Day 17: Cabin Fever

Cabin Fever (2002)

And returning us back to the mindless idiocy of wasted youth and bizarre hick villains, is Eli Roth.  The easy way to approach this is that nothing is sacred, and he will gleefully use all the grossness and gore to make sure you get what you paid for, or curl into a hateful ball of offendedness.

He's really good at it, too. It's like Troma grew up and looked for just enough legitimacy to not be underground, but like hell it's going to be mature about flesh eating diseases.

This is also another parable about mixing drugs and booze with camping in a place where most people would choose to sacrifice the deposit on the cabin and go back to town. Like horror films are the new Aesop.  The Diseased Guy and the Douchebag.

I really want to hate this film, but something about it keeps me away from the remote control. Maybe it's because the Douchebag deserves what he gets, and much faster than we all see in real life.  Maybe it's because the women aren't totally useless, despite the obvious T&A emphasis that happens when they're on screen.

But it's all a bit genius.The characterisations, the cinematography, the soundtrack choices, the random flashes of past and future during transitions... Eli Roth isn't stupid.  He still grosses me out from time to time, but I think that's important. I'm not so jaded as to laugh it off.  Like the adage goes, if you're not offended, you're not paying attention.

Would I watch it again? Yes, but not regularly.
Would I own it? Yes.