Film Reviews

Cabin Fever

• Rating:
• Director: Eli Roth.
• Starring: Rider Strong, Jordan Ladd, Joey Kern, Cerina Vincent, James DeBello, Giuseppe Andrews, David Kaufbird.
• Details: US / 94 mins / (15PG).

While the inevitable comparisons with the likes of 'The Blair Witch Project' (1999) might be a bit too ambitious, this low budget horror set in secluded woods which hold a dark secret, has enough zest, atmosphere and dark hearted humour to make it an engaging enough experience. It's all completely ridiculous, of course, but then again most horror movies usually are. The plot follows five kids - Jeff (Kern) and his foxy girl Marcy (Vincent); Paul (Strong) who is in lust with Karen (Ladd) and lunkhead Bert (DeBello), a beer monster of a man. Celebrating graduation, they head off to a log cabin in the middle of nowhere with the primary intention of drinking prodigious amounts of alcohol and "partying". However, on their first night there, they run into an obviously ill hermit and afraid of catching whatever disease he has, they accidentally kill him. Before long, the gang have begun to exhibit symptoms of a flesh eating disease, and are turning on each other with a terrifying ferocity. The influences on 'Cabin Fever' are not hard to identify, but rather than attempting to repackage his work as original, director Eli Roth revels in his second hand ideas and infuses the proceedings with a black satirical humour that gently pokes fun at the conventions and limitations of the horror genre. More a parable on the perils of modern consumerism than a fright fest (there's a heavy emphasis on gore rather than supernatural-tinged shocks); Cabin Fever maintains a healthy sense of the absurd. And if the tone sometimes feels a little uneven and Roth doesn't quite know what to do with his ideas; 'Cabin Fever' has enough in the tank to make it worth a look.

Review by Garreth Murphy