Cabin Fever.

We will get back to Evil Dead and Hannibal, don't worry, but while on the topic of Eli Roth, let's talk about a film I wouldn't otherwise get the chance to talk about. Enjoy!

Cabin Fever was Roth's directorial début and he also helped write the film, filling it with personal experiences and influences from his own horror favourites. Once again it has an interesting history and production, like so many low budget horrors do, that would be ruined if I condensed it here but it's worth a read if you have any interest in the film. And although there were many scathing reviews at the time, there were lots of positive ones and lots of awards as well. After seeing this most people assumed Roth would go on to do great things, he of course didn't, but Cabin Fever still became a cult classic in its own right, and rightly so.

For those of you who haven't seen a 70s/80s horror film somehow, basically this is how the plot works: You take a bunch of students, drain out all personality until they are a bunch of traits, rather than human beings, chuck them into some woods, let them party for a while, then you kill them off. Practically every scene, sequence and character is directly lifted from the films Roth is paying 'homage' to to the point where there is barely a moment of originality.

However, as you know, I don't see clichés as a negative in themselves, lots of filmmakers build their entire works on clichés but then do the clichés so well or they place their own new spin on it that they elevate their films beyond their own destined mediocrity in their inherent genericism. Does Cabin Fever do the same? Or does it become bogged down by its own lack of originality?

Really one of the biggest separations from the films it is homaging is that the enemy of the film is an undefined virus that infects both man and animal alike, rather than some supernatural force or human killer. Playing out more like a modern zombie flick, only set in the same location as the Evil Dead. Considering this film took eight years to get to the screens and spends much of its time relishing in 70s/ 80s horror tropes you'll be shocked by how ahead of its time it feels and how even over ten years on, it still doesn't feel all that dated at all. Either way I really like the virus, it's a clever device to take your typical gorgeous twenty somethings and literally strip away their beauty in infected bloody chunks. Am I sensing some internal jealousy here Roth?

Really the choice of virus is probably the only thing that truly elevates this from being an entertaining splatterflick into a cult classic. In a world with AIDS and SARS Cabin Fever becomes all the more terrifying because it could actually well...happen. The disease the virus was based on kills 1, 500 people per year in the US alone. That is fucking terrifying!
 
Cabin Fever is also a great looking film. I don't really know what happened to Roth because he really does show a lot of talent here as a director, he has an eye for style and is very clever in how he stages his film, something missing from basically all his other works. There are many sequences filled with imagery that is likely to stick with you for a very long time and there are some very old and tired sequences that Roth constructs with such obvious improvements, it makes you both want to pat him on the back and also ask why no one else has done it like this before. It is also full of great locations all captured with some beautiful cinematography. It feels all together a lot more polished than the films he is 'homaging'.

It is odd though that Roth seems to show such a self awareness of the flaws of his favourites and yet still infuses his films with some of the most clichéd of horror flaws. Most noticeably is classic, horror film stupidity. Roth said in an interview that he wants to write more realistic characters because in his mind modern characters are shaped to fit the audience rather than around real people but the kind of things the characters do in this film are at times mind blowing in how poor their decision making is. These guys are meant to be graduates for Christ's sake! 

Even with that aside, he completely fails to create 'realistic' characters in this film anyway. Sure none of the acting is any good but it doesn't help when every character is so flat and archetypal with not a single hint of originality. Perhaps most surprising is Roth is probably the best actor in the film with the most interesting character. And hey guess who stars in this? The former Yellow Lost Galaxy Power Ranger! She was dating Eli Roth I guess... That makes another Power Ranger I have seen topless!

Okay, that isn't completely fair. I did kind of like how the film doesn't include heroes. As much as we probably don't want to admit it, when shit hits the fan, people are more likely to run off than they are to run towards you and save you. So it did add a certain level of cynical realism when their friendships and relationships broke down almost as rapidly as the virus broke down their skin, as paranoia and self preservation began to set in. You really do get a sense of a very human scramble of pure desperation as everyone is just trying to survive in an alien environment against a threat that is near unknowable. 

Although the characters are weak, this actually isn't that bad a screenplay though. There is a noticeable cause and effect, something a lot of the films he is playing tribute to lacked and although the film relies on a lot of plot convenience, it all fits together very well with clever plotting that is paced satisfyingly. It is by no means deep or life changing but Roth does give at least a little extra weight and importance to the violence that transpires and gives the narrative a more significant feeling trajectory, at least more so than those who 'inspired' him.

It also helps that the gore effects are really impressive, both the practical effects and makeup work and y'know that is kinda important in a film about a rapid spreading flesh eating virus. This film is over ten years old and it still looks better than some of the more recent horror films we've had.

Sadly the weakest part of the film is probably the most important part and that is the ending. The first hour and fifteen or so minutes feels tight and purposeful with a logical progression from one scene and plot point to the next. Sadly however Roth doesn't seem to know how to end it, with the final fifteen minutes feeling like a lifetime as the film meanders about with none of the sense of purpose that everything had previous. I watched the directors cut which is 98 minutes long, the original was around 92 minutes long and so although by no means a long film exactly, it certainly feels like it as the film limps to the finish line.

Another thing I wasn't a huge fan of was the weirdness of it all. David Lynch may have been criticised for being weird for the sake of it many a time but the strangeness of his productions cry out for further rewatches and because of their alienating natures on first viewings, it actually makes the film more of a pleasure with each watch, Cabin Fever...can't really say the same. Sometimes the weirdness of it all is done in a deliberately comedic way and it shines when it does, in all other instances though it just leaves you asking 'why?'. And I'm pretty sure there will be quite a few moments in this film just much too odd for your more average cinemagoer to swallow and I perfectly understand. 

So do I recommend it? Everyone thought Roth was on the way to big things after Cabin Fever and when you watch it, you can really see why, Roth was once upon a time a really talented dude. What caused the train wreck that is Roth's career after this film is unknown to me but what I do know is Cabin Fever deserves its cult classic status. If you've been put off watching this because of Roth's name, I perfectly understand but also do not worry. Cabin Fever is such a wonderfully made film, you'll assume someone else entirely directed it and that is fine by me. It says so much that over a decade later, this film is still incredibly enjoyable. Highly recommended!

Think About It!

-Locke

What would you rate, 'Cabin Fever'?