A stylish marketing campaign for the theatrical release featured Peter Jackson,
director of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, commending Cabin
Fever. To promote the DVD release they are boasting their $20 million
box office gross. But don’t be fooled, the marketing campaign cost $25
million, and while Cabin Fever is a decent horror movie, it
is nowhere near the cult classic it claims to be.
Perhaps one of the reasons for Cabin Fever’s relative
obscurity was its lack of a big name star. Rider Strong (Boy Meets World)
is the best-known star of the movie, but he is still unproven as a big screen
draw. However, it is not the first indy horror movie lacking stars to catch
onto a major label and claim cult status. Both 28 Days Later
and The Blair Witch Project took similar routes. Cabin
Fever is often referred to as a Blair Witch style
horror film, but a simple comparison of the box office shows you they are not
in the same league.
Five friends decide to embark on a week long camping trip. After they settle
into their cabin, they encounter a confrontation with a man who has a disease
that is eating away his flesh. When one of the friends becomes infected with
the same disease, the rest of the gang realize that they might be next.
Since Cabin Fever lacked a monster/killer/human enemy of any
kind, I found the movie to not be frightening at all. I was never scared during
the movie, and that’s one of the first things I look for in a horror film.
The other aspect I found to be played out is the stereotypical redneck townspeople.
Perhaps these people do exist, every horror movie that takes place in the woods
has to include these psycho inbreeds. Could someone come up with just a little
bit of originality?
My favorite detail about Cabin Fever is how it stays within
the realm of reality (besides the unnecessary rednecks). This is why the major
horror of the movie doesn’t occur until you are done watching it. It was
thrilling, and the overall concept of the movie, especially the end, will give
me chills when I even think about camping. While the movie does have more than
its share of gore, it isn’t unnecessary. I have seen pictures of people
with flesh eating viruses, and they really do look gory. Cabin Fever
does exaggerate, but unlike some other horror movies (House
of 100 Corpses comes first to mind), the gore actually adds to the
movie instead of making it look ridiculous.
Originally, I had written a review that did not include the special features
(that was ready before the DVD came out) because I received a screener disc
with none on it. However, Lion’s Gate came through and sent me
a full copy to review for you all. So here are the special features.
- “5 Feature Length Commentaries”: I’ve never been a fan of
watching commentaries for horror movies, so I certainly cannot agree with five.
Give them a 92-minute look if you feel like it.
- “Director’s Shorts: The Rotten Fruit”: A claymation English
band of different kinds of fruits. Presumably director Eli Roth was going for
funny, but I simply found these three little episodes to be disturbing. Quite
disturbing.
- “Family Friendly Version”: The PG/G rated version of Cabin
Fever for the entire family. I’m not going to spoil anything,
but I thought this was hilarious.
- “Pancakes!”: The unnecessary biting redneck child gives a karate
performance to a song entitled “Gay Bar”. Just another foolish attempt
of Eli Roth to be funny. News flash, he really isn’t.
- “Beneath the Skin: The Making of Cabin Fever”:
Assembled of several different aspects of the film, this is not to be watched
until after viewing the film. It nearly shows everything that happens! However,
if you have viewed the movie, this is a great feature and gives a good look
inside the cast, crew, story, effects, and much more of the film.
- “Chick-Vision”: Supposedly, turning this feature on will make
the movie skip past the scary parts (not that I really found any). I obviously
refused to watch through this feature because what self-respecting horror movie
fan would?
Cabin Fever is a decent thriller, but is not what I would
deem worthy of cult status. It gives an eerie, yet realistic view of one of
our worst fears, the spread of a deadly disease. While the acting is not supreme,
it is better than most horror movie acting, and does make the movie more believable.
Some of the special features had no reason even existing, but the "making-of"
and "family version" redeem the others. My final verdict: Cabin
Fever is not the great horror film many make it out to be, but it is
definitely worth a rental if you are a horror fan. As for owning it, I would
wait to see how you feel after renting it first. (Or
just sign up to win it right here at DVDFanatic!)
This
page is maintained by Lisa Zlotnick. For questions,
comments, sponsorship opportunities, publicity, or other inquiries, please
send an e-mail to: contact@dvdfanatic.com
