Eli Roth's Cabin Fever is almost as good as Hostel!
Added 10/31/2009
Having been a huge fan of Eli Roth's Hostel for several years, I decided to check out his other movie, Cabin Fever, and I was not disappointed. Cabin Fever is almost as good as Hostel and is definitely better than Hostel Part II. Cabin Fever focuses on a group of 5 young college students who go to a remote cabin deep in the wilderness for a week of partying and relaxation. Soon, however, their vacation becomes a nightmare. First a man arrives at the cabin, covered in bloody burns, desperately seeking help. Then, fearing that his disease is contagious, they chase him away. But the damage has already been done. One of them has been infected and the others realize that any one of them could be next. Meanwhile, the locals in the nearby town set out to kill these 'outsiders', blaming them for spreading the disease. Cabin Fever is a very bloody horror movie that is not for the faint of heart, but it also has a dark sense of humor and actually delivers a few good laughs. Peter Jackson, director of King Kong and the Lord of the Rings trilogy proclaimed it as "an unrelenting, gruesomely funny blood bath", and Rolling Stone called it "a blast of good gory fun that just won't quit!". It has even been said that "Cabin Fever may do for cabin rentals what Jaws did for beach parties". I can assure you, though, that Cabin Fever is much more of a horror movie than Jaws was. If you've seen Eli Roth's work with Quentin Tarantino on the Hostel movies, you'll know what to expect - bloody violence and gore with more intelligence than your average fright flick. I highly recommend this movie to fans of Eli Roth or of today's high horror movie standards. Cabin Fever is intense, bloody, darkly humorous, and overall entertaining.
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"Cabin Fever Equals Great Fun"
Added 10/20/2009
Put a bunch of sexually charged teenagers together for a weekend getaway in a remote cabin, have them possess the morals of alley cats, and make sure they drink and do drugs, and I can guarantee this has the makings of a horror movie. "Cabin Fever" is a great thriller. None of the performances will garner the actors Oscar nods, but the producers main goal was to scare and shock the audience out of their seats; they succeeded in full force. The plot centers on a group of friends embarking on a weekend getaway into the woods where they stay at a cabin. Suddenly, they start to break out in rashes with their skin bubbling and burning. The question is how is all this happening? The special effects are intelligent, but be forewarned: if you have a weakness for blood and gore this movie is not for you. "Cabin Fever" is a bit more explicit than most horror films of the 2000's, but it is fast-paced, well-plotted, and freightening. The DVD contains 5 audio commentaries, along with the trailer, and a documentary on the making of the film. Even the conservative New York Times says,"(the movie is) a potent blend of dread, gore, gallows humor".
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A cult film, maybe, but not horrifying
Added 10/12/2009
2002's "Cabin Fever" was Eli Roth's film debut; he would go on to make the 2005 horror hit "Hostel." "Cabin Fever" has become somewhat of a modern cult film due to its eccentricities and Roth's later notoriety.
THE PLOT: Five college youths -- 3 guys and 2 girls -- take a cabin vacation in the sticks of NC where they are threatened by a bloody skin disease. They soon discover that the local reservoir is contaminated. Can they make it out alive?
I should point out that this is a heavy 'R' picture; Roth was tired of what he called the "watered down PG-13" horror films of the studios, and refused to compromise on the violence, nudity and cussing, insisting they were essential ingredients to an '80s-style horror film. Essential ingredients maybe, but such things can't make up for overall ineffectiveness. I simply don't get what's so great about "Cabin Fever." The plot is good, as are other items, but the film leaves a lot to be desired, unless of course you're not looking for much intelligence or authentic horror and just want a fun, quasi-horor experience. Or maybe you have to be a "true horror aficionado" to appreciate it, whatever that is.
WHAT WORKS:
- I admit that the main reason I bought this disk is the beautiful Cerina Vincent. She was only 21 when the film was made and it shows. As good as she looks in "Cabin Fever" she's far more gorgeous in later films like 2006's "Sasquatch Mountain" and 2005's "It Waits," where she's more curvy with a fuller mane.
- The picture's eccentricities are enjoyable, such as the weirdo party-dude deputy, the inbred karate boy (who looks like a girl) and, especially, the part where we're led to believe an old shopkeeper is prejudiced against blacks until we discover the truth at the end; that was a good one!
- I like the early Fall backwoods North Carolina photography.
WHAT DOESN'T WORK:
- The biggest problem with "Cabin Fever" is that it doesn't take itself seriously. Isn't this supposed to be a horror film? Well, how can the viewer be horrified when the filmmakers keep telegraphing that it's all a joke? If we can't take the story seriously, we can't take the horror seriously either. Suffice to say, the story could have been horrifying but it's not. What we're left with is a somewhat entertaining flick with horror trappings, but no real horror. By contrast, the remake of "Dawn of the Dead" was successfully horrifying because the film (and filmmakers) took the subject seriously.
- Some say the five protagonists are unlikable, but this isn't really true. They act like typical college youths trying to have a good time on vacation. What's not to like? What is a turn-off, however, is their over-the-top cussing. Don't get me wrong here because I actually prefer realistic cussing in the films I view; in other words, I prefer that the characters talk like people in real life. In light of this it's very rare that I would complain about cussing in a movie. But, here, it's just total overkill. Now, someone may defend it on the grounds that people would likely cuss a lot in such a horrific situation and I would agree, but the characters overdo it well BEFORE anything horrific happens. Maybe the cussing overkill is part of Roth's joke: "Let's go ultra R-rated and overdo everything that's watered-down in a PG-13 film." Regardless, this approach makes his protagonists sound like morons who have no right to step foot into an elementary school English class let alone be seasoned college students.
BOTTOM LINE: "Cabin Fever" is worthwhile for a number of reasons, particularly the fact that it has "cult film" written all over it, but if you're a horror fan expecting to be horrified you're wasting your time 'cause it's pretty much a big joke. Sporadically entertaining? Yes. Truly horrifying? Not at all.
GRADE: C- or a weak 3/5 Stars
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IT GETS INTO YOUR SKIN 8.5 OUT OF 10
Added 9/12/2009
Oh Eli Roth, why did you have to go and muck it up with Hostel (Unrated Widescreen Edition)? This horror flick is so good, while Hostel is so dull and pointless. Cabin Fever is the only horror film I've ever seen that still makes me cringe and disturbs even after watching it multiple times over the years. This film is very underrated by moviegoers. Surprisingly, many critics actually enjoyed this film along with big-name Hollywood directors Quentin Tarantino and Peter Jackson (In fact, Jackson loved it so much he stopped filming one of the Lord of the Rings films for a week just so he could take the entire film crew to go see it). But as for you moviegoers, I am very disappointed in you and I'm very disappointed in you too, Roger Ebert (Again, he hates a good horror film).
WHAT IT'S ABOUT: Right after they graduate from college, five friends; Paul, Karen, Bert, Jeff, and Marcy decide to go rent a cabin for a week. The group is having a good time just screwing around, drinking plenty of beer, and smoking some weed, until a stranger with a terrible skin disease pays them a visit. When the group refuses to help him, he attempts to steal their truck, and the group beats him and sets him on fire, and then he runs off into the woods on fire. The problem is, after that, the man with the skin disease puts himself out in the drinking water and dies in it. And that water leads straight to the cabin. Then Karen gets sick, and group quarantines her in the shed outside, but eventually the disease spreads. The group has no working vehicle, and they're trapped with the disease, there's some homicidal hillbillies out to get them, and a rabid dog who wants to eat them and their infected flesh.
MUSIC: This film has great, creepy music that sets the mood very well.
ACTION: This film is one of the goriest and most violent films I've ever seen. This film has no problem making you squirm with how disgusting this is. It also gets to you because you realize that all these situations could very well happen. The blood and gore in this film is exceptional and very graphic and may actually cause nausea. This film will leave you on the edge of your seat because even if you view it multiple times, it will still disturb and horrify you.
ACTING: For unknown actors, they were actually really good. They all were believable and they did seem like partying college kids. Whether they were terrified or telling dirty jokes, they all performed their roles very well.
OVERALL: This is definitely not for kids. It's loaded with nauseating gore, sexuality, nudity, drug use, dirty jokes, and plenty of swearing as well. But if you're an adult who likes horror films that pay homage to old horror classics and love lots of gore and anything else I just mentioned, then watch this film. This definitely isn't for everyone though and it's very disturbing.
THE GOOD: Plenty of blood and gore, good music, fun sick humor, great acting, and a fun throwback to the old horror flicks.
THE BAD: Some dull moments.
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Eli Roth Before HOSTEL
Added 8/13/2009
Rider Strong (BOY MEETS WORLD), Jordan Ladd (BROKEN LIZARD'S CLUB DREAD), James DeBello (AMERICAN PIE), Joey Kern (SUPER TROOPERS) and Cerina Vincent (NOT ANOTHER TEEN MOVIE) star as 5 college students visiting the woods. Eli Roth, who would later produce the remake of 2001 MANIACS starring Robert "Freddy Krueger" Englund and direct HOSTEL starring Jay Hernandez (FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS) made this cult horror classic. This movie contains great gore, comedy and actors. I give this movie a 5 out of 5 star rating.
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Eli Roth's Cabin Fever is almost as good as Hostel!
Added 10/31/2009
Having been a huge fan of Eli Roth's Hostel for several years, I decided to check out his other movie, Cabin Fever, and I was not disappointed. Cabin Fever is almost as good as Hostel and is definitely better than Hostel Part II. Cabin Fever focuses on a group of 5 young college students who go to a remote cabin deep in the wilderness for a week of partying and relaxation. Soon, however, their vacation becomes a nightmare. First a man arrives at the cabin, covered in bloody burns, desperately seeking help. Then, fearing that his disease is contagious, they chase him away. But the damage has already been done. One of them has been infected and the others realize that any one of them could be next. Meanwhile, the locals in the nearby town set out to kill these 'outsiders', blaming them for spreading the disease. Cabin Fever is a very bloody horror movie that is not for the faint of heart, but it also has a dark sense of humor and actually delivers a few good laughs. Peter Jackson, director of King Kong and the Lord of the Rings trilogy proclaimed it as "an unrelenting, gruesomely funny blood bath", and Rolling Stone called it "a blast of good gory fun that just won't quit!". It has even been said that "Cabin Fever may do for cabin rentals what Jaws did for beach parties". I can assure you, though, that Cabin Fever is much more of a horror movie than Jaws was. If you've seen Eli Roth's work with Quentin Tarantino on the Hostel movies, you'll know what to expect - bloody violence and gore with more intelligence than your average fright flick. I highly recommend this movie to fans of Eli Roth or of today's high horror movie standards. Cabin Fever is intense, bloody, darkly humorous, and overall entertaining.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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"Cabin Fever Equals Great Fun"
Added 10/20/2009
Put a bunch of sexually charged teenagers together for a weekend getaway in a remote cabin, have them possess the morals of alley cats, and make sure they drink and do drugs, and I can guarantee this has the makings of a horror movie. "Cabin Fever" is a great thriller. None of the performances will garner the actors Oscar nods, but the producers main goal was to scare and shock the audience out of their seats; they succeeded in full force. The plot centers on a group of friends embarking on a weekend getaway into the woods where they stay at a cabin. Suddenly, they start to break out in rashes with their skin bubbling and burning. The question is how is all this happening? The special effects are intelligent, but be forewarned: if you have a weakness for blood and gore this movie is not for you. "Cabin Fever" is a bit more explicit than most horror films of the 2000's, but it is fast-paced, well-plotted, and freightening. The DVD contains 5 audio commentaries, along with the trailer, and a documentary on the making of the film. Even the conservative New York Times says,"(the movie is) a potent blend of dread, gore, gallows humor".
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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A cult film, maybe, but not horrifying
Added 10/12/2009
2002's "Cabin Fever" was Eli Roth's film debut; he would go on to make the 2005 horror hit "Hostel." "Cabin Fever" has become somewhat of a modern cult film due to its eccentricities and Roth's later notoriety.
THE PLOT: Five college youths -- 3 guys and 2 girls -- take a cabin vacation in the sticks of NC where they are threatened by a bloody skin disease. They soon discover that the local reservoir is contaminated. Can they make it out alive?
I should point out that this is a heavy 'R' picture; Roth was tired of what he called the "watered down PG-13" horror films of the studios, and refused to compromise on the violence, nudity and cussing, insisting they were essential ingredients to an '80s-style horror film. Essential ingredients maybe, but such things can't make up for overall ineffectiveness. I simply don't get what's so great about "Cabin Fever." The plot is good, as are other items, but the film leaves a lot to be desired, unless of course you're not looking for much intelligence or authentic horror and just want a fun, quasi-horor experience. Or maybe you have to be a "true horror aficionado" to appreciate it, whatever that is.
WHAT WORKS:
- I admit that the main reason I bought this disk is the beautiful Cerina Vincent. She was only 21 when the film was made and it shows. As good as she looks in "Cabin Fever" she's far more gorgeous in later films like 2006's "Sasquatch Mountain" and 2005's "It Waits," where she's more curvy with a fuller mane.
- The picture's eccentricities are enjoyable, such as the weirdo party-dude deputy, the inbred karate boy (who looks like a girl) and, especially, the part where we're led to believe an old shopkeeper is prejudiced against blacks until we discover the truth at the end; that was a good one!
- I like the early Fall backwoods North Carolina photography.
WHAT DOESN'T WORK:
- The biggest problem with "Cabin Fever" is that it doesn't take itself seriously. Isn't this supposed to be a horror film? Well, how can the viewer be horrified when the filmmakers keep telegraphing that it's all a joke? If we can't take the story seriously, we can't take the horror seriously either. Suffice to say, the story could have been horrifying but it's not. What we're left with is a somewhat entertaining flick with horror trappings, but no real horror. By contrast, the remake of "Dawn of the Dead" was successfully horrifying because the film (and filmmakers) took the subject seriously.
- Some say the five protagonists are unlikable, but this isn't really true. They act like typical college youths trying to have a good time on vacation. What's not to like? What is a turn-off, however, is their over-the-top cussing. Don't get me wrong here because I actually prefer realistic cussing in the films I view; in other words, I prefer that the characters talk like people in real life. In light of this it's very rare that I would complain about cussing in a movie. But, here, it's just total overkill. Now, someone may defend it on the grounds that people would likely cuss a lot in such a horrific situation and I would agree, but the characters overdo it well BEFORE anything horrific happens. Maybe the cussing overkill is part of Roth's joke: "Let's go ultra R-rated and overdo everything that's watered-down in a PG-13 film." Regardless, this approach makes his protagonists sound like morons who have no right to step foot into an elementary school English class let alone be seasoned college students.
BOTTOM LINE: "Cabin Fever" is worthwhile for a number of reasons, particularly the fact that it has "cult film" written all over it, but if you're a horror fan expecting to be horrified you're wasting your time 'cause it's pretty much a big joke. Sporadically entertaining? Yes. Truly horrifying? Not at all.
GRADE: C- or a weak 3/5 Stars
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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