Cabin Fever (2003/Lionsgate Blu-ray)

 

Picture: B-     Sound: B     Extras: D     Film: D

 

 

Before making himself a hack for life with the Hostel films, Eli Roth made the intentionally dumb Cabin Fever (2003) and it did get a following of sorts and did some business in its time.  As a straight-to-video sequel arrives, Lionsgate has issued the original film on Blu-ray and it was never good, but has not aged well either.  A flesh-eating virus (no Tylenol jokes) attacks a group of teen campers (a change from the usual serial killers) and drives them nuts in the process.

 

Then the unknown cast of actors slowly fall one by one.  That is boring and the script tries to be a throwback to such films of the 1970s, but it also wants to be hip.  Maybe if it tried to be more original, the laughs would even work more often and this would hold up.  However, it is not that good and that it took seven years to even consider a sequel is just Lionsgate cashing in.  At least there is no killer for audiences to root for, but Roth changed that in his later films.  This is amateur hour otherwise.

 

The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image is grainier than expected versus the 35mm print I remember seeing upon first release, though the digital CG effects were always bad.  Director of Photography Scott Kevan (remakes of Fame (did not work) and Death Race (worked more often than not)) does give this a decent look as shot in Super 35mm format, but the digital effects are dated on arrival and editing can be off at times.  This should have looked better, but this is likely an older HD master.  The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 7.1 lossless mix is not bad, but still manages to overly stretch out what was not a bad 5.1 mix at the time, though the limited budget led to flaws and limits in the recording you can hear in this upgrade.  Angelo Badalamenti of all people co-scored the film with Nathan Barr.

 

Extras include two shorts by Roth, feature-length audio commentary tracks by Roth and cast members, “family friendly” version, trailer, stills and a making of featurette.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo