Rating: 7/10
Review date: October 12, 2003
A group of five friends head to a remote cabin in the woods for vacation. When their good time is interrupted by a flesh-eating virus which infected one of them, they have to struggle to survive each other. Meanwhile, the local population in a small town nearby decided to take steps to protect themselves�
This movie hits you smack right in the face with plenty of gore and it doesn�t let go once the ride begins. The pace is actually quite slow and it doesn�t pick until almost halfway in the movie. This isn�t necessarily bad since it provides enough time for the characters to be developed so one actually sympathize with them, unlike those in other typical horror movies who you don�t even give a damn about when they begin to get wasted.
The story is quite good although there are some glaring plot holes throughout. A great deal of suspense is present which really builds up the tension and level of anticipation for the audience. For those who are interested, there is a campfire story-telling scene which kind of freaked me out. What a story!
The movie is also enhanced by an excellent use of music and silence. There are some scenes where the red filter is used with effectiveness and some gratuitous T&A thrown into the mix as well.
The special effects are quite well done with shots of decomposing bodies and a whole bunch of other disgusting happenings that you can imagine a flesh-eating virus could do.
The actors vary in their performances although there are some comedic and memorable characters to keep things interesting from this aspect.
Rider Strong is suitably cast as Paul who acted in a believable manner. Jeff (Joey Kern) doesn�t bring anything additional to the screen although his character is necessary for the coward type.
James DeBello as Bert is the main comic relief here and he did a good job at it.
The two female leads are nice to look at and they bring the much needed female angle to the flick. Jordan Ladd�s character (as Karen) is developed nicely at the beginning and I do like her chemistry with Paul which is quite well performed.
Marcy the �slut� (played by Cerina Vincent) revealed her hooters in several scenes and she also managed to garner some sympathy despite her role.
There are two other great appearances as well. The first one being writer/director Eli Roth himself as Justin (the guy with the weed bag) who cracks me up during his short cameo. The other is Giuseppe Andrews as Deputy Winston who adds some extra laughs into the fray with his constant talk of �partying�.
Cabin Fever is definitely a solid horror movie which I wouldn�t mind seeing again because of its high entertainment factor. The cast is great to look at (referring to the females of course) and there is plenty of gore to satisfy those who are looking for it. That�s not to mention the dark comedy that is skillfully woven into the scenes; I actually found myself laughing in some parts where it wouldn�t normally be funny but I digress since I do enjoy myself.
The end of the movie was a bit of a letdown however, with the tension that had been built up all the way to that point in time suffering from a sheer drop. Thus the movie ends on a rather unsatisfying note although director Eli Roth still managed to squeeze in some wicked albeit funny scenes before the credits roll.
*Trivia*
Sound mixer John Neff contracted and survived the real flesh-eating virus during a minor surgery. It took 13 days of non-stop intensive medical attention to save his life. He also maintains that the special effects in the film are 100% accurate.
The original killer dog in the movie is so old and tired that a replacement has to be found. Due to time and budget constraints, a vicious and unpredictable police attack dog was used. No actors are allowed to appear with it on camera while the crews hide behind trucks during filming and the cameras are operated using remote control.
Memorable quote: �Pancakes!�
-Matthew Helms as Dennis-
(c) Martin Taidy