Movies
[Review] 2016’s ‘Cabin Fever’ Lacks the Soul of the Original
Say what you will about Eli Roth nowadays, 2002’s Cabin Fever was a breath of fresh air for the horror scene. Being plagued by malaise after the wave of Scream knockoffs, the genre needed something to help break it out of its slump. Roth was more than happy to oblige with this darkly funny and delightfully gory cult flick. So of course, after a lame direct-to-video sequel and an equally-lame prequel, we get a remake that uses the same script as the original. You already know how this is going to turn out.
A group of five friends venture out to a remote Oregon cabin for a week-long getaway. At first, Karen (Gage Golightly), Jeff (Matthew Daddario), Marcy (Nadine Crocker), Bert (Dustin Ingram), and Paul (Samuel Davis) spend their time drinking, laughing and resisting the urge to use their phones. However, the fun time grinds to a halt when Henry (Randy Schulman) shows up at the cabin with a mysterious illness that’s eating away at his flesh. The group refuse to help Henry, and after he tries to steal their car, sets the guy on fire. Unfortunately, the group’s problems have just begun, as the virus that had infected Henry has begun to infect them.
Let’s get this out of the way at the start: Those who deem Roth’s original to be a sacred cow are not going to like this. Those who deem remakes to be corporate shilling and soulless will not like this. Myself? It differs from film to film. I’d like to at least have an open mind and see just what the redux does that the original didn’t do (and vice versa). That said, let’s move on.
Despite using the same script by Roth and Randy Pearlstein, new director Travis Zariwny (styled as Travis Z, for reasons unknown) does try to inject new things into the film, as well as “alter” some of the existing material. For starters, the film gets a boost in the cinematography department by Gavin Kelly, who makes the film look far more professional than the low-budget origins of the original. Whereas the 2002 cabin looked to be far more homely, the 2016 cabin now appears as a vacation cottage with more green on the ground to go along with it. And, in the sake of it being more modern (or annoyingly catering), we have references to Facebook posting, GTA V and Minecraft.
One of the strengths of the original film was its amiable cast, lead by Rider Strong. This time, we aren’t afforded the privilege, as Zariwny has a group of unknowns who have had their characters “polished”. As a result, the film loses much of the dark humour found in the original, as the characters essentially “play it safe” without courting controversial topics. No “What’s the rifle for?” moments. That said, they’re all pretty unlikable and not given much depth. Ingram still plays Bert as a goofball asshole, Daddario and Davis are almost the same character as Jeff and Paul, Golightly spends her time as Karen uploading insipid garbage to Facebook, and Crocker doesn’t get to do much more as Marcy. Fan favourite Justin from the original (played by Roth) is now an annoying hipster dick (redundant, I know) played by Tim Zajaros, who doesn’t have the same presence as Roth.
So, the characters are shells of their originals, and the humour is gone. But at least we get those memorable shots of Paul’s bloody hand and Marcey’s skin-crawling shaving sequence, right? Well, yeah. But, thanks to the same script as the original, it’s not going to be a surprise or shock when those moments happen. And like its “safe” characters, Cabin Fever 2016 also avoids going into the daring territory of the original. It doesn’t give the audience the intensity you would hope that it would improve upon the 2002 original. It just feels too clean-cut and predictable. One of the things that a remake should do is tell something new that wasn’t explored enough or touched upon by the original. In other words, give the remake a reason to exist. Alex Aja’s The Hills Have Eyes is a perfect example of this. Cabin Fever 2016 is more or less another shot-for-shot remake that doesn’t do any of that.
Needless to say, this remake of Cabin Fever was unnecessary as it was entertaining. It’s not bad in the sense that it’s horribly acted or directed. It just has no soul or individuality to it. Sure, there’s more polish in the presentation and in the editing, but that neuters the charms of what made the original so great. You don’t care about the characters, you know what’s inevitably going to happen, and really, there’s not much point in watching this one when the original still very much holds up today. Those unfamiliar with the original will probably get more out of this one than fans of the original, but would also be doing themselves a disservice.
Ghostface is back on the big screen this weekend… well, sort of… with the release of Scary Movie, which marks the Wayans brothers’ return to the horror spoof franchise for the first time since Scary Movie 2 back in the day. It’s likely to be the talk of the horror community for the weekend, but don’t overlook the other six genre movies that were freshly unleashed today.
Here’s all the new horror that released on Friday, June 5, 2026.
The horror spoof franchise is back with Scary Movie now playing in theaters!
Marlon Wayans (“Shorty”), Shawn Wayans (“Ray”), Anna Faris (“Cindy”), and Regina Hall (“Brenda”) reunite for the new Scary Movie, with the cast also including Dave Sheridan, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, Chris Elliott, Jon Abrahams, Damon Wayans Jr., Gregg Wayans, Kim Wayans, Benny Zielke, Cameron Scott Roberts, Heidi Gardner, Olivia Rose Keegan, Ruby Snowber, Savannah Lee Nassif, Sydney Park, and Felissa Rose.
Twenty-six years after outrunning a suspiciously familiar masked killer (“Ghostface”), the Core Four are back in the killer’s crosshairs and no horror movie IP is safe…
Scary Movie will slash through reboots, remakes, requels, prequels, sequels, spin-offs, elevated horror, origin stories, anything with the word legacy in it, and every “final chapter” that absolutely isn’t. A whole lot has changed in the horror genre since the Wayans Brothers were in charge of the franchise; their involvement ended with Scary Movie 2 back in 2001!
Michael Tiddes (A Haunted House) directs Scary Movie 6 from a script written by Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, original Scary Movie director Keenen Ivory Wayans, Craig Wayans (Scary Movie 2), and Rick Alvarez (A Haunted House).
From IFC, shark attack movie Chum is now available on Digital.
Alice Eve (Haunting of Queen Mary) stars in shark attack movie alongside Eric Michael Cole, Jim Klock, Elle Haymond, Lisa Yaro, Johnny Gaffney, and Sarah Siadat.
This one sounds very similar to last year’s Dangerous Animals…
Here’s the plot: “A newlywed couple joins friends on a Mediterranean yacht excursion, only to find themselves caught between a predatory shark and a psychopathic killer in their midst-transforming a sun-drenched escape into a fight for survival.”
Jonathan Zuck directs Chum, from a script by Jonathan Zuck and Joe Leone.
Samara Weaving (Ready or Not 2: Here I Come) and Kyle Gallner (Strange Darling) come together in Carolina Caroline, a sexy crime thriller now playing in theaters.
It’s not a horror movie, mind you, but it’s worth a mention here all the same.
Kyra Sedgwick (Family Movie) and Jon Gries also star in the romantic crime thriller.
Director Adam Carter Rehmeier’s film stars Samara Weaving as Caroline Daniels, whose desire to leave her small Texas town brings her into the orbit of a charismatic con man (Kyle Gallner), and together they weave a path of crime and passion across the American Southeast.
Adam Rehmeier previously directed the films Dinner in America and Snack Shack.
Tom Dean wrote the screenplay for Carolina Caroline.
Similar to Steven Spielberg’s upcoming big screen blockbuster Disclosure Day, Signal One explores humankind’s enduring question: what if we aren’t alone in the universe?
The sci-fi thriller is now available on Digital.
Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan), Josh Hutcherson (Five Nights at Freddy’s), David Thewlis (Harry Potter), Raoul Bhaneja (Possessor), Emma Ho (“The Expanse”), and Dennis Quaid (The Substance) star in Signal One from director Jonathan Sobol (The Art of the Steal).
When tech billionaire Sam Houston (Quaid) hires the brilliant computer scientist Annika (Fuhrman), she ventures to an isolated facility run by the brilliant, nihilistic creator of LITTLEMOUTH, a machine which can communicate with alien intelligence.
Annika soon learns some humanity-altering facts: that we are not alone in the universe, that alien intelligences are communicating around us at every moment, and that we are likely too primitive to even remotely understand what they are trying to tell us.
When the goal of the endeavor shifts from listening to talking back, the project rapidly devolves into chaos. With contact comes consequences, and soon Annika and the team must work to ensure the very survival of our species.
A schoolyard dare becomes an urban legend in the creepypasta-inspired horror anthology The Summoning. The indie film is now available on Digital from Brainstorm Media.
“A babysitting gig becomes a nightmare of urban legend when three teens summon Baby Blue. Survival depends on uncovering the past to escape a mother’s wrath from beyond the grave.”
Felipe Vargas (Rosario, Hive), Sergio Gonzalez, Brandon Piskorik, Corey Benson Powers, and Brian Sepanzyk direct the segments. Valeria San Martín, Justina Ceballos, Daniela Flombaum, Nannu Spannauss, Agustín Olcese, and Giovanni Onetti star.
The Summoning is written by Camilo Zaffora.
Happy Death Day actress Jessica Rothe stars as a mom struggling to keep her grip on her sanity and memory in the mind-bending Affection, now available on Digital at home.
In Affection, “Afflicted by a mysterious condition that resets her memory, Ellie becomes trapped in a cyclical nightmare with a man who claims to be her husband. She soon must uncover the horrifying truth of her existence—before she forgets it all again.“
Joseph Cross (“Big Little Lies”) and Julianna Layne (“Chicago P.D.”) also star in the sci-fi horror thriller. Affection marks the feature debut by writer/director BT Meza.
Daniel Kurland wrote in his review out of the film’s premiere, “Affection is steeped in existential questions and fears that plague modern society, while it embraces the ethos of the ’80s through bold body horror. Add to that Rothe’s revelatory performance, and Affection is a hidden gem that will connect with your mind, body, and soul.”
Lucile Hadžihalilović’s latest dark fairy tale, The Ice Tower, loosely reimagines Hans Christian Andersen’s fable “The Snow Queen,” and it’s now streaming on Shudder.
In the ’70s set film, “Jeanne, a 15-year-old orphan, witnesses the shoot of a film adaptation of the fairy tale The Snow Queen, and she becomes fascinated by its star Cristina (Marion Cotillard), an actress who is just as mysterious and alluring as the Queen she is playing.“
Clara Pacini stars as Jeanne. August Diehl and Marine Gesbert also star in The Ice Tower, and look for a cameo from director Gaspar Noé (Climax, Irréversible).
“For me, The Ice Tower solidified Lucile Hadžihalilović’s place amongst the most fascinating creators of fairy tales today,” said distributor Yellow Veil Pictures co-founder Joe Yanick.
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