5 college friends rent a remote mountain cabin and go there to spend a weeks vacation. After spending some time up in the mountains, a man contaminated with some disease, comes knocking on their door and starts to act crazy which makes the friends panic, and they end up setting him on fire. He drops dead in the water reservoir and when Karen, one of the 5 friends, drink tap water she gets infected by the disease. Apparently the disease is some form of a flesh-eating virus that just keeps spreading further, and from there on it's every man for themselves trying to survive the virus and each other.
This movie, just like Eli's new movie Hostel, promised a lot but did not end up delivering all the goods. I've read a lot of mixed reviews on Cabin Fever and I can for one understand a lot of peoples frustration with the movie. It promised a lot of gore, bloodbath and similar things, and even if it sure has some gory scenes and all that, it was not even close to what one first had thought it would have. And that's why I hate hearing too much about movies before having seen them.
First time I watched Cabin Fever I was slightly disappointed by the end result, but some time later, I watched it a second time and it definitely improved a bit and I could take it for what it really was, and that made it a lot better. Still, it's not a great movie but it's at least very entertaining, has some nice gore and some humour that works pretty well. Although it has a lot of humour that does not work at all. Now I think it's a pretty decent flick, only that the expectations at first were way too high, just like with Hostel.
The best thing about Cabin Fever is that it does not take itself too seriously. There are tons of new teen horror movies that do that and they often end up looking quite ridiculous. This one carries more humour and is much lighter, even if it has some serious gore and such. Also, the second time watching it, I kinda noticed all this little things that made it improve over the first time watching it. I don't think a third viewing would improve it even further, but it's definitely a movie I could see myself watching again.
It kinda feels like an 80's style splatter movie with some B-elements, although it looks very nice. Like I said before, there's a lot of humour in it, and while some works really well, some does not work at all. Although, I think when it really works it adds a lot to the movie and it becomes a good mix of horror and comedy. James DeBello's character is kinda funny, and there's especially one comment about squirrels that's hilarious, but I won't be spoiling anything for those who have not yet seen the movie. He kinda plays the same type of character that he did in Detroit Rock City, and is entertaining enough to watch.
So these people are supposed to have a nice vacation in a remote cabin, and everything is all and well in the beginning, but then things get out of hand. Their friend becomes infected by the flesh-eating virus and the guy who spread it got his infected blood all over their car. Afraid that the person next to them is also infected, their friendships begin to fall apart and it's every man for himself, and every girl for herself.
Cabin Fever carries some tension in certain scenes, and is quite gruesome in others. But the overall humour takes away a lot of the genuine horror feeling and leaves you, not jumping out of your seat in fright, but instead puts a smile on your lips. Director Eli Roth himself appears in the movie as some stoner they meet up at the cabin, and he's kinda fun to watch as well. The overall acting is all right and there are no dull moments, if nothing else, it's extremely entertaining.
First time I watched it I got a bit disppointed, but second time watching it, it turned out to be so much better. So all of you who have just watched it once, why not give it another try, it might be worth it. It's not a great movie, but it's fun at times and sure is an entertaining ride.
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ALTERNATIVE TITLE:
MOVIE YEAR: 2002
DIRECTOR: Eli Roth
WRITING CREDITS: Eli Roth, Randy Pearlstein
GENRE: Horror
CAST: Rider Strong, Jordan Ladd, James DeBello
COUNTRY: USA
RUNTIME: 93 min
RATING: 7/10
Cabin Fever Website/IMDB Click here
Cabin Fever Trailer Click here
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