Cabin Fever review

A group of high school kids go for a weekend in the forest but their trip is severely blighted when a killer virus starts to take them apart one by one. The premise of Eli Roth's debut film may seem somewhat uninspiring, but thanks to a zippy script, full of frequent laughs, Cabin Fever defies our expectations and is one of the most entertaining horror films of the year.

There seems to be a thankful trend away from the Scream or I Know What You Did Last Summer trend of horror film which has plagued Hollywood for several years. Along with this year's earlier release, the enjoyable Wrong Turn, Cabin Fever is part homage to the wild 70s horror style of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Both films also have a far more intelligent script than the typical current horror fare. When our five excitable teens turn up in an out of the way town on they way to their weekend hideaway, we meet the usual predictable retinue of toothless mountain men. Roth is smart enough to upset the normal chain of events by making the mountain men actually pretty savvy, with a genuinely-founded dislike for the out-of-towners.

The teens, well played by a cast of newcomers, have more important things to worry about however. No sooner have they settled in, than they are rudely interrupted by a blood-covered lunatic, whom they have no regrets about beating into a pulp and leaving for dead. However, instead of being a murderer on the run, their victim turns out to be suffering from a highly contagious disease which will strip them of their skin in a few short hours.

This is all largely portrayed with a great sense of humour, so that the horror is both shocking and amusing. The kids themselves are given some smart lines, and enough surreal characters turn up at frequent intervals to make it very enjoyable.

While it's not hard to spot the influences, it's also simply pleasing to see a film which is well-made and has an in-built sense of humour check. It goes along nicely as far as pace is concerned, with the audience reaction likely to veer widely from laughter to screams. Be warned however, if you are no fan of blood, then this may not be for you: Cabin Fever is one of the goriest 15 certificates you are likely to see.