FAQ for
Cabin Fever (2002) More at IMDbPro »

Shotgun shells.

How do you know this?

Earlier in the movie, Marcy is seen getting up from a table, leaving behind an empty glass, implying that she'd drunk some contaminated water. Also, Marcy exhibits a rash *immediately* after having sex with Paul. This is not sufficient time for the virus to spread through her body, if she only contracted it from the sexual encounter. Her statement during sex, "Don't Worry, I'm healthy." is an ironic untruth.

However, it is not clear if anybody was actually infected by the sexual encounter, as Paul may have already gotten the disease by coming in to contact with Karen's blood, or by other means.

Near the end of the movie when Paul is being carted through the hospital, he takes a brief glance into a passing room, what he sees may be the most genuinely awkward part of the movie, Dennis is lying in a hospital bed and someone wearing a full body child-like bunny costume is serving him a plate of pancakes. The exact reason for this is never explicitly stated but there are some somewhat accepted explantations:

* It was only a hallucination, this however seems unlikely given the strong dumbfounded reaction Paul makes when he sees the bunny suit, leaving the viewer to assume it really was there ( Dennis is also looking at the plate of pancakes as it is handed to him ).

*Most horror movie fans believes it to be a reference to a strikingly similiar scene in the popular psychological thriller " The Shining ", in which a character running through a dreary illuminated hallway sees for a split second, someone dressed in a dog costume apparently going down on a man dressed in a tuxedo.

* It was a plot device used to intentionally expose the movies overly quirky sense of storytelling, dialogue and character development... intended for the single purpose of making the viewer say: " What the F*** ?"

Disinfecting his privates. This scene might not make any sense, depending on which version you watch as some important scenes were cut from various versions. But in the full version, after Bert leaves in the truck, Marcy and Paul are left alone in the cabin together. Marcy implies that she wants to have sex with Paul, seeing as how they're all gonna die anyway. In the next scene, they are both naked and having sex. Paul reveals through the dialogue that they are not using a condom, a fact that seems to distress him (considdering that there's a deadly disease going around), but Marcy assures him that she's healthy.

When they are finished, Paul goes in to the bathroom and pours listerine on his privates (this scene is in most versions, but some don't have the sex scene to explain it). He has doubts about Marcy's health and tries to disinfect himself with the nearest germ-killing substance he can find. Yes, Most people would realize that listerine can not cure one from a flesh-eating virus, but this was a spur-of-the-moment remedy by Paul and was not well though out, much like the sexual encounter itself.

By the way, in the scene immediately following this, which is also cut in some versions, Marcy examines herself in the mirror and discovers hand-shaped rashes on her back. Although Paul was grasping her here while they were having sex, these actually turn out to be the first signs of her having the disease. So, as it happens, she was NOT healthy when Paul had sex with her.

Henry the hermit - When he examines the animal's rotted out corpse at the start some blood and entrails splash on his face. Presumably it got into his system this way or he could have got it from another animal offscreen.

Karen - Paul gives her a glass of water the day after they chase Henry from the house. She also drinks water a couple of other times before her sickness is revealed.

Bert - Shown drinking the water, Paul pointing it out saying "Bert, you just lost the bet"

Marcy - The most likely cause is a mug of what appears to be tea, although she could have been infected by one of her frequent baths, accidently ingesting water, or perhaps through an orifice.

Paul - Any of a number of ways. He may have been infected from Karen's blood during any of the number of times he touches her after she is infected or through his unprotected sexual encounter with Marcy. Though it is more likely, considering how late in the movie his symptoms are revealed, from when he fell into the reservoir on top of the infected hermits body and is shown spitting out water.

Cerina Vincent explains this in the DVD commentary. Marcy is so zoned out by this point (worrying about the disease and what she did with Paul) that she doesn't even notice that her legs are peeling away until the third stroke of the razor. Marcy is not looking at her legs as she shaves them.