Hey guys! Horrorella here...
Welcome to the weirdest remake news you'll probably hear this week. Apparently filming is starting on an update to Eli Roth's CABIN FEVER.
Um...what?
Bloody Disgusting broke the rumor back in April, and Deadline confirmed today that production is getting underway this week in Oregon.
The film will follow the original script, written by Eli Roth and Randy Pearlstein. Roth will be supervising the project as executive producer, and Travis Zariwny will be stepping into the director's chair. Gage Golightly (TEEN WOLF), Dustin Ingram (PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3), Samuel Davis (MACHETE KILLS), Matthew Daddario (DELIVERY MAN) and Nadine Crocker (SOME GUY WHO KILLS PEOPLE) will star in the film.
The story follows a group of college students who head out for a party week at a cabin in the woods, only to succomb to the effects of a deadly flesh-eating virus. It's a wicked piece of body horror, with plenty of cringe-worthy moments as the characters begin rotting from the inside out. The original was followed by a couple of direct to DVD sequels - neither were terribly well-received.
While remakes aren't always good news, sometimes a story can benefit from an updated version, allowing it to speak to the current generation or perhaps even correcting flaws present in the previous version. But CABIN FEVER doesn't really fit into either of those categories. The original film was only released in 2002 and still feels very contemporary. And yes, being Roth's first feature, there are elements in it that feel like those of a first-time filmmaker, but those are also pieces that give the original so much character (I don't care what anybody says, I will love the "Pancakes" scene until the day I die).
A remake at this point seems a little odd - especially one that will be working directly from Roth's original script. What's the point in all of this? What will a new version bring to the story?
But Roth himself seems to have faith, and is excited about the project. Particularly, bringing Zariwny into the fold.
“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.
What do you guys think? Are you on board with a new CABIN FEVER this early in the game? If so, what would you change in this new version?
