Cabin Fever (2002) Review - Director Series
I had an idea to cover an entire filmmaker’s filmography one review at a time. Originally, it was going to be Paul Thomas Anderson because he is my favorite director. However, due to the length of his films and other obligations this was proving tough.
I saw another trailer for Eli Roth’s new film Borderlands based on the video game of the same name. So, with little time to get his whole filmography rewatched and reviewed before its release on August 9th, I thought let’s give myself another unnecessary challenge and review all of Roth’s films.
I got really into horror films around 11 or 12 years old. Right as Eli Roth came to prominence, his throwback to 70s exploitation films fit perfectly into the horror zeitgeist of the moment. A moment dubbed “Torture Porn”. This movement began in the late 90s with the “New Extremity” era, a film movement out of France.
Films depicting extreme violence pushing audiences in a matter of what they could handle. It found its way to the United States and inspired American horror directors helping create the Torture Porn era of horror.
Coming-of-Age during this time led me to begin a search for the most extreme and fucked up things I could find, just to see if I could handle them.
Like most sub-genres, many of the films became reliant on the niche instead of the filmmaking itself, leading to me watching many bad movies.
However, I have an affinity for Roth’s films and franchises like Saw because I watched them at an influential age. However, I have not revisited many of these films since my Junior High youth. Especially Roth’s films.
Therefore, I decided to rewatch evaluate, and reevaluate his films, I loved Cabin Fever and the Hostels when I was 15. Will I still love them at 34?
Eli Roth had the idea for Cabin Fever back when he worked on a farm in Iceland and contracted a nasty skin infection. He co-wrote the script with an NYU student and friend Randy Pearlstein. They wrote the script in 1995 and had lots of trouble selling the script.
Lionsgate eventually bought the distribution rights after a screening at TIFF’s “Midnight Madness”. It ended being Lionsgate’s highest grossing film of 2002 with a total of just over 30 million dollars.
The film of Eli’s that I have seen the most and probably has the greatest nostalgic hold on me. I saw this for the first time after renting it from Blockbuster. I loved my Mom taking me to Blockbuster and letting me pick out multiple horror movies to watch that week, only to take me back the following Sunday to do it again.
Trying to watch this objectively is difficult because I consider it a personal favorite, along with his next film. Nevertheless, I sat down to rewatch this film with an attempted open mind. Locking in to watch the film rather than as background noise which is almost what this has become.
The premise is basic; five college friends decide to spend part of a break, unspecified but likely fall given the foliage, in a remote cabin in the woods. On the way, they stop at a peculiar shop that provides the red herring for the kids, warning them only horror awaits them. Eventually, the kids start to succumb to a flesh-eating virus.
Roth’s influences from the 70s exploitations are clear. The difference is exploitation was born from filmmakers who were not given chances by large studios, so they had to make their films underground with small budgets.
Imputing their themes of post-Vietnam America in films full of nudity and gore. Films like The Student Nurses or Ganja and Hess show the female and black experience in this tumultuous time in America, offering insights that went over the studio’s heads back then but still resonate now.
Unfortunately, as fun as Cabin Fever is, it feels empty. There is no larger theme, no hidden agenda, just beautiful young adults acting stupid and being ravaged by a virus. If you come for gore, there is plenty here.
But, that’s all that is here, as well as some gratuitous nudity that was a staple of the genre in this time. Some of the jokes have held up. Even the not-so-PC ones. One thing I always appreciated about Roth and Rob Zombie is their ability to pull humor in the most horrifying situations.
The final ten minutes possessing a couple of the funniest moments of the film. One that is a spoiler of the film, so I won’t describe what happens. Suffice it to say both a surprisingly fun payoffs.
I say surprisingly because in the final 35 minutes, this film begins to speed up, it feels choppy in a way of trying to cover too much in little time. All five people begin to separate and we follow each of them on their journey.
It becomes a bit muddled as to what is happening and devolves into a series of vignettes. During this, we are given Deputy Winston who dubs Rider Strong’s character as “Party Man”. Winston was so memorable he was brought back for the sequel, directed by another modern horror great Ti West.
Not every film is going to be a complex five-course meal. Sometimes a film is just a burger and fries from McDonalds. It may not provide any nutritional value, but it sure is tasty. So who cares if that is all this film is? If so, it works on that level.
For a first film, this is a solid effort. I have a lot of forgiveness for the film because of my nostalgia for it. It was clear from this film that a new voice in horror had been announced, it was just if the world was ready for what he had to say.
4/5 Stars.
