Cabin Fever (film)
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| Cabin Fever | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for the film. Note the subliminal skull that appears around the scenery. |
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| Directed by | Eli Roth |
| Produced by | Evan Astrowsky Sam Froelich Lauren Moews Jeff Hoffman Eli Roth |
| Written by | Eli Roth Randy Pearlstein |
| Starring | Rider Strong Jordan Ladd James DeBello Cerina Vincent Joey Kern Jeff Hoffman |
| Music by | Angelo Badalamenti Nathan Barr |
| Cinematography | Scott Kevan |
| Editing by | Ryan Folsey |
| Distributed by | Lions Gate Films |
| Release date(s) | September 12, 2003 |
| Running time | 93 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,500,000 |
| Followed by | Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever |
| Official website | |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Cabin Fever is an American horror film about a group of college graduates who rent a cabin in the woods and begin to fall victim to a horrifying flesh-eating virus. The film was the directing debut of filmmaker Eli Roth, who co-wrote the film with Randy Pearlstein. The inspiration for the film's story came from a real life experience during a trip to Iceland when Roth's face broke out in bloody sores.[1][2]
Roth wanted the style of his film to make a departure from many modern horror films that had been released in recent years.[2] One modern horror film, The Blair Witch Project, did inspire Roth to use the internet to help promote the film during its production and help gain interest towards its distribution.[1] The film itself, however, draws from many of Roth's favorite horror films, such as The Evil Dead, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Last House on the Left.[1][2]
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[edit] Plot
The film centers on five recent college graduates, Jeff, Karen, Paul, Marcy and Bert, who trek to a remote cabin deep in the woods to celebrate with some wanton sex and copious amounts of alcohol. When they arrive Bert finds a gun. Initially, they think it is a BB gun, but it is actually a rifle. One evening they encounter a vagrant stumbling near their cabin, who is clearly extremely ill. Bert had accidentally shot the man with his rifle while hunting earlier and left him to die. When the man asks for their help in seeking medical attention, they panic and turn him away without assistance. He attempts to steal their truck and in the scuffle Paul and Marcy accidentally light him on fire and he runs into the woods where he falls into the cabin's water supply. They are also visited by a stoner camper, Justin (aka Grim), who has a large dog named Doctor Mambo.
When Karen drinks from the contaminated water, she becomes infected and results in a rapid onset of symptoms. Paul discovers her condition the next morning when he attempts to arouse her and finds that she is feverish, delusional and there is a huge piece of her leg missing. Unsure whether to take Karen for medical attention or wait out her fever, the friends cannot determine the best course of action. Fearful that the truck may be infectious, or that any one of them could be carrying the disease, they begin turning on one another. In order to "quarantine" Karen, they lock her in a tool shed.
As Karen lies in the shack getting sicker, her friends seek help from several sources, to no avail. Jeff and Bert seem driven mad by the situation, and their actions become more and more irrational. Doctor Mambo, now vicious and possibly infected, returns without his owner and terrorizes the campers. Jeff sets out on his own with his uncontaminated supply of beer because of his fear of infection. The other members of the group contract the disease by exposure to the tainted water and other ill people. Bert shows signs of infection after also drinking the water and leaves the group to get help; during his trip he is hunted by the local townsfolk, who fear the disease he is carrying, and attempt to kill him to quell it. Paul sets out to get help on foot and comes across the body of the drifter who carried the disease rotting away in the local reservoir, into which he falls, and lands atop of the diseased body. He also finds the body of Grim in a cave, having either rotted in half or been torn in half by his own dog, Dr. Mambo. Marcy (who had drunk some of the contaminated water) shows signs soon after having a sexual encounter with Paul, and breaks out in huge lesions along her back and legs which she tries to wash away in the bathtub. Panic grips her and she runs from the cabin, but is chased down by the dog, Dr. Mambo, and torn apart.
Abandoned by everyone else, Paul returns to the shack in an attempt to finally take Karen for help. He runs right into Dr. Mambo and shoots the fierce dog. He finds Karen still alive but her flesh horribly deteriorated. He realizes that there is no hope for her and puts her out of her misery with a shovel. Around this time a wounded and thoroughly infected Bert makes his way back to the cabin, and pleads for Paul to help him with the local hunters, Paul agrees. When the hunters find the cabin, they enter and shoot Bert, killing him, but Paul quickly kills all three.
Paul, newly infected by his fall into the reservoir, seeks a way into town and comes across a party that has a deputy of the town in attendance. The deputy had promised a tow truck to fix their broken car days earlier, as Paul stumbles into the party, bloody and infuriated, the sheriff radios the deputy and informs him that a cabin of college kids have a disease and that they've killed several people; their orders are to shoot on sight. Paul attacks the party goers in a rage and attempts to escape on the highway, where he is brought into town by a passing motorist.
Paul arrives in town and seeks medical treatment. The doctors realize they cannot treat him, and instruct the sheriff to take him to a larger hospital. The fear of further outbreak and Paul's earlier, violent run-in entices the sheriff to have Paul's body dumped in the woods and left to die.
Jeff emerges from his alcoholic stupor and finds his way back to the cabin to discover it littered with blood and evidence of the deaths of all his friends. He seems sad at first, but quickly becomes relieved of the fact that he didn't get sick. In a decidedly comedic twist, as Jeff exits the cabin, laughing with joy, he is gunned down by the sheriff and his deputies. The bodies at the cabin are subsequently burned to remove all evidence.
Ironically, Paul's dead body was dumped partially in the water as well, further spreading the disease. The film ends with shots of the contaminated water being used to make lemonade, to which the sheriff and deputies drink, and also being pumped into bottles and loaded onto trucks to be sold as "natural spring water."
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Jordan Ladd | Karen |
| Rider Strong | Paul |
| James DeBello | Bert |
| Cerina Vincent | Marcy |
| Joey Kern | Jeff |
| Robert Harris | Old Man Cadwell |
| Hal Courtney | Tommy |
| Matthew Helms | Dennis |
| Richard Boone | Fenster |
| Tim Parati | Andy |
| Eli Roth | Justin aka Grim |
| Giuseppe Andrews | Deputy Winston |
[edit] History
Eli Roth co-wrote Cabin Fever with friend and former NYU roommate Randy Pearlstein in 1995 while Roth was working as a production assistant for Howard Stern's Private Parts.[1] Early attempts to sell the film were unsuccessful because studios felt that the horror genre had become unprofitable.[1] In 1996, the film Scream was released to great success, leading studios to once again become interested in horror properties. However, Roth still could not sell his film, as studios told him that it should be more like Scream.[1] Many potential financiers also found the film's content to be unsettling, including not only the gore, but the use of the word "nigger" early in the film.[1] The script was not produced until 2002.
[edit] Production
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The film was shot on a shoestring budget of $1.5 million. Composer Angelo Badalamenti agreed to compose some musical themes for the film out of enthusiasm for the material. The film's score was composed by Nathan Barr, who expanded upon Badalamenti's themes.[2] The original killer dog was so old and tired that all of its scenes had to be re-shot with a new dog. With no time or money to find a replacement, the producers cast a real police attack dog that was so vicious and unpredictable that no actors could appear with it on camera.[2]
[edit] Response
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Grossing $30,553,394 at the box office internationally, the film was the highest grossing film released by Lions Gate Home Entertainment in 2003. Critical response to the film was mixed. Rotten Tomatoes, which compiles reviews from a wide range of critics, gives the film a score of 63%.[3] Roger Ebert, however, panned the film, stating "The movie adds up to a few good ideas and a lot of bad ones, wandering around in search of an organizing principle."[4] The Hollywood Reporter stated "His [Roth's] flesh-eating virus movie never convincingly gets under the skin."[5] The Los Angeles Times also heavily criticized the film as hackneyed and cliched, stating "...rather than steep his story in dread, ideas or something, anything, fresh and different, first-time director Eli Roth just pours on the blood, along with some recycled surrealism and plenty of giddy movie allusions."[6] The film was also #28 on Bravo TV's "30 Even Scarier Movie Moments"
The film received a "Two Thumbs Down" rating on the television show Ebert & Roeper. Richard Roeper called it an "ugly gorefest" and said "Cabin Fever is a particularly disgusting and brainless version of this all-too-familiar horror film". Roger Ebert said "Director Eli Roth is trying do about four things at once, to make a horror film, a comedy, a satire and a political parable about infectious diseases and none of them work" and he commented by saying "this movie is a mess." They ended the review with Richard Roeper suggesting to viewers "don't bring snacks, if you insist on going to this movie, don't bring any food into the theater because you'll be losing it on your way out."
[edit] Sequel
Both Rider Strong and Giuseppe Andrews will be returning in Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever, which is being directed by Ti West (The Roost) from his own script. Rider Strong will reprise his role as Paul and Giuseppe Andrews will reprise his role as Deputy Winston. Jordan Ladd will not reprise her role as Karen. Instead, she will be replaced by newcomer Lila Lucchetti. Larry Fessenden and Alexi Wasser also star.[7][8]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g Roth, Eli. Cabin Fever DVD, Lions Gate Home Entertainment, 2004, audio commentary. ASIN: B0000ZG054
- ^ a b c d e Beneath the Skin. Cabin Fever DVD, Lions Gate Home Entertainment, 2004, documentary. ASIN: B0000ZG054
- ^ Tomatometer for Cabin Fever. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2007-03-06.
- ^ Ebert, Roger: "Rogerebert.com", Sept 12, 2003.
- ^ Rechtshaffen, Michael: "The Hollywood Reporter", Sept 8, 2003.
- ^ Dargis, Manohla: "The Los Angeles Times", Sept 12, 2003.
- ^ Two Names Return to Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever. Retrieved on 2007-03-04.
- ^ Strong and Andrews head back to the Cabin (March 4, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-03-04.
[edit] External links
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