This is a film that didn’t need to be made as it brought nothing new to the table. First off rebooting a franchise that’s only fourteen years old seems more that little ridiculous. Coupling that with the fact that this remake uses the same script, just edited down slightly and tweaked to add some current pop culture references, I don’t get why this film was even green lit in the first place. One word can sum up all of this film, unneeded. As that’s what this is film is, completely unneeded. Having somehow kept all the awful aspects of the original and none of the charm.
As this remake is an exact copy of the original, names and all. So I’m not sure how to cover this. Basically look at my review for the first cabin fever. Which goes kids go to a secluded cabin for spring break, meet sick Hermit, everyone gets sick and substitute the actors names, Paul (Samuel Davis), Karen (Gage Golightly), Jeff (Matthew Daddario), Marcy (Nadine Crocker), Bert (Dustin Ingram), Henry (Randy Schulman), and Deputy Wilson (Louise Linton).
The fact that this is an exact rehashing made this film very hard to get through for me. This might be because the original was still so fresh in my memory, but I think that other than the production value. Nothing was handled any better. The characters are still unlikable and stupid. Just this time around these no camp humor to fall back on, making the film a bleaker viewing experience.
The removal of the old man at the general store seemed odd given that as far as I can tell, he’s regarded as the best character by just about everyone that’s seen in that I’ve talked to. Beyond his complete removal the other changes are completely cosmetic. The couple that chases of one of the kids when they are looking for help because of peeping have had the genders flipped and more notably as far as gender reversal goes is Deputy Wilson is now played by a woman.
While on the topic of Deputy Wilson, while Louise Linton isn’t as memorable as Giuseppe Andrews. She’s still the best performance in this film. Not that she had any real competition. Her Wilson comes off as less inept and far more predatory than Giuseppe’s did and might be the second best thing about this remake.
The best being the production in the gore effects. which, while never chilling or unsettling are remarkably well done. Dr. Mambo in particular took on a much more gruesome appearance and actually looks sick this time around. The bathtub scene also gets redone though here it feels like they tried to push the bounds of the last film and it comes of feeling cheap.
Final thoughts, beyond passable. I can’t think of a single thing, other than Louise Linton and the effects, that would cause me to recommend this film. At least never over the original in any case. Where the first film had a lot of heart and some decent vision, all of that feels lost here and what’s left is a pretty hollow shell of a film that wasn’t all the great to begin with. 3/10
horrorfunatic 