Cabin Fever DVD > Reviews > odd...but i think i like it

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Satisfactory
Special Effects	Good
How does it compare to similar films?	Satisfactory

Advantages:	unusual, breaks the mould, funny
Disadvantages:	not for those who like a sensible direction to their film

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

so we're queueing at the cinema, and it's a toss-up between down with love, finding nemo, and cabin fever. we discuss it briefly, and we decide that at 18 years old, we're too old for underwater disney adventures, too cool for romantic non-storylines, but brave enough for cabin fever.

so in we go, as i realise now, completely unprepared for this cinematic experience.

the plot:

five college kids, just finished their finals, hit the woods as a celebration. they stay in a cabin which belongs to the parents of one of the kids. it's not long before they come across an old man who has been infected by a virus: scared and alone in the woods, they want to help him but get scared, panic, and beat him up and dump him in a river instead. the 'stifler' of the group gets a little trigger happy, and when the guy tries to steal the car, he shoots. the guy ends up dead and the car wrecked; the kids are all alone in the woods with a flesh eating virus that reaches them through the water supply.

it's a testament to eli roth's talent that out of this scenario, which i know, sounds ridiculous in he light of day, we get some truly terrifying moments, but also some comedy. the special effects are good, and this 'virus' does more harm than you might think it could. the film explores man's capability of surviving in unnatural or at the very least, unusual surroundings, but also it prompts thoughts about who really is at the top of the food chain; in eli roth's words: "there is this feeling that we are not at the top of the food chain. it’s virus and bacteria. we’re not. we don’t own our bodies."

three out of the five characters are fundamentally unlikeable. it doesn't help that those acting them are unknowns with little acting know-how. their selfish, rash attitudes do little to earn the sympathy of the audience, and we end up disliking them, almost glad when the dead man's legacy comes back to haunt them. we are left with two others who are a little deeper, and we come quite close to them thanks to a hint of a love story.

there are a few encounters with hillbillies which will bring a smile - in fact, there are several laugh out loud moments. this is the kind of film that defies genre, repels categories. it's laugh-out-loud funny, cover-your-eyes gruesome, and cower-in-your-seat scary. see it/buy it if you don't mind something a little different, and you think cocky teenagers deserve everything they get.