Cabin Fever (2002)

September 20, 2022 8:52 AM

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.

Starring Rider Strong, Jordan Ladd, Cerina Vincent, Giuseppe Andrews, James DeBello, Julie Childress, Jessica Elder, Darcy Martin, Heather Simmons, and Arie Verveen.

Written, directed and produced by Eli Roth, who also plays Justin.

62% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Currently streaming in the US on Amazon Prime. Also available for digital rental on multiple outlets. JustWatch listing. Also remade in 2016.

posted by DirtyOldTown (6 comments total)

I love this movie. The scene in the bathtub still gets me. It struck me as a very realistic scene (seeking comfort in something normal that actually causes more harm to yourself). It was based on an experience Roth actually had when he actually had a necrotizing fasciitis. He discovered it when he started shaving his face and skin came off. Just describing it 20 years later makes deeply uncomfortable.


I have the dvd, which I need to dig up, because it's loaded with extras.
posted by miss-lapin at 10:15 AM on September 20, 2022 [1 favorite]

Eli Roth gets a lot of hate, for whatever reason, but I'm a huge fan of this one and the Hostels. I may like this one the best. It's unbelievably hilarious, but not even a little tongue in cheek, and it's terrifying when it wants to be.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 10:21 AM on September 20, 2022 [1 favorite]

I saw this in absolutely the best possible way: renting it off the shelf of a video store based on having heard the title and not knowing anything about it. I went in expecting either zombies or a killer hillbilly family. And instead, I got one of the goopiest body horrors of its era.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:33 AM on September 20, 2022 [1 favorite]

If you like the movie, I highly recommend watching it with director commentary. Roth is hilarious. He does achieve an amazing balance of comedy and horror.

This is my favorite of his movies, and I admit I am disappointed with his work as a writer/director. However, his knowledge of movies is impressive. I didn't know how detailed his knowledge was until I saw him on JBB's Last Drive In talking about Italian horror of the 70s. His show on Shudder, the History of Horror, is also amazing.
posted by miss-lapin at 10:53 AM on September 20, 2022 [2 favorites]

The scene in the bathtub still gets me.

I came in here to ask if this was that movie. Saw it in the theaters I guess 20 years ago, and that scene still lives with me.
posted by Literaryhero at 9:26 PM on September 20, 2022

PAnCAKES
posted by holyrood at 10:25 PM on September 20, 2022 [4 favorites]