Cabin Fever (2002)

Director:

Eli Roth

Writers:

Eli Roth (written by) and
Randy Pearlstein (written by) ...

Release Date:

12 September 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Unsichtbar. Lautlos. Tödlich. (Invisible. Silent. Deadly.)

Plot:

A group of five college graduates rent a cabin in the woods and begin to fall victim to a horrifying flesh-eating virus, which attracts the unwanted attention of the homicidal locals.

Plot Keywords:

Cabin | Water | Virus | Hermit | Squirrel

Awards:

2 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Rider Strong	...	Paul
Jordan Ladd	...	Karen
James DeBello	...	Bert
Cerina Vincent	...	Marcy
Joey Kern	...	Jeff
Arie Verveen	...	Henry (The Hermit)
Robert Harris	...	Old Man Cadwell
Hal Courtney	...	Tommy
Matthew Helms	...	Dennis
Richard Boone	...	Fenster
Tim Parati	...	Andy
Dalton McGuire	...	Lemonade Boy
Jana Farmer	...	Lemonade Girl
Dante Walker	...	Shemp
Jeff Rendell	...	Fake Shemp

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and gore, sexuality, language and brief drug use.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG | Portugal:M/16 | Sweden:15 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Argentina:18 | Australia:MA | Canada:18A | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 (self applied) | Philippines:R-18 | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:NC-16 (cut) | Spain:18 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Black Sky Entertainment

Trivia:

Lions Gate Films bought the movie for an undisclosed sum in the "high seven figures", with an eight-figure commitment to prints and advertising. It's the most money Lions Gate has ever spent acquiring a motion picture.

Goofs:

Continuity: When we first meet Dennis he is drinking a Dr. Pepper. In the very next shot he is drinking a grape soda.

Quotes:

[first lines]
The Hermit: Hey, boy. Hey, boy. Hey, boy. Unn? C'mon, boy. Hey. Hey. Hey, fella.

Movie Connections:

References From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Soundtrack:

Wait For The Rain (2002)

Why all the hate???

Wildly shocking and amusing debute film for young director Eli Roth is perhaps the best example of current old-school horror around!

Five youths retreat to a cabin in rural North Carolina, where they come in contact with a deadly flesh-eating virus!

Packed with tension, gore, psychological terror, and dark humor Cabin Fever is a knock-out of a horror film and very clever in its premise. Director/writer Eli Roth shows that he's a genre fan, making references to a number of classic horror films, not to mention using some of David Hess's original songs for Craven's Last House on the Left (1972). Roth manages to use slick humor and spine-tingling horror together in a very effective way! The film has many of the horror movie conventions, yet never really falls into the cliché trappings of so many B horror flicks. You simply don't know where the twisting plot of the movie is going at any time.

The movie is nicely shot in Mount Airy, NC. Roth tosses in some style in his direction, making some of the moments of dream-like psychological horror nightmarishly good. The musical score is quite good. David Hess's son Jesse Hess does a good cover on his father's old song 'The Road Leads to No Where' for the films closing credits. The makeup FX for this film are outstanding and stomach-churning! There's plenty of blood to be had for the gore-hounds.

The cast is great. Rider Strong is good in his role of a teen struggling to survive. Beautiful Jordan Ladd does a heart-felt performance as Strong's love interest. The ever-funny James DeBello is perfect as a jerky friend. Cerina Vincent and Joey Kern also turn in good performances as the other desperate-to-survive youths. Giseppee Andrews does a humorous turn as a local deputy/"party man" and Roth himself appears as a stoner camper. The rest of the cast, most of whom play weird country characters are solid as well.

Why so many people have come to dislike this movie is a mystery to me! Many complain about Roth using both horror and off-beat humor, but it works! At any rate, Cabin Fever was one of the most successful horror movies of it's year and is probably one of the most entertaining horror films in many years. Genre fans simply shouldn't miss it.

*** 1/2 out of ****