Cabin Fever (2003)
Review written by: Joshua
Bozeman on October 6, 2003
MY RATING: 8/10
Summary of review: great movie, great effects.
very original idea overall
I saw Cabin Fever at noon on a weekday (I believe it was a Tuesday) with my brother. He hated it...said it was one of the worst movies he has ever seen. I, on the other hand, loved it. I think it's a great horror movie, a nice addition to an already great genre.
The film is about a group of young friends who are going out to a rented cabin for the weekend...going to drink and party, so it seems. We have a few different personality types in the group...the goofy guy that can never be serious (who brings a shotgun on the trip!), the cold guy who turns on everyone of his friends, the sweet guy, the nice girl who the sweet guy likes, and the slutty girl who gets naked as much as she possibly can in the film. This includes an odd sex scene born out of desparation near the end.
So, these friends head out to the middle of nowhere to their little cabin retreat. The goofy jokester guy is out with his gun shooting at stuff, when he runs into some crazy looking guy with his skin peeling off in places. He says he needs help. He's sick he says. The guy shoots him out of fear, and runs back to the others, not telling them what happened. We see the sick crazy guy again at night...this time he comes to the cabin and all the kids see him.
They're not sure what to do, and the goofy guy wants to keep him outside, so they don't catch what he has. The guy eventually gets in their car, after throwing up blood all over the inside of the truck. It becomes clear later on that he has some virus that eats away his flesh, and it seems to be easily passed onto others.
Before all of this, they run into some guy camping in the woods who offers them weed, and is supposed to bring it back to their cabin, but he never returns.
So, they're all freaked out, wondering what this guy had...they end up going outside and killing him. It's nice to see them all so scared that they basically turn into savages, it helps set a nice mood that lasts throughout the entire film, as the kids transform into monsters before our eyes.
The tension builds as they discover that one of their friends has the virus and they actually end up making her go outside in a shed to sleep, locking her in so she can't get to any of them.
I'll leave the story off there...it gets creepier and more edgy as each minute goes by...as they search for help, and a way to fix their truck so they can get to safety. They run into nasty backwoods guys, who seem to be pretty mad themselves. Everything eventually falls apart around them.
The effects used in the movie were wonderful in my opinion. I've seen some online say they were awful, but they were truly frightening...especially the girl they lock in the shed. There aren't many real scares in the movie besides a few scenes where things pop out suddenly and make you jump. I nearly jumped out of my seat 3 or 4 times.
This was a lower budget movie that was picked up by Lion's Gate (at Sundance, I believe), and they paid the highest for this film than any other film they've ever bought the rights to. High 7 figures, some have said.
The direction is nice, and the setting is gorgeous...big lake in the woods near the cabin, a dock where two characters lie in the sun, eventually getting into the lake for a swim...the surrounding area that seems to be completely void of any normal people, or people at all in some areas. The director did some nice work making the setting a big part of the story, and that helped add a lot to the movie.
The cast, all basically actors who haven't done much film work (you'll notice the kid from Boy Meets World and the stoner guy from Super Troopers), they all did a nice job. It's great to see unknowns in horror films like this.
Cabin Fever is a great horror movie with an original storyline with the flesh eating virus. There are a few scenes that add comedy to the film- especially with the weird local deputy guy, who rides around patroling on a bicycle. The acting is right on, and the direction lends itself to the genre as well. It all comes together in a horrific story that leaves you tired and drained when it's all done.