CABIN FEVER (2016)

Studio:       IFC Midnight
Director:    Travis Zariwny
Writer:       Eli Roth, Randy Pearlstein
Producer:  Evan Astrowsky, Christopher Lemole, Tim Zajaros
Stars:     Gage Golightly, Matthew Daddario, Samuel Davis, Nadine Crocker, Dustin Ingram

Review Score:

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Summary:

Five friends find themselves trapped at a cabin in the woods when a deadly flesh-eating virus begins to spread.

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

Forest-dwelling hermit Henry returns to his campsite and discovers his dog Pancakes dead from a mysterious illness in gruesome fashion.

Paul takes a cabin in the woods vacation with his childhood friend and romantic interest Karen, their friends Bert and Jeff, and Jeff’s girlfriend Marcy. The quintet stops for supplies at Priddy’s General Store managed by Cadwell and a gruff man named Tommy. Tommy’s odd son Dennis, who wears a paper plate rabbit mask, unexpectedly bites Paul’s hand in front of the store.

At the cabin, Jeff and Marcy have sex while Paul and Karen share a kiss on the water. Bert takes his rifle and explores the woods. Startled by the hermit, Bert accidentally shoots Henry, but his concern turns to fear when Bert sees that Henry’s skin shows signs of a deadly infection. Henry begs for help, but Bert leaves the hermit and runs away.

Berkeley hipster Connor, who goes by the nickname Grim, happens upon the five friends as they relax around a campfire. Camping alone nearby, the friends welcome Grimm after he produces a bag of weed. Grim and his dog Dr. Mambo leave after a short time.

Later that night, Henry comes to the cabin in search of help. When Bert warns his friends that the man is contagious, Henry recognizes Bert from earlier. Bert slams the door in his face and Henry tries to steal the group’s vehicle. The three men chase Henry out of their car as he begins spitting up blood throughout the vehicle interior and exterior. In the ensuing chaos, the group inadvertently sets Henry on fire and he stumbles into the darkness to die.

In the morning, Marcy goes off on her own in search of help. With their vehicle disabled, Bert and Jeff go in search of a mechanic or helpful neighbor. Paul and Karen remain at the cabin where Karen drinks a glass of tap water. Bert and Jeff find a woman who initially offers help, but they leave abruptly when they learn she is Henry’s cousin. Bert and Jeff regroup with Marcy and make their way back to the cabin.

Deputy Winston arrives at the cabin to investigate reports of the previous night’s commotion. Paul explains things without mentioning Henry’s presumed death. Winston takes a liking to Paul and promises to send a tow truck before departing.

Later, Paul and Bert clean the car and the group discusses what to do next. Feeling nauseous, Karen lies down and Paul joins her in bed. He moves his hand under the sheets in a moment of passion only to discover that the lower part of her body is infected by the flesh-eating virus. Fearful of contagion, the other four friends lock Karen in the boat shed outside.

Paul goes in search of help and finds a trailer, but the couple inside assumes he is a Peeping Tom and chases Paul away at gunpoint. Bert drinks a glass of tap water. The group repeatedly frightens away Grim’s rabid dog with Bert’s rifle.

The following morning, Bert is able to start the car. The group plans to leave when Karen spits up blood all over the car. Jeff is afraid to get into the presumably infected vehicle. Paul notices that Bert appears sick. Frustrated at the indecision, Bert drives off on his own, promising to send back help. Fearful of contagion since Paul and Marcy insist on tending to Karen, Jeff goes off alone with his beer. Assuming that death may be near anyway, Paul and Marcy have sex.

Bert goes back to the general store for help where he is bitten by Dennis. Angry that Bert may have infected his son, Tommy recruits Fenster and Baily to help him chase down Bert, who immediately flees in his vehicle.

Paul goes in search of Jeff and ends up wrestling Henry to the death in a pond. Paul realizes that the pond is an infected reservoir feeding the water supply.

Marcy discovers she is infected while shaving her legs. She goes outside, but is viciously mauled by Dr. Mambo.

Paul returns to the boat shed where Karen begs him to kill her. Unable to finish the job of splitting her face with a shovel, Paul sets the shed on fire and burns Karen alive.

Bert makes it back to the cabin, but Tommy and his two henchmen follow right behind and shoot Bert. Paul recovers Bert’s rifle and guns down all three men. Paul escapes in Tommy’s truck, but crashes it into a tree.

Covered in blood, Paul stumbles upon a small campfire party attended by Deputy Winston. Winston receives a radio call from the sheriff announcing to shoot Paul on sight. However, Paul convinces Winston to let him go instead.

Jeff emerges from hiding and returns to the cabin. Thinking he has survived, Jeff is suddenly gunned down by Deputy Winston.

Paul succumbs to infection and drops dead in the woods as Dennis peers at him from around a tree. Back at the cabin, authorities and a hazmat crew clean up the scene.

In an epilogue, a young woman looking at photos uploaded from Karen’s phone stumbles upon pictures of the gruesome carnage.

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Review:

What’s the “right” way to remake a movie?  “Not at all,” say the cynical.  “At least not like Gus Van Sant,” say the snarkier.  Everyone has a different opinion, many of which can’t wait to be shared unsolicited in website comment sections after a reboot is announced.  Hell hath few furies like a film fan whose untouchable favorite has been eyed for a makeover.

It’s close-minded and shortsighted to immediately sigh “why” with a question mark and an exclamation point upon mere mention of a remake.  It is also selfish and prejudicial to drum up a list of wishful conditions a remake must fulfill to earn an imaginary seal of approval.  “Well, if they’re going to redo it, they better have/do (fill in the blank), otherwise…”

Yet no matter what sacred cow is supposedly sacrificed or unwinnable war waged wooing audiences prepped to boo it anyway, a remake should have a visible purpose in clear sight for why a second version makes sense.  For all the guff given Gus Van Sant for meticulously recreating “Psycho,” there is understandable logic behind freshening a 40-year-old classic for eyes interested in a color film with a contemporary cast.  Of course, sour response to the end product suggests the idea was misguided or misfired in hindsight, but it’s harder to argue an impossible comprehension of why an update was attempted in the first place.

Filmmaker Travis Zariwny’s “Cabin Fever” 2016 doesn’t do the full Van Sant by going shot-for-shot, but its nucleus is the same script co-written and then directed by Eli Roth for “Cabin Fever” 2002 (review here).  Initial thoughts wonder if enough significantly changed culturally or advanced technologically in those 14 years to justify reincarnating a film still considered current.  Knowing the script wasn’t rewritten first only compounds those questions.  So what does “Cabin Fever” 2016 aim to achieve that its predecessor did not or could not?

Considering the changes made, Zariwny appears zeroed in on crafting a more mainstream take on Eli Roth’s initial vision.  Not that the first “Cabin Fever” wasn’t late night cable or multiplex-friendly, but Roth put some swagger of freshman fearlessness into his movie, building a bridge between outsider appeal and broader accessibility.

The edge Roth injected into his “Cabin Fever” characters, deemed obnoxious by dissenters, provided enough smarmy charm complimenting gonzo gore that cult classic status was merited for what was a novel movie mood at the time.  Zariwny takes fewer risks to detour around intentional irreverence and careless controversy, perhaps unsure if he could achieve similar results or choosing not to since that path was previously taken.  A side effect of this safer tactic is that so many comedic nuances end up neutered, “Cabin Fever” 2016 isn’t left with a personality standing at the same height as the original.

As the same-script strategy indicates, if you know “Cabin Fever” 2002, you know “Cabin Fever” 2016.  Five friends going for a getaway in the woods end up infected by a flesh-eating virus that has unknowingly poisoned the local yokels’ water supply.  Broad plot points remain unchanged.

The majority of alterations qualify as inconsequential, ranging from dialogue tweaks, e.g. Bert referencing video games such as “GTA V” and “Minecraft,” to Paul running afoul of a country couple’s Peeping Tom accusations outside a trailer instead of a house.  Where the “Cabin Fever” redux runs into trouble is in its new spins on familiar faces, all of which are uneven matchups as to which version has the stronger characterization.

Berkeley skater Justin, memorably portrayed by Eli Roth in 2002, is now Portland hipster Connor.  Both bear the nickname “Grim” and serve the same story function, but actor Timothy G. Zajaros goes for a Matthew McConaughey speech pattern that makes his stoner sleepy when Roth’s was a scene-stealer.  Deputy Winston sees a gender swap that is used only for turning her into a repressed sexpot making advances on Paul.  Louise Linton’s strangely smoky drawl definitely distinguishes this Deputy Winston, but Giuseppe Andrews’ fan favorite performance in the role is unquestionably more fun.

Choosing one version over the other comes down to a personal preference for level of subtlety desired in the disparate depictions.  “Cabin Fever” 2016 takes the youthful energy the cabin-camping quintet had on their first go and exchanges it for calmer characterizations that are subdued to the point of staleness.  Anyone turned off by the college kid vibe of the first film might find these incarnations less irritating, but morphing Bert from a jock-like bro to a geeky Thomas Middleditch lookalike twists his gun-carrying menace into an out of character trait.  Such switches start reading as changes for changes sake without adding context or substance.

What of those unfamiliar with the original who go into this one blind?  In that case, “Cabin Fever” is probably on par with any average Blumhouse or Screen Gems release for straightforward fright fare.  Cinematography is sharp.  Editing is tight.  The entire picture shines bright with the polish of a professional production with enough horrible happenings to keep gorehounds happy.  "Cabin Fever" perhaps puts forth more effort than it needs in places.  Kevin Riepl’s score is well done, though unnecessarily overdramatic for the horror at hand.  His orchestral strains and chanting choirs would make a better accompaniment to an army of terminators laying siege to Los Angeles than to a foot chase between two men in the woods.

“Cabin Fever” is just missing the extra spirit in its step that made the original goofy as well as gory.  Travis Z makes something different using the same script, but turning the sexiness volume this far down highlights exactly what Eli Roth adds to make something “an Eli Roth film.”  And it would take a particular hatred for that Eli Roth brand to find favor for this film’s far more serious style.

NOTE: There is a mid-credits scene.

Review Score:  60

Cabin Fever: Patient Zero Review

Cabin Fever (2002) Review

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