Eli Roth’s original Cabin Fever is only twelve years old. I remember going to the cinema to see it and being bowled over by its repugnant gore and frank nudity; it possessed all the key elements required to become a truly great horror classic. While there’s no definite time span one can use to determine the transformation from ‘awesome new gorefest’ to ‘cult horror fave,’ isn’t twelve years a bit too soon?
Apparently not. Today, Armory Films, Cassian Elwes, and Contend announced their plans to remake Roth’s body horror. This reboot-remake will be shot “from the exact same script that Roth directed 13 years ago, as opposed to going through a long, delayed studio development process.” Heading up production is Evan Astrowsky (who also produced the original film), Chris Lemole and Tim Zajaros.
Travis Zariwny (Intruder) will be keeping the director’s chair warm this time around with Roth on board to executive produce with Ike Suri, Jaclyn Ann Suri, and Peter Fruchtman. In fact, Eli seems pretty jazzed about the idea of someone else re-appropriating his material:
“Travis had an amazing vision for my original script, and as a scary movie fan I really wanted to see it. I almost see this like re-staging a play, and I’m excited to see what ideas Travis and the cast bring to it. They’re all fans of the original and want to make a film that’s a new classic, and I believe they will,” said Roth in a press release.
That’s a positive angle that I applaud wholeheartedly. I wonder if Hitchcock would have slapped Gus Van Sant on the back and offered him a cigar if he’d been alive when his pointless shot-for-shot remake of Psycho emerged. It’s strange to conceive of a remake-reboot that’s equally as unnecessary as the Van Sant atrocity. Cabin Fever continues to pack the same recoiling horror in repeat viewings, so why bother? Still, if Roth’s excited, then so am I.