Cabin Fever (2016) Review

By: Nik S


Director: Travis Zariwny
Producer(s): Evan Astrowsky, Christopher Lemole, Jaclyn Ann Suri, Eli Roth, Tim Zajaris
Starring: Samuel Davis, Gage Golightly, Matthew Daddario, Nadine Crocker, Dustin Ingram
Production Company: Armory Films, Contend, Pelican Point Media
Distributor: IFC Midnight
Runtime: 98 minutes

Over on the website Bloody Disgusting they have an article about the top ten movies people are too afraid to finish on Netflix. On the top of the list is the 2016 reboot of the film Cabin Fever. The original was directed by Eli Roth, and stared Rider Strong, Jordan Ladd, and Cerina Vincent. The film was the directorial debut of Roth, who co-wrote the film with Randy Pearlstein. Roth wanted to make a movie that was a departure from the cliches of modern horror films at the time and return to its more campier roots. He was inspired by the Blair Witch Project to use the internet to his advantage to help promote the film, while the film itself was inspired by The Evil Dead, The Last House on the Left, and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The remake sees the return of Roth and Pearlstein as the writers, but this time Roth hands the reins over to Travis Z (or Zariwny) to direct.

The story, similar to the original, follows a small group of college peers who are on a weekend getaway to a remote cabin in the woods. The trip starts off rough as Paul, one of the college friends, is bitten by a young boy at a local convenience store. Things go from bad to worse as after they get settled in, Burt accidentally shoots a man with a disfigured face begging for help. Burt tries to scare him off, refusing him help, but instead runs away. That night, when sitting around a campfire, they meet a creepy drifter, Grimm, and his dog, Dr. Mambo, who offer them weed. A storm arrives, prompting the group to go back in the cabin and wait it out. After a few minutes of waiting they hear a knock at the door and it turns out to be he disfigured man from earlier. After trying to scare him away by attacking him with a rifle, swinging a bat at him, and setting him on fire he runs out into the forest. Shortly after they become infected, and the bacteria kills them off one by one.

Normally a remake tries to differ itself from the original while keeping elements that made it great to begin with. Cabin Fever instead is a shot-for-shot retelling of its predecessor that does absolutely nothing to set itself apart other than some clearer visuals. Characters die in different ways, one is gender-swapped (originally male changed to female) and the scares try to be more modern, but other than that there isn't much of a difference. The original was able to work with being an exploitation-style horror film while the reboot seems to just ride the coattails in hopes of getting some of the same recognition.

The dialogue, though humorous at times, just doesn't have that original Roth charm to it. Characters interact with each other awkwardly, which would be alright if this were a B-rated horror movie but doesn't really fit the style of this remake. Travis Z attempts a some over-the-top deaths to outdo the original, but falls short of recreating the same sensation. Instead of feeling disgusted by the horrific mutilations, the audience will instead feel humored by the gratuitous amount of blood. There's an odd nod for viewers of the original, anytime the lake or water is shown they focus on it like a cocky wink.

In all honesty, it feels like Roth grabbed the script from 2002, made a few quick scribbles, and called it good. There's nothing that sets it apart from the original, and that's its downfall. The use of practical effects is nice, but feels like they went to Costco and bought more fake blood than they needed so they decided to use it all. I don't think people are really afraid of this like Netflix reports, but they get bored halfway through and switch to else. If you want to watch Cabin Fever then I urge you to stick with the original.