Cabin in the Woods (2011)
Dir: Drew Goddard
Writ: Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard

Firstly, Joss Whedon's career is immense (Buffy, Firefly, Toy Story and a billion accolades including prestigious sci-fi and fantasy awards the Hugo and Nebula, just for starters) and any movie/television series associated with his name will, by now, garner high expectation. Likewise, owing to Cloverfield, Drew Goddard on the writing bill was extra incentive.
To go much into the plot of Cabin in the Woods would be to give the game away. It is a good horror film, with some very imaginative creatures (basically a treasure trove for designers, as a friend of mine put it). And it is a good genre film, where the 'meta' content, or the running commentary on the horror genre, is an integral part of the film in a way that makes complete sense. This extra dimension to the film also has a developing plot which posits a horrifying idea. Plus any film which opens with Bradley Whitford (the West Wing's Josh Lyman) is in some way at least a winner. For fear of spoiling the twists and turns of this movie I will not reveal why in this film it is especially a winning appearance, but I definitely recommend it.