time out lies in the purity of their intentions. As big fans of Curly, Moe, and Larry, the Farrellys wanted to bring the Stooges’ inspired slapstick and dangerous stupidity to a family audience with a PG rating, and in that, they’ve succeeded. As the new Stooges go cross-country to raise money to save their orphanage, it’s easy to see this is a movie that’s out of its time.

Is it strange watching three dimwits repeatedly engage in stunts that would give Johnny Knoxville pause? It sure is: A parent in 2012 isn’t likely to think it’s funny when a chainsaw gets applied to a man’s bald head for laughs. But “The Three Stooges” is so lighthearted and good-natured that it’s almost impossible to resist completely.

If the last reel would have taken the slapstick to dizzying idiotic heights, it would be a solid movie all around. As it is, it’s a fun breath of fresh air, straight from the 1930s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmAbEgayExs

Here’s a funny story: I walked out of the press screening of “The Three Stooges” into a screening of the new sci-fi actioner “Lockout,” starring Guy Pearce and produced by French b-movie film factory EuropaCorp. Guess what? “The Three Stooges” was smarter. At least it was for the first 45 minutes: I abandoned “Lockout” and its “Escape From New York”-in-space premise for greener pastures: a 45-minute drive home to Lawrence.

Lastly, “The Raid Redemption” and “Friends With Kids” are at Liberty Hall this weekend. Didn’t see ’em. Click on the movie titles for some reviews of those.