Cabin Fever
| release date | September 3 2003 |
| studio | Lions Gate Films |
| director | Eli Roth |
| writer | Eli Roth |
| starring | Jordan Ladd, Rider Strong, James DeBello, Cerina Vincent, Joey Kern, Arie Verveen |
| rating | R |
| tagline | In high school, you're told you can do anything you put your mind to. |
| site | cabinfevermovie.com |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
13 Comments
This movie was really good!!! A MUST for horror fans!
I loved this movie it was very unpredictable and you were never sure who was going to die of who was going to live it was very good movie and a MUST for horror film lovers
great
This movie sucked ass and I dont know how people liked it.
i really liked this movie dispite that it got a little off track sometimes and it took a little while to get to the actually flesh eating eli roth is one of the best horror directors in my book
I would just like to start by saying that Eli Roth is great, I completely agree with sixxchik . This movie was absolutely great, it made my skin crawl and there is not too many movies around that can do that to me so I have to give props. Everything down to the casting was perfect. Can’t wait to see the sequel.
I understand that the purpose of this movie was to be sort of campy and just incredibly gory… but I honestly could not stand it. Don’t get me wrong — I love movies like this… campy, gory, 80′s-style horror. But this was just not that great.
I didnt really like it. i was nasty but not good.
I agree to say that I don’t understand why people like this movie. I usually like the campy horror movies. This was my first Eli Roth movie and I saw this in the theaters. Should have known right away not to see any more. (Damn Hostel sucked even more) There was not a single redeeming quality to this movie.
didn’t like it.
More Pancakes!
I have to say that I really liked this film. It was creepy! In that cheesy sort of way. I don’t know how to explain it but I liked it. Not the best but definitely not the worst.
didn’t think it was funny or scary. the acting was horrible and the story is stupid.
hate it.
NOT scary NOT funny NOT good!!!! I hated this movie but when it first came out I thought it was just the movie but after a few years I’ve realized it ELI ROTH!! HE IS THE WORST DIRECTOR EVER!!!! He does NOT know how to direct or write. I hate him and all his movies there all the same OVER DONE WANNA BE ARTISTIC GARBAGE!! Think THANKSGIVING!!!! I hated CABIN FEVER more then any other movie I have ever seen well maybe not any other I hate all ELI ROTH movies equealy! I give this wates of money and time a 0 out of 10! don’t waste your time or money its not worth it!!!!!!!!
pretty good
Its Eli Roth… he sells whatever sells good, in this case popular horror, girls with big boobs and some try to be funny moments… Its worth a view tho, but I really didn’t like this one! Its the setting of Evil Dead 1 and 2, but without Ash and the evil force that live “into the woods”
anyway its a good movie if you like all of the other Eli Roth crap
The movie was OK. It could have been realy great if they would have foucsed more on the fear of the flesh eating viris. But it did have some good moments, not eally scary though, just worth a view.
I wrote my college admittance essay on this movie, no joke.
This movie was alright. Not too much to be fascinated by. But good overall.
If the second one comes out, I guess its worth a watch.
I borrowed this movie from my niece (who loved it). Myself…not so much. As a matter of fact, I didn’t like it at all. It wasn’t funny or particularly scary. Most of the characters were so unlikeable that it was a relief when they died. The special effects were well done and the location was good. Unfortunately, the story didn’t meet the same standards.
my single favorite horror film of all time..i have watched this enough times,that i know it like the back of my hand.gore..check…black comedy..check..cerina vincent, godamn i fell in love with her after this fucking movie and started collecting all her stuff. music is awesome i could talk about this movie all day..also i have listened to all the commentaries on the dvd.After this movie i became a fan of eli roth for life.
If It weren’t for the fact that this movie came out in 2003 I would have thought for sure that this one came straight out of the 70′s or 80′s, the golden age of horror that Eli obviously loves. The movie has tremendous camp value and if for sure a future cult classic. You either love this movie, or hate it. For me…I loved it. It has its shortcomings no doubt but for what it is it excels. Is it scary? I see a lot of people say it wasn’t but it’ll make me think twice before drinking untreated water! The movie plays on our most basic of fears. Disease, predation, rednecks. The movie however proves to be more funny than scary, if you have a certain strange scenes of humor. And I guess I do. From what Roth has produced so far Cabin Fever in my opinion remains his best and it’ll be a difficult one to top. How can you help but cringe at the leg shaving scene?
a morbidly funny horror film is cabin fever, essentialy a virus movie that takes place in a cabin, with familiar setting like evil dead, but taking on an infection storyline instead of possession, it becomes contangeous, you find out why and all.
this movie was fun to watch and is entertaining for a horror film and has enough laughs in it.
i was really disappointed. it seemed to drag on, & the characters were so unlikeable i couldn’t get into it.
This was a good movie the plot seemed to close to the 1950′s movie called the Flesh Eaters.
i hated all
After reading such a glowing review from BD, I questioned myself as to why I disliked this movie so much when I saw it in the theater. Any member of this site could probably list 5-10 movies that they hate that I like…it’s the nature of horror fans. I went to see this film with ZERO expectations because I did not even know what it was about, or the fact that it was a horror movie to begin with. That being said, I thought this movie was a indecipherable piece of garbage that somehow was sold as a horror movie. I just didn’t like it it any way. If you are planning to see this because of all the hype, and because Eli Roth directed it, I highly recommend renting it before making a purchase. Maybe you will like pancake-lovng, mullet-sporting, spin-kicking kids that have nothing to do with the plot, or maybe you won’t…it’s you call. I personally wish I had my money back from 5 years ago…I could use it towards something truly scary…like Steel Magnolia’s or Son of Mask.
If you’re looking for straight up gore and sexual content this movie is for you. LOL. It’s mostly got the gross out factor going for me so it is part of my collection and a good movie for a afternoon when it’s just too nasty to go outside!
It’s a good concept for a film, unique and given that it was low-budget it was done rather well.
Absolutely bloody awful. The characters were obnoxious and tbh I was glad when they all died. I didn’t like the *racist* moments in the film, doesn’t matter how you dress it up, it is not acceptable to call anyone *nigger* in this day and age.
And wtf was the dumb kid who liked biting people all about and said *pancakes* all the time?
I actually walked out of the cinema after about an hour of this, it was that bad! I watched it again on dvd just incase it was better second time round. IT WASN’T!!!
Best place for this … the dustbin!
I liked it….
This is your basic low buget 80s horror movie– done in 2003, It is gross and bloody , with dumb girls and bad acting guys …. I kinda liked it ..
this movie is the kind of movie that you whatch, laugh through, in the end you get so pissed off cause it was a waste of life itself…the slow mode, martial arts pancakes bit was proof enough of this…I bought it before I saw it…BIG mistake…the only thing in this movie that even resembled a good horror film was the gore…but I could have done without the shaving legs scene.
Fuck this movie sucked. Can’t get any more honest than that. I “throw back ” to the 8o’s? An awful rip off if you ask me. Not scary , not funny just plain ridiculous.Bad bad bad . Avoid at all costs
This wasnt REALLY a horror movie but it does have some scares. it is a little cheesy but overall the movie was good.
this is the eli roth i like. the hostel films were not good, to say the least. this is a throwback to 80s horror films, which is pretty well done. there is an abunduce of gore, cheesy characters, and a karate kicking kid who likes pancakes. whats not to like. i truly beleive that if eli roth stuck to this style of horror, he would be considered a “great” director. this is the way a true horror film should be. a fun little ride that dosent take itself too seriously, and provides some good scares. not too sure what the sequel will be like, though.
Not a bad movie, quite liked the idea that the ‘killer’ is in fact a disease and not some guy with a knife. However, it had a quite a few bad point. One being the constant references to other horror films (Last House on the Left getting constantly referenced). My biggest problem with Cabin Fever was the absolutely fucking atrocious acting/characters. Does anybody get on like that in real life? The characters were a pack of arseholes, and the actors playing them were rubbish. Especially that police officer Winston, I mean what the fuck? And the guy who shot the sick guy near the start, if anyone needs to quit acting it’s him. In all, an OK movie that could’ve been alot better if it weren’t for the retarded acting, and the unbelievable characters and script.
This movie is the worst. The acting is bad and the story is dumb. I saw this movie in theatres and walked out 1 hour later. I tell everyone i know NEVER watch this movie. It not even “good” beacuse its soooooooooo bad. Save your time and money, don’t watch it.
Great movie, and as an aside, anyone who tells people not to see a movie based on their own experience with that movie is not saving anyone anything, that person is just ignorant.
Not completely unwatchable. Not exactly a horror movie per se, but had a moment here or there. Suffered through it once and most likely would not again.
What is all the hype about? It was gory, but that’s it. Cheesy as hell, and terrible acting. I mean, common, the friend from Boy Meets World in a lead role? It just did nothing for me. I will not give it only one skull based on the scene when the kid does a jumping roundhouse kick off the stairs while yelling pancakes. That was classic.
It wasnt a great movie, but it was very watchable
i thought it was overated movie
i think that this movie was good, but it was so freaky what happened and it all could have been avoided in the first place!
It may not have been scary but it was creepy and one of my all time favorites.
Dying. Once upon a time this was my favourite movie, then I got taste. Although it is a good watch if you’re in a “chilling” mood, just to watch something, it’s not really award quality. What I liked was the dialogue, which had alot of humour which on a rare occasion makes a film quite good, which in this case it does.
The plot was pretty basic and simple, which was also a high point to the films watch factor. The gore really speaks for itself and the dialogue, well is impressive.
The acting, is where things are a little low. Rider Strong plays the lead, and his voice makes him sound gay. Jordan Ladd and Cerina Vincent are the main girls who’s demises are probably the best in the movie.
Overall “Cabin Fever” is an OK watch, but nothing too special. My rating is 3/5
CATCH ELI ROTH’S HOMEGAE TO 70′S HORROR FILMS: CABIN FEVER
Cabin Fever was Eli Roth’s first film and it was released by Lion’s Gate in 1993 on a super low budget of $1.5 million. Initially the film was passed over repeatedly for several reasons, the chief one being that horror movies at the time were seen as sink holes for the studios. After the success of Scream horror was back in but Roth still had a hard time as his homage to 70′s horror was not enough like Scream to attract attention. Roth also insisted on not trimming back on his violence and sex scenes and there is a scene where the “N” word is used, though it winds up being a setup for a closing gag that I felt was pretty clever, mocking the uptight sensibilities of the most likely predominantly white audiences. Lion’s Gate took a chance and it wound up being their biggest money maker for 1993 making almost $34 million.
There is really a lot of hype, good and bad, about this film. It is highly praised by one of my favorite sites Bloody Disgusting (which is where I “borrowed” the skull image I use for my rating system) and I tend to trust them. It has been praised by Tarantino and Peter Jackson and to get to the point it is a fairly good horror film and a return to doing the old tried but true “teenagers on a camping trip dies off one by one” theme done up in a more serious fashion. It is old and tired formula and there is so much “teenager vs. slasher/monster” crap out there being done in hands of inept film makers and some of the worst movies ever have been created using this simple, but effective, theme. Wait until my review of the horrible Spiker appears shortly. After I am able to go back and finish it. However the teenager/slasher theme is malleable and functional and, in the right hands, it can be used effectively. Roth does just that in this well directed, scored, shot and acted horror-comedy film.
We have all the standard teenage characters here: the party hard frat boy, the too handsome lover boy, the nice guy who never gets laid, the good girl and the slut. They are celebrating the end of finals week and head off to an isolated cabin in the woods to drink beer and have sex. Early on we are introduced to some of the locals who all seem to be a cross between the hicks in Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Deliverance. Frat boy Bert (James DeBello) has no girlfriend so he opts to walk around with a rifle and shoot squirrels. While recklessly firing his rifle he slightly wounds a hermit who is sick and feverish. Bert freaks out and leaves him in the woods. Later the gang is drinking around the campfire and being told of the story of the bowling alley massacre by good guy Paul (Rider Strong). The group is startled by the appearance of stoner “Grim” (Eli Roth) and his angry dog Mambo. Later while in the cabin waiting for Grim to return with some weed the wounded hermit appears. He is obviously sick with something and when he recognizes Bert a conflict develops that eventually results in the hermit being accidentally set on fire. The group of college partiers is distraught now and has to decide what to do. They are concerned as well with catching the bloody contagion that the hermit spat up all over their truck.
It is revealed that the water supply is contaminated and the virus is spread by drinking the tap water from the reservoir. They are visited by a strange local Deputy Winston (Giuseppe Andrews) who is more concerned with partying than information on the dead hermit or the blood covered truck. Good girl (read sexy, hot tease) Karen (Jordon Ladd) is the first to show signs of infection after frustrated Paul gropes between her legs while she is passed out. He pulls his fingers out to find them covered with more than just love juice. Panic sets in and Karen is quarantined in a shed where she deteriorates rapidly. The gang becomes paranoid and later a panicky Bert returns to the grocery store to seek help from the hillbillies there. Instead he incites the wrath of the locals when the storekeeper’s autistic son with the weirdest hair in the world the screams “pancakes” and does some ninja flips then bites his hand. The locals seem aware of the virus and feel the outsiders have now infected one of their own and decide to go to the cabin to take care of the infected city kids.
During that time pretty boy Jeff (Joey Kern) has high tailed it off on his own, taking all the beef which is all he has been drinking ergo he is contagion free. In his absence the always horny Marcy (Cerina Vincent) has tension relieving sex with Paul, after which he washes off his seldom used manhood with Listerine. She is infected by now and for some reason logical only in horror flicks decides to keep shaving her leg long after gobs of flesh have begun to peel of. Flesh eating viruses and razors obviously make a bad combination. Paul discovers the source f the infection when he later finds the hermit in the reservoir in a state of rancid decomposition. His luck turns really bad when he falls into the slimy water and lands right on top of the rotted hermit. The pace picks up and Marcy is eaten by the savage Mambo (played by a police dog who was so hard to manage none of the actors would work next to it) who is killed by Paul using the rifle. But he earlier caught Mambo munching on Karen, who is now all rotted but still alive. Paul decides that’s what shovels are made for and beats her over her head about ten times. I counted.
The hillbillies return and kill off Bert but are killed off in turn by Paul who has gone completely over the edge by now. He later crashes a party with Deputy Winston and his friends and pisses off the deputy for ruining their good time. this deputy loves a good party I gather. After Paul winds up in the local hospital where the doctor on duty decides he is terminal and contagious Deputy Winston maybe shoots him first (I am not sure) then dumps his body into the local river, where happy looking kids are filling up their water cooler. Jeff returns to the cabin and is horrified by what he sees there, but shock turns to joy when he relieves he has made it. While shouting out in exuberance he is shot to pieces by the local fuzz and thrown on a heap of bodies and burned. The film ends with a truck driving away to deliver bottles of the local natural spring water to stores and markets and the resolution t the “N” word gag that I guarantee will make you laugh. And how often can guilt ridden white folk laugh at the word nigger anymore?
The violence and sex scenes in the film are not all they are hyped up to be. Certainly tamer than Roth’s Hostel films that were to follow. But the movie is still very watchable and is creepy and tense at times while adding some doses of comedy here and there as well. I would not have minded more extreme violence and more sex, but it is certainly a notch above the wave of PG-13 horror films that have swamped movie houses and direct to DVD releases since Scream. I can easily give it 3 1/2 skulls and had it been put together just a little better it would have gotten 4 skulls. But for a movie made on a mere $1.5 million it delivers the virus infected goods.
Such a throwback to some of the greatest movies ever created,its fun, funny ,gorey,weird,shot in the woods in the fall,rednecks,disease,an evil dog,ryder strong getting crazy.hands down one of my favorites!
This movie is entertaining and funny. When this first came out on dvd my friends and I used to get drunk on Bacardi Hurricane and watch this every weekend.
It was good! PANCAKES!
ok, for 1 thing giving this movie more than 3 skulls is just dumb. It was a fun movie, definately watchable and enjoyable, but a great horror movie, no way, this was like slither, except in that movie they didnt jump back and forth between taking itsself seriously and treating it like a joke, it was just a joke with a horror twist. This was a descent movie, and the end was good when that infected guy got in the reservoir.
lame.
This so could’ve come out in the late 70′s/early 80′s no problem. Eli Roth has the old school horror vibe down for sure. Great effects, annoying characters (the good kind of annoying cause you want to see them die) and PANCAKES! make the film worth while.
Oh and who can forget the Finger Bang Misfire?
Overall, I really enjoyed this movie and I would suggest it to anyone looking looking for a good Friday night film! There were a lot of classic and campy elements to this film that I enjoyed. The atmosphere in this movie was superb. There was also a lot of action and they really came out the gate with the intensity from the beginning. It always kept you on your toes.
Nothing makes me love a horror film more than originality and with that in mind, this movie delivers through and through. A group of friends out for some harmless camping fun in the wilderness get more than they bargained for in this absolutely awesome movie. Eli Roth has done a great job in creating a movie that will terrify even the hardest to scare, and all the while making sure the audience will get plenty of laughs along the way. Everything that a genre fan would want is packed into this film including, chills, gore, comedy and of course, nudity. The originality comes from the fact that we don’t have a masked psychopath, or a cannibal family, or a grotesque monster or even wild animals that wish to tear our victims to shreds, instead we are faced with something far more terrifying in the form of a nasty flesh eating virus. Add the weird redneck witch hunters and the pancake kid into the mix and you’ve got a film that is sure to have you scrubbing yourself with bleach and anti bacterial soap every ten minutes or so. This film is just plain awesome and in my opinion was a tad bit under rated. Let’s just hope some idiot doesn’t decide to ::gulp:: remake this movie and destroy a seriously great genre classic.
cabin fever is a very campy, brutal, and infectious movie.
it was funny, it was scary and it was a great first movie from eli roth.
Love it! Hilarious, disturbing, watchable and fun. Everything a horror movie should be, IMO!
pretty good, it kept me steady
THIS IS HORROR AT ITS BEST!!
~H518
Don’t listen to all the good reviews below. Because this is just a porr atempt on The Hills Have Eyes. This isn’t that good, it’s average at best. The acting is horrible, and the only reason these guys below like this movie is because of the cheesey acting. Well, this is a horrible horror movie. It isn’t scary, it’s stupid. I was impressed with a few of the scenes, but not many. Cabin Fever isn’t a good horror, it’s not even close, and for that, I’m not even going to go into this review much. Lame.
4/10
A pretty decent film. It’s got your gore, teen sex, and actually a couple of really funny parts. A pretty original idea, and a very fun movie.
One of the funniest and most disgusting movies I’ve ever seen. It’s got everything from man-eating dogs to 10 year old kids doing karate and biting people. If you haven’t seen this, go check it out now!
I think this is eli roth’s best film, its soemthing we’ve seen millions of times, a group of twenty-somethings go to a cabin in the woods, but instead of the undead and demons, the villan is disease. Gory and at times humorous, great horror flick. The ending was pretty funny too. Check it out.
I really enjoyed this one. It was a new twist on the typical “cabin in the woods” scare flick. Plenty of gore & the look of the film was well done too. Its simplicity is what makes it work!!! Straight A to Z fright flick!!! Worth a look!
A Must See! Bloody well done. Lots of sex and lots of gore. And you’ll be laughing ur ass off through out.
Great horror comedy. Entertaining from start to finish and doesn’t take itself seriously. Plain old fashion fun.
This movie was amazing, although I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone who’s a hypochondriac. Wonderful cringe factor and rather nicely fleshed-out plot. Lots of fun.
This is a well made film and it is entertaining, but it’s a bit dull sometimes.
PANCAKES!!!!! Yes probably one of the most bizare scenes I’ve ever seen in a movie PERIOD. On to the movie itself though it is great. I loved the homage to other horror movies such as last house on the left and texas chainsaw massacre, night of the living dead and I think there may have been more. This movie had some nasty stuff in it some of it even cringe worthy. Even though the ending is kind of all over the place and its kind of unclear what exactly eli roth was going for because the movie ends on such a weird but funny note this was a really enjoyable horror movie.
Eli Roth you motherfucker..you did it again. Blood, Body Parts, Killer dogs, nowhere to run..ect. Just playing actually at first i felt this film would be a let down but as i watched it kept me wanting more. he took the basic settings for a weekend getaway into a blood fest (As usual) but still the movie was decent for what was expected.
Blood, sex, and more blood. This the recipe for Cabin Fever. Too bad it’s missing the other ingredients that would have made it so much better.
a mixture of ‘The Evil Dead’, ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ and ‘Blair Witch Project’, and yet a masterpiece.
Eli Roth’s first film was such a genious, and to this day i still love it
Soooooooooo campy I LOVE it!! It’s one of those movies I put on once in a while. Only gets better with time, like stinky cheese!!!
I don’t want to even waste the words as to how bad this film is.
Awesome horror comedy with some good laughs but there is a unsettling feeling that is caused by the townsfolks as they are all so weird, creepy weird.
Overrated and stupid – I can’t stand Eli Roth and his style of horror.
its alright
This was bloody awful. Not exactly a 30 days of night level of awful, but pretty damned close. Most of it was just across that border of stupidity that makes it no longer amusing. And by the way, since when to trees the girth of your arm completely conceal a bloody swat team? Not to mention why you would go back to the house from which you ran screaming into the night not 12 hours ago.
I am curently dealing with dry skin caused by the harsh winter outside so I felt insired to rewatch Cabin Fever. Becouse after all sometimes the only way to cheer yourself up is to lauph at someone elses expense. So what better then the movie Peter Jackson Called “A unrelenting, gruesomely funny blood bath. I Love it.”
Former child star Rider Strong stars in this movie. A man who is best known for portraying Shawn Hunter on teen comedy Boy Meets World. He has found quite a nitch for himself in the horror genre. Other then this triumph of a film he has also been in such films as Borderland as well as Tooth and Nail. In this movie Rider Strong’s Character Paul is … See Morereally a antihero in the making. He is really a opritunist who gets the most physical action. He is sexually active and he gets into the most fights. He is the only male character of the main cast with a head on his shoulder. He is the only one of his posse of five with the slightest backbone. Whats in a name Rider Strong. He parrents named him right. He sounds like a porn star.
This is the first film from Eli Roth. One of the things I admire the most about him is that he is so passionate about what he does. He is a smart enough man to break the mold with his movies. He is truly a shock jock with intellegence and a dark sence of humour. Eli makes movies that are statements about the world around us.
Cabin Fever could be looked at as a statement on pollution and the effect it could have on our planet. This is a parinoia movie. It is all about the power of sugestion. What if toxins are dumped into our water suply and our bodies were deteriating becouse of exposure.
None of the key characters are admirable. Young adults in the prime of their lives in the transision phase. Their Out to get thrashed pushing their bodies to the limit as they consume intoxicating substances and fornicate like rabbits. They are smart alec know it alls with no respect for themselves or authority. The worst offender of these five is … See MoreBert a young man whos foolish and distructive ways are causing him and his freinds to attract negative attention. From towns people and everyone they come into contact with. He is a frat boy inneed of a babysitter. A destructive manchild who is unable to take serious responsibility for his actions. How else can your describe a man who wonders away from a gas lit bon fire to shoot wild animals with a bebe gun. Character qualitys like this make it hard for anyone watching the film to empisize with them when the worst starts happening to them.
The film director Eli Roth makes a cameo appearence in this film as Justin / “Grim” A pot smoking professional skateboarder who is walking his dog in the woods. Eli Roth also makes an appearence as Grim once again in one of my favourite films 2001 Maniacs. The role was origanally suposed to go to Michael Rosenbaum but he had to drop out do to scheduleing problems.
This film raises a question if someone was in dyer need of medical attention and they were carrying a mystery disease. The illness in question was cousing the carrier to deteriate on the inside and outside. Would you help them or would your instincts take over. Would you do the wrong thing by abandoning them or assulting them. Trying to remove them from society by murder or quarintine.
When I first saw this movie I didnt know what to think because I wasnt expecting the humor…but its one of my fav’s Its disgusting and I like that..ha..and its funny..enjoyable
Cabin Fever
12/6/2009
This film is the directorial debut for Eli Roth. Eli is a Boston native and horror fan boy at heart. Cabin Fever takes on several parts of well known horror films and put his out ideas and twists on them. This is a creepy cabin in the woods movie like Evil Dead. It’s a mysterious virus movie like The Thing. Then throw in some crazy back woods rednecks like Deliverance. Cabin Fever is disturbingly authentic in the fact that this could actually happen. Eli got the idea from a real life experience, when he got a flesh eating bacteria at an Icelandic horse farm.
Cabin Fever starts out like many recognizable horror flicks. A group of young people headed into the woods to a cabin for a weekend of partying. The main characters are Paul and Karen played by Rider Strong and Jordan Ladd. They have been “friends” forever, while Paul is always pushing for closer relationship. Bert is the not to bright football player like character played by James DeBello. Then there is the yuppie douche bag couple. The blonde haired Ivy League style jerks always get butchered and for good reason. The look of the film is set in the early to mid 1980′s, so that rules out any cell phone usage. We don’t ever learn the origins of the virus, although we do see a dead dog that infects a local hermit. Bert accidently shoots and wounds the hermit while hunting for squirrels. That night the man comes to the cabin pleading for help. He is a horrible bloody mess who after puking infected blood all over their truck, is set on fire by the guys. The girls are upset by this and it creates a great deal of tension and dissention in the group. Paul finds the decomposing body floating in a lake. The virus has now infected the water supply for the whole town.
Winston Olsen is a young sheriff deputy and quite the strange character. He is bored to death with his job and just likes to party with all the vacationers. Even when the story gets extremely gory he is only worried that that party is ruined.
Another very unique character is Dennis, played by Matthew Helms. He sits on a swing in the front of the town general store. Don’t get to close to him though because he bites, as Paul finds out. He is also known as the “Pancakes” boy who has a black belt in karate. Yes I know that sounds a little strange but you really have to see the movie.
One of the most disturbing scenes in the movie is when Karen who hasn’t been feeling well, lets Paul comfort her while she’s napping. Paul moves his hand below her waist and you could say he has bad aim. He finds out that he is fingering a large flesh wound in her thigh. She is infected. Karen is then ostracized and quarantined from the others. She is locked in a shed with a grungy mattress and a blanket and then served food like a prisoner. The characters are now only interested in their own survival. Even though this movie was made in 1999, the main story line and the characters reactions to it seem to match today’s fears of the swine flu and global flu pandemics. They all eventually get this virus and deal with it in their own separate ways. The leg shaving scene is quite possibly the most cringe inducing scene ever filmed. While the blonde guy take two six packs of beer and runs into the woods. If you look at the beer closely it’s called “Arrogant Bastard Beer”. He does how ever get his comeuppance for abandoning his friends. In one of the movies final scenes he is killed in a very similar fashion to that of the classic zombie flick “Night of the Living Dead” The last scene shows a semi truck full of tainted bottled water leaving the small town.
There is a sequel, Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever which is directed by Ti West. It is currently showing at various film festivals around the country and is not yet out on DVD. Eli Roth had no part in the filming or production. So see it at your own risk.
Very good but not great.
this movie had plenty of gore and a decent plot the acting could have been better though
Disgusting and hilarious.
I don’t know how those two could possibly mix, but this film managed. While not the best, its worth watching.
eli roth.goddamn i love eli roth and his movies. this movie was gross, disturbing, and unsettling. u cant help but squirm when that girl is shaving and her flesh is falling off yet u want to yell “bitch stop shaving!” and then u feel bad as u watch the main character beat his girlfriend to death with a shovel to end her misery because her face has pretty much fallen off and deteriorated.i love this movie
I L.O.V.E this movie
I cant believe I never put a review on it 
Gotta love Eli Roth! Expect his grossness (in a good way) Very fun, and entertaining. And it was good to see “shaun” from boy meets world to! pick it up if you see it, its around 2 dollars anywhere you go now.
GORY!!!
But that is sadly all that there is…
To muchFake boobs….To many retards…Not even fever.
Hated it,The movie does say that these guys were college students? Huh, they musta mastered on the F word.
Just another stupid teen horror film where You can hear Eli roth high fiving The camera guy’s hand everytime theres a S3x scene.
& I’m guessing Eli musta been droped on his head when he was little.
Worst film,Bad acting,Endless plot, & Fake boobs
Lmao who sets a homeless guy on fire? I only watched this movie because of Rider Strong.
Eli Roth…..nuff said.
Probably the best pop corn horror flick of this generation. It’s a low budget movie with a big budget feel.
Overrated but still hilarious cult-classic with lots of really brilliant and disgusting gore (Pussy rubbing can be so gross
, and some great laugh-out-loud-scenes. However the first half is too uneventful and the dialogue often is unbearable.
This is one of the best horror flicks of all time. It contained a perfect blend of scares, gross outs, great characters, laughs, location, left field wackiness, memorable dialog and, thank heavens… some nice tits, too! I’ve watched it several times and I’m looking forward to getting the blu-ray edition so I can enjoy it all over again. Eli Roth has been an absolute *godsend* for the genre, and more power to him. Let’s hope he’s around for a long, long time to come!
far superior to the second movie cant even compare
this movie is just simply awesome. great bloody fun. i love how there are so many things happening its really fun to watch. 3 words to describe the movie: Original,Awesome,Disgusting!
a little too random for its own good but still great.
Not bad movie but not great movie either.
One of those movies twere the thing could actually happen. Just that one fact makes the movie 10x’s more scary. The gore is disturbing and that one story kinda gross. Eli Roth makes another classic horror film
It has some good potential. The gore is good and it kinda touches on reality a bit… too bad the actors were not worth shit. Needs better characters.
This movie was alright,but it could be better.
Cabin Fever is probly my favourite recent horror movie. Everything about this film is executed beautifully: the gore, the sick sense of humour, the wtf moments and of course the best horror movie character ever..deputy Winston,”the partyyy mannn”, im very glad hes in the sequel and actually has a bigger role.
Although the gore is spread out for the first bit of the movie, it never gets boring. It is constantly either making you laugh,saying “wtf just happened?” or grossing you out. I highly reccommed cabin fever to all horror/gore comedy fans or just anyone who wants a good gross-out while containing enough comic relief to keep watching if your squeemish.
Cabin Fever is probly my favourite recent horror movie. Everything about this film is executed beautifully: the gore, the sick sense of humour, the wtf moments and of course the best horror movie character ever..deputy Winston,”the partyyy mannn”, im very glad hes in the sequel and actually has a bigger role.
Although the gore is spread out for the first bit of the movie, it never gets boring. It is constantly either making you laugh,saying “wtf just happened?” or grossing you out. I highly reccommed cabin fever to all horror/gore comedy fans or just anyone who wants a good gross-out while containing enough comic relief to keep watching if your squeemish.
Cabin Fever is probly my favourite recent horror movie. Everything about this film is executed beautifully: the gore, the sick sense of humour, the wtf moments and of course the best horror movie character ever..deputy Winston,”the partyyy mannn”, im very glad hes in the sequel and actually has a bigger role.
Although the gore is spread out for the first bit of the movie, it never gets boring. It is constantly either making you laugh,saying “wtf just happened?” or grossing you out. I highly reccommed cabin fever to all horror/gore comedy fans or just anyone who wants a good gross-out while containing enough comic relief to keep watching if your squeemish.
best movie.
Man, this movie is sick. If I got the behind-the-scenes story correct: this is based on a personal experience of Eli Roth.
Pretty gross. I’m the type of guy who tries not to touch anything in a public restroom; so your experience of this film may vary.
One scene really sticks out: Rider Strong is finger-banging this hot chick only to realize he missed her “sweet spot” and actually had his finger in a deep, oozy sore. Y’see she was sick with the sickness.
Watch it.
I really like this film tho I don’t really think it’s a horror, its just fun and gory.
Cabin Fever is kind of a tribute to some of the best Horror film of all time. Writer, director and actor Eli Roth did his first film in 2002. The story takes place in a rented cabin deep in the wood, where 5 college students just wanted to party. But they soon fall victim to a flesh-eating virus. The inspiration to the plot came from a real life experience as Eli Roth had taken a trip to Iceland and shaved of his facial skin as a result of a skin infection. Roth wanted the style of his film to make a departure from many modern horror films that had been released in recent years The film itself, however, draws from many of Roth’s favorite horror films, such as The Evil Dead, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and Night of the Living Dead. Roth was tired of what he called the “watered down PG-13″ horror films of the studios, and refused to compromise on the violence or nudity, saying they were essential ingredients to an ’80s-style horror film.
And he was right! The film really captured the essence of the 80′s – it’a a quite silent horror that spread while watching and Roth had chosen the right characters. The beautiful girl, the nerd, the shy girl (Jordan Ladd, who is also playing in Roth’s `Hostel’ and `Thanksgiving’ fake Trailer), the asshole boyfriend (perfectly cast Joey Kern) and the best friend boy who wants to get the shy girl. The awesome nasty disgusting scenes are always alternated by funny ones; Roth himself said, there always have to be a moment to wipe off your sweaty hands and just laugh! And he did a good job, even when things get really intense there will still be a smile on your face (if you’re a horror fan) and the end will just knock you down! This movie is one of my favorites, you can see that Eli Roth really loves what he does and the fact that he’s a huge horror film fan himself! It’s awesome to watch a movie that comes from someone who really loves horror and isn’t afraid to make a movie that’s not the typical `Mainstream’ shit! This movie isn’t afraid to be a huge Cliché and that really rocks this time
CRAP. Eli Roth is way overrated. Cabin Fever – was this supposed to be a comedy or what? Aside from some decent gore, the characters in this film annoyed the piss out of me, and Ill watch just about anything. The official review called this one of the most important horror films of the last 30 years. In the words of the great Archie Bunker… Whaaaaaaaaaaattt??????
When I was a young child, one of the facets of the world that allured me the most were R rated films. Not simply because I wasn’t able to see them, but because the ads for them on television would hint that their sordid content in such a way that it awoke these dark curiosities in my mind that Freud would claim shouldn’t be there at all. My imagination painted these films in such in way that not only could I not comprehend it, but left adults, those earth-ruling creatures, scarred and disturbed for days.
I was reminded of this during my sophomore year of high school as ads began playing for Cabin Fever. The images and music in those 30 second TV ads conjured fascination for what a grotesque piece of lunacy this film HAD to be. This was much like the mystique R rated films held for me as a child, except this time the mystique was not dispelled but surpassed by a much more devilish film than I had anticipated.
A rotting title sequence sets the pervertedly ominous mood and gives us our initial taste of the film’s superb score. The splattering dog carcass should be fair warning for the sick reality this film inhibits.
The main characters are a quintet of youngsters who’ve just completed college. They’ve decided to celebrate by vacation at a cabin in the woods. Their itinerary consists of little outside of drinking and (hopefully) sex. The supporting cast of characters are so bizarre and exhibit such irrational behavior as human beings that you might wonder if Eli Roth is making a giant statement on small town life. We meet a party obsessed Sheriff who possesses the eyes of a failed rapist, as well as an adolescent who flip kicks while screaming his favorite breakfast food, plus the shop-keeper who (at first) appears to be militantly prepared for any minorities, as well as plenty of other individuals who would have an above-average level of difficulty finding a spouse. The circus hasn’t come to town, it is the town.
Over the years, one of the complaints lambasted against this film is that it is far too heavy on the homages. The Last House of the Left music, the Evil Dead setting, the Deliverance-esque hillbillies, I too bear witness to all these points of references. I can see why some would say this, but I cannot agree. Never does the viewer or the film fall under the weight under all these nods. Instead the movie brings them all together allowing them to beget a new fiendish, amoral baby. The grandest counterstroke to this argument, and the film’s greatest achievement, is that Cabin Fever has plenty of moments that are entirely its own that leave its mark on the viewer. Although, that mark can be easily mistaken for post-traumatic stress disorder.
The plot here is the closest I’ve seen to a horror flick truly resembling a nightmare. What makes this all the more remarkable is when one considers how many repulsive jumping jacks the script performs for us at such high speed, at such level, without ever sprialling out of control. In his debut feature, Eli Roth has crafted bloody fingerbang scene from words on a page and presented it to a group of investors, had it performed by actors in from of a recording camera, made it a major plot point to the film’s story structure, and its fits like a suit personally tailored by Jean Paul Gaultier. The previous benchmarks for a debut feature are usually considered to be Truffaut’s 400 Blows and Orson’s Citizen Kane. It must be seen that the international film critic establishment agree that there is a new high watermark for celluloid.
All jest aside, the last aspect I would like to touch on is the film’s humor. So many low-budget horror films inject jokes into their joke so carelessly the best you can hope for is that they’re so poorly executed that you don’t notice them. Not so with Cabin Fever. Part of the reason this film never bursts at the seams is that its hysterical, and that keeps its reality grounded. Not only do we get straight up wonderful lines (“That guy asked for our help. We lit him on fire.”) but we also get fantastic set-pieces (I.E. harmonica scene). Thankfully the talents behind the film weren’t limited to gore effects.
If Lewis Carroll wished to write a horror screenplay, and had a few more bad experiences on acid, I believe it would be Cabin Fever. It has a tone all its own, wears it proudly, and is all the better for it
good one
this movie was really stupid! aside from maybe one scene, the entire movie was terrible! no need to say anymore about it.
It was good I seen this movie 4 years ago on Cable. Now it was good but it got kind of boring towards the end so i give this movie a rating of 8/10
Deccent film.
Loved this film from start to finish. This is my favorite film of Mr. Roth’s to present. An explosive horror film filled with gore, laughs, sex, and pancakesssssssss.
Eli Roth’s debut is old fashioned, sexy and gruesome with plenty of dark humor and shock value.
I often compare “Cabin Fever” to a comedy; because it shares its horror elements with that particular genre half of the time. The film is like a raunch-fest searching for laughs, but it is unable to get a whole lot out of us because of its lack of characters and well-toned execution. And while Eli Roth’s 80′s horror homage/directorial debut is not a “bad horror film”, it does not have enough big laughs to work as a comedy, a horror film, or the movie that it wants to be.
Don’t get me wrong; “Cabin Fever” has some really funny moments. I had some big laughs when the deer gets hit by the truck and goes through the wind-shield, as well as a lot of the dialogue supplied by the drunk, douchy-guy. Like a lot of films of the like, “Cabin Fever” has some good ideas, and some bad ones. For me, it just doesn’t work. But it has the start of something good, and with a little more consistency, it wouldn’t have felt as if it were bordering on the knife-edge of great comedy and great gory gruesomeness. I’m just not in the target audience for a film like this, in spite of my horror admiration. So in the end, I don’t like “Cabin Fever. I did not enjoy it, I did not admire it; but I do appreciate it. Don’t let me turn you away from having a potentially good time. I’m just a genuine party-pooper when it comes to gory blood orgies that are SUPPOSED to be fun. And yes; gore can make you laugh.
I love this movie. It has excellent gore and some really dark humor. Very good concept and storyline.
Almost perfect, but an awesome classic!
It’s a guilty pleasure, it makes me shiver to this day. The addition of the actor from Boy Meets World to the cast made this one feel like everything was going to somehow be ok, until it soooo was not. Excellent film.
Not much gore, but a fun movie and worth a watch. Roth definitely shows the potential he’ll later fulfill in the Hostel films.
not a massive eli roth fan and im not a massive fan of this film. i think it had a good concept but the film just didnt do it for me.
Really not a big fan of this movie. But the lines about shooting squirrels and pancakes made me laugh enough to give it above a score of 1 or 2.
I wasn;t sure I was even going to enjoy this movie then I saw it was directed by Eli Roth and I did like hostel movies and I thought this was actually funny movie with some gory in it but mostly some really funny dialog especially in the store with the pancake kid and the old man too.
Well, let me start by saying that when I first saw this movie I thought it was pure CRAP. That’s actually because I was pretty sick when I watched it. I was kinda tired so it felt boring, and being sick I was repulsed (my throat was pretty goddamn sore and I had a headache. Watching a movie about a sickness similar to another one in real life, which is Necrotizing Fasciitis, really made me want to hurl). This movie gave me a new fear of contagion. Come to think of it now, it’s actually a highlight considering that this is a horror movie and that movies like this are supposed to scare people. For example: (SPOILERS)Karen’s rotten thigh, the rotting hand prints on Marcy’s back, the shaving! Oh god, the shaving scene.. nasty. What really was disturbing was how Bert was begging for medical help. Even though it’s just acting and not real at all, I felt so bad for him. At the time I promised myself that I would never watch that pile of dog shit for as long as I lived. However, I had the urge to watch it again, so I rented it again. This time it was actually much better. The dark humor was pretty good, the characters were likeable, and the acting was pretty good too. It somehow felt..fun. Things don’t really heat up until about 50 minutes but it’s not so bad in the meantime. This is a good movie, but it is slow paced at times. On the upside, it has everything a horror movie should have. It’s terrifying, it’s got blood, gore, foul language and sex. It also shows how best friends can turn on each other so vigorously. The blood and gore effects were pretty good for a low budget movie. In all, this is probably the most disturbing horror movie I’ve ever seen. Honestly, gore from disease is so much more gross than gore from shooting, chopping, stabbing and such. Eli Roth is quite the director, and for his first major motion picture, it isn’t so bad. You might want to give it a shot.
meh.
Funny and entertaining. Also, quite gory and just right amount of silly.
This walks the line between legitimately scary and utterly ridiculous. Diseases have always scared the crap out of me, simply because there’s often nothing you can do about them–there’s nothing physical to fight. Then, of course, there’s the gore, and I mean, all hells, that is a lot of blood and decaying flesh, which you gotta love. This is one I felt was worth owning on dvd.
Eli Roth’s best movie to date. I am proud to own this on DVD, but the sequel was not nearly as good.
Normally, a director’s first movie to be made is inspired by an event that they’ve experienced or witnessed, and Eli Roth’s Cabin Fever is the prime example, as it was based on his encounter with skin disease.
This was done really well. It’s a good idea with good writing, nice enough acting, but the only thing that fails is the comedy, such as the guy in the rabbit suit that appeared randomly in the hospital near the end.
Amazing movie! I love it.
this is the best movie of all time (not really) great just great eli roths cameo just great watch