Cabin Fever (2002)
Terror... In the flesh.
Starring: Jordan Cabol, Rider Strong, James DeBello, Cerina Vincent, Joey Kern, Arie Verveen, Eli Roth, Joe Adams, Giuseppe Andrews, Richard Boone, Julie Childress, Hal Courtney, Phil Fox, Richard Fullerton, Michael Harding, Robert Harris, Matthew Helms, Brandon Johnson, Tim Parati, Dante Walker, Jeff Rendell, Christy Ward
Director: Eli Roth
Running Time: 92 minutes
US MPAA rating: N/AUK BBFC rating: 15
Comedy, Horror, Thriller
It is something of a cliché amongst fans of horror that the genre had its heyday in the 1970s and early 1980s, and has been utterly rotten ever since, with late 1990s postmodern parodies like 'Scream' putting the final nail in its coffin. Recently, however, thanks to a new generation of directors who worship horror's glory days, 1970s-style horror has risen again from the grave, as frightening, funny and downright misanthropic as it ever was. First in the revival came the low-budget woods-and-cabin shocker 'The Blair Witch Project', then the George Romero tribute '28 Days Later...', and this year there is Tobe-Hooper-worshipping 'House of 1000 Corpses', and now Eli Roth's 'Cabin Fever', an affectionately nasty celebration of everything which bled, oozed and suppurated in 'Friday the 13th', 'The Burning', the 'Evil Dead' films, 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre', 'Night of the Living Dead', and 'The Thing'.
Take a cabin. By a lake. In the woods. In redneck country. Introduce some self-centred college kids who are into drinking, drugs and premarital sex, and then have them killed one after the other by a relentless, unseen killer. The plot of 'Cabin Fever' is familiar from any number of films from horror's golden age, and is full of references to them - but in Eli Roth's film the killer is not a man, or even a monster, but a flesh-eating virus, and it is able to kill only because the co-eds are too squeamish to deal sensibly with it and too selfish to cooperate. So here the horror (and comedy) arises out of failings and foibles that are all too human, with the virus serving merely to expose a much deeper sickness in the principal players, and in the end there is the grisly satisfaction of seeing everybody get no more or less than what they deserve.
'Cabin Fever' features a moody soundtrack combining music from David Lynch's favourite composer, Angelo Badalamenti, and songs by David Hess from 'Last House on the Left'. The putrescent body horror is carefully balanced by a hilarious script involving disgruntled bowling alley employees, reason-challenged hillbillies, ineffectual cops, and a Berkeley dopehead nicknamed Grim (Eli Roth in a cameo). There's a typically (for the 1970s, at least) doom-laden apocalyptic ending, followed by a brilliantly throwaway gag - and then one final pay-off after the credits have rolled. In short, 'Cabin Fever' is old-school horror, a form of unadulterated entertainment harking back to a decade when mutilation, murder and mad malevolence seemed somehow more innocent.
It's Got: A deputy obsessed with partying, a bearded hillbilly with a rifle 'for niggers', an update of the duelling banjo scene from 'Deliverance', and a whole lot of flies.
It Needs: To be seen in a big audience - this is a crowd movie.
Alternatives: Friday the 13th, The Burning, Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Night of the Living Dead, The Thing, Last House on the Left, House of 1000 Corpses.
Summary: A seamless pastiche of 1970s and early 1980s horror, resulting in a blend of mean-spiritedness, gore and comedy that is truly infectious.
Review Date: 10th April 2003
External Links
Official Web Site
Cabin Fever at the IMDB
Comments15 Comments |
| my god..... 8/10??? this movie is very weak...the characters are so damn insignificant and soulless...I mean,nobody can care about their lifes! some dialogues are among the worst I've ever heard in my life,the plot is unconsistant.You cant put this movie among "the thing" "texas chainsaw" "night of the living dead" , because you're fooling people. Go to watch recent movies like "the hole" , "my little eye" , "session 9" , those horror movies beat "cabin fever" 10-0!those 3 movies really know how to entertain , how to suspense,how to scare. cabin fever reminds me of the '80 school of horror films.but in the last few years,thanx god,something changed for good.and cabin fever is not among those,is a long step back in the horror category.definitely a 5/10 |
| Comment by:- migs | | 20 February 2004 | ip: logged |
| i totally disagree... i am an avid horror movie buff- ive seen almost everyone there is to see... and i personally found Cabin Fever to be both terrifying and hilarious at the same time. Any movie that is able to make me laugh but leave me constantly in fear proves to be extraordinary. The main characters are a little cliche but they fit perfectly into the plot, i belive it is the more minor characters that make the movie both creepy and funny. For example, the deputy made me so frustrated, as he made the horrible situation worse- he made me feel nervous and scared. Then, little dennis- i do not think i have laughed harder in my life... the seen in which he does a "kung fu" sequence at the convenience store and then bites that guy (sorry- i forget his name- hes the funnier one) is honestly so random and hilarious but raises the stakes in the movie and fits into the plot perfectly. I was truly terrified throughout the movie, as i left the theatre- it stuck with me. It is creepy, very interesting and original, and its scary. Overall, I thought Cabin Fever was a very unique and different- thats what i believe sets it apart from all other horror movies, it is a well- thought out movie that truly made everyone in the theatre jump. It was both scary and funny. I LOVE IT!!!! It is my favorite move and i recommend it to everyone. |
| Comment by:- maeve | | 11 March 2004 | ip: logged |
| "Its cheese on toast and predictable in parts, but quite watchable. 6.5 out of 10" |
| Comment by:- Dave B | | 27 July 2004 | ip: logged |
| ha ha i know matthew helms and you dont he is in my dance class and he is my friend ha ha i know where he lives. And shut up he lives by me and not you ,and you will never meet him because you are a loser. he lives in denver colorado but I know him ha ha ha ha ha ha I know him and you dont. |
| Comment by:- christina (tina) in his dance class and jessica | dont gotted 1 | 02 August 2004 | ip: logged |
| I had the chance to watch Cabin Fever, and wondered why anyone would waste full price on this movie. This is worth a $1 movie thrill, no more. The plot of the story is weak as water, and has more holes than a platefull of swiss cheese. If gore is what you seek in a horror movie, then this is a fair movie, a 5 out of 10. BUT if you are looking for a good scary movie that looks like someone spent time writing it, this is NOT what you are looking for. I give this movie a 3 out of 10, because some of the parts were so stupid I had to laugh. For that I give them credit, but no more. |
| Comment by:- masonik4 | | 03 August 2004 | ip: logged |
| im glad the sluts get killed =] |
| Comment by:- Anonymous | | 28 October 2004 | ip: logged |
| i loved the movie sooo much it was sooo ****in good!! and eli roth is hot!! |
| Comment by:- laura | | 29 October 2004 | ip: logged |
| This movie at one point caused me to vomit into my popcorn so it tasted kind of like cheese popcorn but tangier so I guess it was alright. The deer through the windshield made me cry. |
| Comment by:- Buford | | 02 November 2004 | ip: logged |
| what is the name of that song in the film where it shows the "doofus" with the shotgun that goes out looking to shoot squirrels ... it has a hole bunch of "la la la la's" at the beginning of it - if anyone knows what its called or who it is buy could you email the name of it to me! thanks alot elviveche7@hotmail.com |
| Comment by:- sam mccurdie | | 12 November 2004 | ip: logged |
| Why would anyone with a brain be bitching about a movie like this. I mean, it has it all; boobs brains sex gore all the perversities you'd expect from a tribute to 1970s' horror, a decade of horror that simply wanted to make you flinch and laugh. And laugh I did! A massively entertainig comedic gore fest that didnt let for a second-awesome! (note; those with weak stomachs shoudl watch with a bucket) |
| Comment by:- boobs and brains | | 09 December 2004 | ip: logged |
| i thought it was quality. it was really funny and quite scary(gory). a definite 8.5/10 |
| Comment by:- wozza | | 23 December 2004 | ip: logged |
| i thought it was good, not on the same planet as greats like 'evil dead 2' but still thoroughly entertaining. it had me in stitches in parts and quite tense in others, its not a classic but still a good movie. if you like it i recommend 'shaun of the dead' which is hands down the funniest comic horror ever made and the equally brilliant 'dog soldiers'. ill watch out for eli roth in the future. |
| Comment by:- bob | | 27 December 2004 | ip: logged |
| well i'll give it a 6/10 very korny movie, but quite amusing. Doofus is cool and very dum with a shutgun looking for squiirels and the chicks were hot. it needed to be more scary and more gory but it was alright, not the worse horror flick i've seen |
| Comment by:- matt30 | | 22 May 2005 | ip: logged |
| well i'll give it a 6/10 very korny movie, but quite amusing. Doofus is cool and very dum with a shutgun looking for squiirels and the chicks were hot. it needed to be more scary and more gory but it was alright, not the worse horror flick i've seen |
| Comment by:- matt30 | | 22 May 2005 | ip: logged |
I have always enjoy a good horror movie, and Cabin Fever is now part of my collection. This movie has a good combination of horror and comedy and all of the characters make the movie good. A group of college kids rent a cabin in some desolate hick town only to avoid being infected with 'cabin fever', a skin eating, blood vomiting disease. I wouldn't rank this movie up at the top with Dawn of the Dead, but this movie definitely deserves a 8/10 in my book in regard to horror movies. This movie has blood, gore, comedy, good characters and everything you look for in a good horror film including some hot chics worth mentioning. Cabin Fever is really entertaining and unique I think its worth watching more then once. |
| Comment by:- emit123 | | 26 October 2005 | ip: logged |
