NEW BLOOD: CABIN FEVER (2016)

CABIN FEVER
IFC Midnight
2016 Color
99 Mins.
Horror/Thriller
Gage Golightly, Matthew Daddario, Samuel Davis, Nadine Crocker, Dustin Ingram, Randy Schulman, George Griffith, Aaron Trainor and Louise Linton star.
Written by Randy Pearlstein and Eli Roth
Directed by Travis Zariwny
N/R contains language, violence, gore, sexuality, nudity and drug use.

I know many of you believe that remakes are sacrilegious. And In most cases they are not merited or wanted by any means. In this case however although I'm a big fan of the original you won't find anyone calling it a perfect film. It's an odd smorgasbord at best with a winking eye and a biting sense of mean humor throughout. So being that we are living in a time filled with remakes, reboots and a whole bunch of unnecessary sequels this film wasn't really a surprise. The only real surprise here is how friggin entertaining the results are.Using the exact same script with a different cast and a different film maker. It's interesting to see how the material is reinterpreted and how the characters and dialogue are played from different angles. The setup is the same, a group of friends find themselves in a rut when they find themselves infected with a gory flesh eating virus that's highly contagious. The results although similar feel completely different, fresh and fun. One of my favorite changes, gender switches the role of the wacky deputy with even more hilarious results.

 It's especially great if you're a fan of the original to see how things unfold. There's plenty of sexy eye candy in the film Matthew Daddario and Samuel Davis are especially impressive. 

And the gore is even more impressive this time around taking all of those crazy scenes just a step further check out some fantastically gooey examples below.

 What's lacking is Roth's signature sublime sense of wicked cinephile hysteria. But some impressive cinematography and acute directorial touches make the proceedings feel surprising and immersive. It's no doubt that the original is just more original and made it's unforgettable imprint on the genre but the remake works as a kick ass companion piece that makes everything just a little better. ****.25/5