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:

Leg Shaving | Shotgun | Dog Attack | Reverse Footage | Burned Alive

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Sweden:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Malaysia:18SG | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Iceland:16 | 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:

The highest selling movie at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival. Nearly all of the nine studios who engaged in a bidding war had passed on the movie at the script stage (the exception being the eventual winner, Lion's Gate, which was not in existence when the script was first written).

Goofs:

Continuity: The Ford F-100 truck the rednecks have changes from a 1973 with round headlights to a 1978 with square ones.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

References Mallrats (1995)

Soundtrack:

Wastin' Time

So-So

Cabin Fever offers some intense and scary moments but its really just the same except not very memorable. As a last hurrah after college, friends Jeff, Karen, Paul, Marcy and Bert embark on a vacation deep into the mountains. They drive to a remote cabin to enjoy their last days of decadence before entering the working world. Then their friend Karen gets sick and to avoid catching her virus they lock her in a shed. They look at one another and realize that any one of them could also have it. What soon began as a struggle against the disease turns into a battle against friends, as the fear of contagion drives them to turn on each other. The kids confront the terror of having to kill anyone who comes near them, even if it's their closest friend. The plot sure does sound scary and they did a decent job of executing it. I had heard that this film was really scary and I guess I did have high expectations. I should have lowered them as this was a slightly above average horror flick and nothing more. The story was decent with some clever twists and then it also had some old, annoying clichés. The acting was alright with the best being Rider Strong. His performance was nothing special but he stood out from everyone else. The rest of the kids are played by Jordan Ladd, James DeBello, Joey Kern and Cerina Vincent. They all play their roles well but don't really have a big impact on the viewer, which is okay since this is just a teenage horror flick. Eli Roth did an okay job of directing but he isn't that great at building suspense. I thought the film got really stupid at times like the kid who liked pancakes. I guess the director was making a reference to some film but it wasn't really needed. There were a lot of plot holes as well like who was the pancake kid? The film is pretty gory not over the top but enough to satisfy people. Cabin Fever pays homage to older horror classics which is nice but I didn't really think that helped the quality of the picture. In the end, this is a decent horror flick that's worth checking out. Rating 6/10