Cabin Fever (2002)

Director:

Eli Roth

Writers:

Eli Roth (written by) and
Randy Pearlstein (written by) ...

Release Date:

12 September 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Unsichtbar. Lautlos. Tödlich. (Invisible. Silent. Deadly.)

Plot:

A group of five college graduates rent a cabin in the woods and begin to fall victim to a horrifying flesh-eating virus, which attracts the unwanted attention of the homicidal locals.

Plot Keywords:

Cabin | Water | Virus | Hermit | Squirrel

Awards:

2 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Rider Strong	...	Paul
Jordan Ladd	...	Karen
James DeBello	...	Bert
Cerina Vincent	...	Marcy
Joey Kern	...	Jeff
Arie Verveen	...	Henry (The Hermit)
Robert Harris	...	Old Man Cadwell
Hal Courtney	...	Tommy
Matthew Helms	...	Dennis
Richard Boone	...	Fenster
Tim Parati	...	Andy
Dalton McGuire	...	Lemonade Boy
Jana Farmer	...	Lemonade Girl
Dante Walker	...	Shemp
Jeff Rendell	...	Fake Shemp

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and gore, sexuality, language and brief drug use.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG | Portugal:M/16 | Sweden:15 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Argentina:18 | Australia:MA | Canada:18A | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 (self applied) | Philippines:R-18 | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:NC-16 (cut) | Spain:18 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Black Sky Entertainment

Trivia:

The original killer dog "Jake" was hired without a rehearsal and sight unseen because Eli Roth loved the idea of using the dog in the Patrick Swayze movie Black Dog (1998) and there by being only "two degrees from Swayze". The problem was the dog was by then 4 years older, arthritic, and tired. After a full day of shooting, and if all the few second bits were spliced expertly together, they only had about a minute or so of usage footage. All dog 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 no actors could appear with it on camera. The crew would hide behind trucks during its scenes, and cameras were operated by remote control.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The water supply in the cabin was connected directly to the reservoir. Water from reservoirs cannot be used for domestic purposes without a large treatment plant to remove minerals, kill bacteria and perform general filtering. Using a reservoir as a water supply for a remote cabin is highly improbable.

Quotes:

[first lines]
The Hermit: Hey, boy. Hey, boy. Hey, boy. Unn? C'mon, boy. Hey. Hey. Hey, fella.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "30 Even Scarier Movie Moments" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Wastin' Time

An unfairly judged cult flick

This film has been unfairly judged! It is in fact a very good 80's style, Splatter, B-movie. It shys away from the self referencing humor plague that Scream started and succeeds in being a very strange splatter/comedy. Several reviews have been posted that say the characters are unlikable and do illogical things through the course of the movie. The characters are very good representations of the youth of the late 90's. The hunting squirrels joke is a perfect example. When asked why he is hunting the squirrels, the character replies, "Cause their gay". How many times have you heard a teen respond to a question in such a manner? Eli Roth has captured very well the essence of of being a teenager in this very cynical society.The actions the characters take are, in context, very believable. Ask yourself, if you were in a situation where you had to deal with the very likely possibility of becoming infected with a horrible flesh-eating disease, would you be the first to lend a helping hand to the infected? Another thing that has been trashed by many reviews is the strange sense of humor the film has. The pancakes scene in particular. The humor in the film is the strange sort you would more likely find in a Troma film (not the sex/toilet variety, though)While it's not for everyone, the sense of fun the movie has about itself is more suited to hardcore B-movie fans than mainstream audiences. Eli Roth hearkens back to a time when movies weren't always about psychological thrills,bad twist endings, and pretentious artistic "meanings", when they were about fun. It's a great movie to sit around with some friends and watch. So please, don't judge it so harshly, just because it's a movie to be taken straight with no shocking hidden meanings or twists. Hopefully this film will find it's audience with the cult movie crowd. Highly recommended to anyone with a love of B-Movie cinema.