Cabin Fever (2002)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Eli Roth

Writers:

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

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 | Virus | Water | Hermit | Dog

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
Brandon Johnson	...	Ray Shawn
Charee Cuthrell	...	Cadwell's Crush (as Cherie Rodgers)
Bill Terrell	...	Happy Wednesday Band
Richard Terrell	...	Happy Wednesday Band
Jeff Evans	...	Happy Wednesday Band
Mike Hill	...	Happy Wednesday Band
J.K. Godbold	...	Happy Wednesday Band
Giuseppe Andrews	...	Deputy Winston
Richard Fullerton	...	The Sheriff
Phil Fox	...	Evil Deputy
Gabriel Roth	...	Shooter #1
Donald Lee Hall Jr.	...	Shooter #2
Jeremy A. Metcalf	...	Shooter #3
Christine Renee Ward	...	The Hog Lady (as Christy Ward)
Michael Harding	...	Shotgun Casey
Julie Childress	...	Beautiful Wife
Eli Roth	...	Justin / Grim (as David Kaufbird)
Rock	...	Dr. Mambo
Noah Belson	...	Guitar Man
Doug McDermott	...	Harmonica Man
Matt Cappiello	...	Troubadour
Jessica Masserman	...	Winston's Date
Paige Hunter	...	Underage Girl
Gino Vincent	...	Cerina's Brother
Shiloh Strong	...	Rider's Brother
Darcy Martin	...	Shiloh's Girlfriend (as Darcy Jo Martin)
Jay Aaseng	...	Sir Chug-a-Lot
Matt Schwarz	...	The Bad Influence (as Matthew Schwarz)
Jessica Elder	...	Cat Hat Girl (as Jessica Shortkoff)
Mark Morse	...	Shocked Guy
Heather Simmons	...	Shocked Girl
Dean Masserman	...	Mr. Mom / The Victim
Sam Froelich	...	Doctor #1
Tom Terrell	...	Doctor #2
Anonymous	...	The Bunny Man (as We will never tell)
Evan Astrowsky	...	Helpless Bystander
Mark Schwarz	...	Hospital Attendant
Shana Schwarz	...	Hospital Hottie
Joe Adams	...	Killer
Adam J. Roth	...	The Happy Bald Guy (as Adam Roth)
Jeffrey D. Hoffman	...	The Victim (as Jeff Hoffman)
John Neff	...	The Victim
Nancy Neff	...	The Victim
Michael Reardon	...	The Victim
Glenn Weisberger	...	The Victim
Roy T. Wood	...	The Victim (as Roy Wood)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Timothy Matson	...	Evil Deputy #2 (uncredited)

Directed by
Eli Roth

Writing credits
Eli Roth		(written by) and
Randy Pearlstein		(written by)
Eli Roth		(story)

Produced by
Evan Astrowsky	....	producer
Sam Froelich	....	producer
Jeffrey D. Hoffman	....	co-executive producer
Susan Jackson	....	executive producer
Lauren Moews	....	producer
Eli Roth	....	producer

Original Music by
Angelo Badalamenti
Nathan Barr

Cinematography by
Scott Kevan

Film Editing by
Ryan Folsey

Casting by
Joe Adams
Ayo Davis

Production Design by
Franco-Giacomo Carbone

Costume Design by
Paloma Soledad

Makeup Department
Jessica Elder	....	makeup artist
Joan Shay	....	hair department head

Production Management
Claudia Carey	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
M.C. 'Max' Berryhill	....	first assistant director: second unit
M.C. 'Max' Berryhill	....	second assistant director
Susan DeWeese	....	first assistant director
Susan McGuire	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Tommy Estridge	....	assistant property master
Richard A. Mazzochi	....	property master
Charles B. Walker	....	assistant set dresser

Sound Department
Pembrooke Andrews	....	sound editor
Brian Best	....	supervising sound editor
Jeffree Bloomer	....	sound mixer
Lance Brown	....	sound re-recording mixer
Timothy A. Carpenter	....	foley mixer
Timothy A. Carpenter	....	sound re-recording mixer
William Cawley	....	sound effects editor
Brion Condon	....	boom operator: Los Angeles
David P. Earle	....	sound effects editor
Frederick Howard	....	foley supervisor
Steve Mann	....	sound effects editor
Marc Meyer	....	sound effects editor
Shelley Roden	....	foley artist (as Shelley Smith)
Scott Solan	....	boom operator
Joseph Tsai	....	sound effects editor
Steve Weiss	....	sound mixer: Los Angeles
Aaron Wilcox	....	facilities management
Aaron Wilcox	....	re-recording projectionist
J. Aloysius Flanagan III	....	assistant sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Howard Berger	....	special makeup effects supervisor
Chiz Hasegawa	....	coordinator: KNB EFX Group
Garrett Immel	....	key special makeup effects artist and set supervisor
Robert Kurtzman	....	special makeup effects supervisor
Gregory Nicotero	....	special makeup effects supervisor
Scott Patton	....	sculptor
Alan Tuskes	....	special makeup effects crew

Visual Effects by
Steven Emmert	....	optical compositor: THDX
Scott Grossman	....	poster design
Scott Grossman	....	title design
Erick Schiele	....	poster design
Erick Schiele	....	title design
Jan S. Owen	....	visual effects producer: Pacific Title (uncredited)

Stunts
John Copeman	....	stunt coordinator
Dino Muccio	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Robin Acutt	....	gaffer
Casey Alicino	....	key grip
Raymond Benthall	....	set electrician
Nathan Crum	....	camera loader
Julie Donovan	....	first assistant camera
Bryan Haigh	....	second assistant camera
C. David Jones	....	grip
Eric Leach	....	director of photography: second unit
Michael Lowrance	....	electrician
Dominic Mainl	....	first assistant camera
Benjamin Root	....	jib operator
Derek E. Tindall	....	best boy electric
David Troutman	....	electrician

Casting Department
Jordan Beswick	....	additional casting
Mitzi Corrigan	....	casting: North Carolina

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Juli Trotter	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Jennie Blackwood	....	post-production coordinator
Erica Mireles Folsey	....	assistant editor (as Erica Acevedo)
Harry Muller	....	color timer
Kelly Reese	....	telecine colorist: high definition
Chris Regan	....	color timer

Music Department
Michael Farrow	....	music scoring mixer
Christine H. Luethje	....	music editor
Brian Richards	....	music editor
Mark Skillingberg	....	assistant music editor

Transportation Department
Paul Feddersen	....	transportation coordinator: Los Angeles
Hugo Ocana	....	driver
Colleen Rea	....	driver: Los Angeles
Lew Strong	....	driver

Other crew
Jennie Blackwood	....	assistant accountant
Barry L. Caldwell	....	script supervisor
Sam Childs	....	production accountant
Crystal Connell	....	craft service
Andrew Daniel	....	production assistant
Chantelle Grady	....	production secretary
Michael Hayworth	....	production assistant
Pascual Romero	....	promotional consultant
Gabriel Roth	....	documentarian
Barbara Rushworth	....	assistant to producer
Lindsay Vivian	....	production assistant
Mark Garbett	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Thanks
Angelo Badalamenti	....	very special thanks
George Folsey Jr.	....	very special thanks
Michael Hassan	....	very special thanks
Rich Hassan	....	very special thanks
David Lynch	....	very special thanks
Michael Rosenbaum	....	special thanks
Andy Sawyer	....	very special thanks

Production Companies

• Black Sky Entertainment
• Deer Path Films
• Down Home Entertainment
• Tonic Films

Distributors

• Lions Gate Films (2003) (USA) (theatrical)
• Art Port (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Eagle Pictures (????) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Gelvars (2003) (Kazakhstan) (theatrical)
• Gelvars (2003) (Moldova) (theatrical)
• Gelvars (2003) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Gelvars (2003) (Ukraine) (theatrical)
• Gelvars (2003) (Uzbekistan) (theatrical)
• Lions Gate Films (????) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (????) (France) (theatrical)
• Moonlight Films (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Redbus Film Distribution (????) (UK) (theatrical)
• Spentzos Films (????) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Vértigo Films (????) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Cabin Pictures LLC
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (2004) (Argentina) (all media)
• Columbia TriStar (2004) (Brazil) (DVD) (VHS)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (2004) (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2004) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (all media)
• Prorom Media-Trade (2002) (Romania) (all media)
• Spentzos Film Home Video (????) (Greece) (VHS)
• Sunfilm Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)

Special Effects

• K.N.B. Effects Group

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• Cutting Edge Group  music services
• FilmFinders  consultant
• Grossman-Schiele Design  title design
• Hollywood Caterers  catering
• La-La Land Records  soundtrack album
• NovaStar Digital  sound post-production

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:

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:

Director Eli Roth originally got the idea for this movie when he was visiting Iceland and helping to clean out an old barn there. He got such a bad allergic reaction from the rotting hay in the barn that his face broke out and bled from the sores.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Marcy starts having sex with Paul, they are on the left side of the bed, near the edge. Then, when the camera angle changes, the couple are in the middle of the bed.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

References The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Soundtrack:

Wastin' Time

An unfairly criticised debut; it really is not that bad

Eli Roth's debut, Cabin Fever, seems to be hated by the majority on IMDb and many other critics. I, however, found this to be a rather enjoyable little film that just falls short of being great. To sum up this movie: take a bit of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, a bit of The Evil Dead, a couple of elements from The Thing and Last House on the Left and you have Cabin Fever. A horror movie about five teenagers going to holiday in a cabin in the woods after college where the nearest town is filled with hicks and everything is slowly getting infected by an unknown virus which starts to turn everyone against each other. Roth blends horror with a small amount of comedy which suits this type of movie.

The five teens are a mixed bunch (the dumb guy, the horny couple and the innocent couple). Most of them swear, drink, have wild sex and smoke drugs and because of this may seem annoying and clichéd, on the contrary, Roth has captured the attitude of what teenagers were (and still are) like. We do all that they do (well, not so much drugs..) and to me that makes them more realistic. The locals aren't so realistic and seem to be their for comic relief and body count (which isn't a bad thing). There is plenty of gore and plenty of scenes to make you squirm in disgust.

The reason I don't give this a really high score is because the pacing seemed jumbled to me. For me, the running time was really short and there were not enough scares throughout. This movie had potential to be more than the final product but I respect what Roth has done and considering it was his first movie it is remarkably good and for that I give it:

6/10