by Anthony O'Connor
Worth: Discs: 4, The Film: 3.5/5, The Extras: 4/5, Overall: 7.5/10
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Rider Strong, Jordan Ladd, James DeBello, Cerina Vincent, Joey Kern, Giuseppe Andrews, Noah Segan, Alexi Wasser, Samuel Davis, Gage Golightly
Intro:
... a very solid package for fans of films about flesh-eating viruses where you’ll often find yourself rooting for the virus!
The Films:
The early 2000s was a bit of a rough time for fans of good old fashioned grisly, nasty horror flicks with little redeeming social value. Don’t get us wrong, that era produced some deadset bangers like 28 Days Later, The Ring, Signs and Dog Soldiers, but legit gory thrills were pretty light on the ground. That’s probably why, in 2002, when hype began to build for a nasty little low budget movie called Cabin Fever, gore hounds were slavering at the chops. It was a new dangerous work from a young, hungry filmmaker by the name of Eli Roth and he was heavily inspired by that greatest of grindhouse classics: The Evil Dead (1981).
When Cabin Fever eventually released it was… quite different to expectations. Sure, there was plenty of body horror and grim themes, but they existed cheek-by-jowl with broad stoner comedy, frat boy antics and surreal diversions. And yet for all that, it was (mostly) well liked and performed decently at the box office. It was followed by Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever in 2007, the prequel Cabin Fever: Patient Zero in 2014, and an almost shot-for-shot remake, Cabin Fever, in 2016.
Most of these films appear in Via Vision’s brand spanking new Cabin Fever Collection, which features a 4K of the original, its controversial sequel, zero Patient Zero, and another chance to be baffled by the remake.
So, let’s take on the series in order.
Cabin Fever (2002) is the story of five college friends heading to a secluded cabin in the woods to get drunk, blow off some steam and, possibly, get some rooting done. Things proceed in typical early 2000s fashion: everyone calls each other “retarded” and “gay”, much grog is necked, the horny couple have bulk sex and the will they/won’t they couple have a sweet kiss that could potentially lead to more. The deadset gronk of the group, Bert (James DeBello) goes off to shoot some squirrels “Because they’re gay.” However, things take a turn for the deadly when a violently ill hermit attempts to get help from the obnoxious youngins, leading to a fatal face off. Before long, the hermit’s flesh-eating virus is spreading amongst our heroes, and they begin to turn on one another in a desperate bid to survive their idyllic getaway with their skin intact.
Although Cabin Fever’s plot could come off a little basic, it ends up being quite a compelling, surreal watch. First off, it’s a gorgeous looking flick, especially considering the low budget and Roth’s relative inexperience. Say what you will about the bloke, but he knows his craft. Combine that with deeply unlikable characters, something you’re never quite sure is satirical or accidental, and the director’s compulsive desire to throw in disjointed moments of stoner comedy every now and then, particularly in the film’s deeply weird third act, and you’ve got a wild ride on your hands. The gore is impressive, although not as frequent as one might expect, and while the narrative takes a lot of indulgent tangents (typical first time feature director trying to throw everything at the wall), it’s nonetheless an engaging, albeit occasionally eye-rolling experience. Obnoxious, fitfully amusing (there’s a genuinely subversive n-word gag that is still very solid) and sometimes wince-inducing, Cabin Fever is an imperfect but fun little flick ideal for a rowdy group watch. Roth went on to make arguably his best film, Hostel (2005), next, so the reins for the inevitable sequel were handed over to talented young director Ti West (Pearl, Sacrament) and he delivered…
Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever (2009). Young Mr. West had a cool idea for a Cabin Fever sequel: he wanted to craft a disgusting, balls-to-the-wall grossout comedy horror that followed a similar path to something like Evil Dead 2 (1987) with shades of John Waters and Troma thrown in for good, trashy measure. Lionsgate agreed with his pitch and in 2007 he made the film his way. Then Ti showed it to the producers and they hated it, immediately hiring a new editor and taking the film out of West’s hands. Eventually, poor old Ti disowned the film and it’s one of those true Hollywood horror stories where you ponder what could have been. However, all that being said, the film that exists here is actually a lot of (very, very stupid) fun.
Spring Fever’s story basically revolves around a couple of nerdy friends in high school, and their desire to get laid, go to prom and lead a good life. Of course, a certain flesh-eating bacteria hiding in the bottled water taken from the location of the first flick puts the kibosh on that something fierce and we end up with a lot of genuinely disgusting set pieces full of pus, blood, ooze and graphic male full frontal nudity. It’s a stunningly goofy film at times, and occasionally quite disturbing, making it perfect for a ‘second film of the night’ watch when the beer, weed and pizza haze pushes you into a bleary-eyed stupor. You can absolutely tell that this thing’s been tampered with, though, as the plot seems to miss entire sections of the prom-based climax as it barrels to an oddly unsatisfying conclusion, but has enough of the sick stuff to keep the weirdos entertained.
The next film in the series, Cabin Fever: Patient Zero (2014), is absent here and while it wasn’t exactly a classic, it feels pretty weird to not be included in the Cabin Fever Collection. Still, nothing can compare to the genuine head-scratching bewilderment of the next entry that is included…
Cabin Fever (2016). There are remakes that are surprisingly good like The Fly (1986) and The Thing (1982), there are remakes that are pretty damn bad like Poltergeist (2015) and Flatliners (2017), and then there are remakes that are… whatever the hell this thing is. Much like Gus Van Sant’s woefully ill-advised 1998 Psycho remake, Cabin Fever uses the same script as the original (more or less) and retreads the first film, beat for beat, a mere 14 years after its release. Except this time around, most of the surreal comedy has been removed, the actors are less charming, the direction less deft and the gore somehow less impactful despite the more serious tone. A couple of changes like gender flipping Officer Winston and adding a ridiculous post credit sting, do nothing to help shake the feeling that this artless retread really has no reason for being. Perhaps Cabin Fever’s one redeeming quality is that it offers tangible proof that a solid script without a skilled, imaginative director isn’t worth much, but then is that going to be a big surprise to anyone?
If you’re looking to get the most out of the Cabin Fever Collection, stick to the first two films. Particularly the newly remastered 4K director’s cut of the original. You could always use the 2016 flick as a beer coaster.
The Extras:
Actually, a very decent set of extras for the original film here, a few for the sequel and almost none for the remake. Which, honestly, is probably for the best.
For Cabin Fever, there are oodles of legacy extras, most of which date back to the original DVD release including: six (!) audio commentaries with cast, crew, male cast, female cast, producers, filmmakers and everyone you can imagine. There was a real sense of camaraderie on this one and the commentaries are a genuine joy.
You’ve also got multiple old school featurettes, deleted scenes, some of Eli’s short film work etc. All of which is very nice, however, the best of the lot is the brand spanking new hour-long featurette Scratching the Surface: A Look Back, which gives a frank, exhaustive and often very funny look at the film from conception to release and beyond, with a group of creatives that clearly have a lot of affection for the material and one another. It’s a nice look back at a time when horror was floundering and a reminder of how much work, passion and dedication goes into these things.
Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever has a gore reel and a little behind-the-scenes piece included. And Cabin Fever (2016) has a short behind-the-scenes piece.
The entire collection comes in a fancy 3D lenticular hardcase (which isn’t quite as hard as you might expect) and includes a big ol’ poster and a very flash 158-page softcover booklet with heaps of nice piccies and behind-the-scenes gear.
The Verdict:
Bold, spicy, gory, funny, sometimes stupid but always engaging, Cabin Fever is a messy but worthy horror flick that revitalised the grislier end of the genre and helped flicks like Saw get made. It’s joined by a deeply compromised but oddly enjoyable sequel in the form of Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever, which brims with Ti West’s style even in its less-than-ideal state.
There’s also Cabin Fever (2016), which is a film that exists. For some reason.
It’s a pity the collection doesn’t include Patient Zero, but taken as a whole is a very solid package for fans of films about flesh-eating viruses where you’ll often find yourself rooting for the virus!
