Ever seen a horror movie with hillbillies in it? They're usually psychotic chainsaw-swinging inbred cannibal psychos who like to murder anyone who happens to drive by.

But don't expect any of THAT to actually appear in "Tucker & Dale Vs Evil," a clever black comedy that asks, "What if the HILLBILLIES were the innocent victims of the doomed college kids?" Tropes are inverted (or lampshaded), there's gore aplenty, and Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine make endearingly rough-hewn heroes.

West Virginia hillbillies Dale (Labine) and Tucker (Tudyk) have just bought a dilapidated little house out by a remote lake, and plan to spend some time fishing and drinking beer. They also end up rescuing Allison (Katrina Bowden), a college student who hit her head while swimming, and she soon finds that these seemingly terrifying hillbillies are actually kind, gentle and sometimes quite smart.

Unfortunately, Allison's friends get the wrong idea, and think that she's being held captive by a pair of chainsaw-swinging psychos. As they try to attack Dale and Tucker, they end up accidentally dying in bizarre and gory ways. As Dale, Tucker and Allison try to defuse the situation, they also have to deal with the increasingly bloodthirsty Chad (Jesse Moss).

I have no idea why it's taken so long for "Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil" to make it onto DVD, because this movie is absolutely hilarious -- a gory, satirical little comedy that acknowledges every hillbilly-slasher cliche right before turning it on its ear. And yes, writer/director Eli Craig homages many a horror movie, from "Evil Dead" to "Friday the 13th."

And even though it's obviously a spoof, "Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil" is actually very well-written -- clever foreshadowing, a shocking climactic twist, and all sorts of hilarious situations that make Dale and Tucker look... well, like psycho hillbillies. For instance: Tucker accidentally destroys a beehive, and ends up racing through the woods, screaming and waving his chainsaw spastically.

And yes, there are lots of OTHER hilarious moments, such as lampshading hillbilly stereotypes ("Oh, I love Earl Grey") and the college kids' gory deaths (impaling themselves on sticks or jumping into woodchippers).

And the acting is absolutely brilliant. Labine and Tudyk are amazing as the protagonists, respectively playing a sweet timid teddy bear and an outgoing good ol' boy. Yeah, don't judge these guys from their appearances, because you will be ALL WRONG. And the rest of the small cast also does an excellent job, especially given that most of them are shrieking horror movie cliches.

"Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil" is pretty clearly destined to be a cult classic, right alongside other fun spoofs like "Shaun of the Dead." Hilarious, bloody and clever.

The set up is a lot like the recent installments of the Texas Chainsaw and Hills Have Eyes franchises or Wrong Turn. A group of college kids go camping in the woods. They're unnerved by the backwoods, hillbilly-chic locals. And, naturally, they suspect the worst of them. Perhaps for the first time in horror movie history, these kids assumptions were wrong.

Tucker (Alan Tudyk; A Knight's Tale, 28 Days) and Dale (Tyler Labine; Rise of the Planet of the Apes, TV's Mad Love) are two loveable, kind-intentioned idiots on a bro-mantic fishing trip. Their interactions with the campers are misconstrued such that they appear to have performed malevolent deeds. After nearly drowning, Tucker and Dale save Ally (Katrina Bowden; Piranha 3D, 30 Rock) of the girls. But when they pull her into their boat and yell "we have your friend" to the others, it is perceived that they "took" her and then cruelly goaded them. Naturally, when Ally regains consciousness, she thinks she's been abducted.

Just from the trailer I think everyone knew that this would just "work" on film. This was Eli Craig's first job as director (he wrote this, too) and I'm itching to see what he does next. He took a smart comic premise and peppered in some solid doses of Sam Raimi-esque gore. As the kids try to "rescue" Ally from her "captors" they get accidently killed under silly circumstances delivered with perfect timing. A true horror hound, I tend to laugh at many of the kills in serious horror flicks. But this movie invites all to join in the laughter as mulched entrails shower over the face of a mortified friend.

American Psycho and the Scream franchise may have mastered the slasher movie satire. But this stands out as more of a paramount slasher movie farce, much as Shaun of the Dead was for zombie fare.

Very infrequently do you see a movie that blends its satired source with comedy as well as Tucker & Dale vs. Evil has. When you find yourself laughing out loud as teenagers hurl themselves into wood chippers, impale themselves on tree branches or set one another ablaze you realize that the horror element is vastly outweighed by the ironic humor that the entire piece is littered with.

If you're comfortable with a little blood and a little cursing then this movie will be a surefire winner.