Vancouver actor Dan Payne has come on board the horror film Cabin in the Woods, now in production in B.C. under writer/director Drew Goddard for MGM.

Goddard, who scripted the sci-fi Cloverfield, co-wrote Cabin with Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The storyline is reportedly being kept under wraps, though the Hollywood Reporter says it provides a new twist on the classic ‘young people stranded in the woods’ scenario.

Payne, best known for his role as the slacker father on the CTV sitcom Alice, I Think, also recently appeared in the blockbuster Watchmen and the Canuck comedy-drama Mulligans, for which he nabbed a Leo nomination. He joins the Cabin cast that also includes Bradley Whitford (The West Wing) and Richard Jenkins (Burn After Reading). A release date is set for February 2010.

Payne is repped by Richard Lucas and Eric Edwards at Lucas Talent.