While at the World Premiere of "Freddy vs. Jason," I had the chance to speak with "Cabin Fever's" writer/director, Eli Roth. And frankly speaking, it would be tough to find a director who's a more enthusiatic promoter than Roth.
"Cabin Fever" follows five friends - Jeff, Karen, Paul, Marcy and Bert - as they embark on a vacation deep into the mountains. Things turn ugly when Karen suddenly gets sick. Her skin starts to bubble and burn as something grows inside her. The group is so repulsed watching their friend deteriorate before their eyes, they lock her in a shed to avoid infection. As they debate about how to save her, they realize that any one of them could also have it.
WRITER/DIRECTOR ELI ROTH
How do you describe "Cabin Fever?"
"Cabin Fever" is this unbelievably disgusting, violent, sick, horror movie. It's a throwback to the good old days of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and John Carpenter's "The Thing" and "Halloween." It's going to be the sickest, most violent, disgusting, scariest thing anyone has seen in the movies in years.
Isn't there a flesh-eating virus involved?
It's got a bacteria that's going through these kids and making them go crazy, sort of like a twist on the old zombie movies. But that's kind of only the tip of the iceberg. There's so much stuff in the movie that's so much more disgusting that I can't reveal because I don't want to give away the surprises.
What's it rated?
It's rated R, which is shocking. A lot of other directors are very jealous that I got an R rating.
How do you feel about "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" coming out around the same time as "Cabin Fever?"
I hope it's great. I can't wait to see it.
Do you feel any rivalry?
"Chainsaw" is opening five weeks after me so I'm not too worried about it. I think it's a different type of movie. "Chainsaw” is a remake of one of the greatest horror movies ever made and my film is an original horror movie. I think there is definitely room for both of them in the market place. The better the horror films are, the better it is for horror in general. "House of 1000 Corpses” is doing well, same with "28 Days Later," which is good for "Cabin Fever." There's room for everybody.
One of your stars - Joey Kern - was telling me he got hurt a lot making this movie.
We really beat the crap out of Joey. We sent Joey Kern to the hospital four times with injuries to the same eye - all with different injuries. The kid's a klutz, what can I tell you? You can either take it or you can't (laughing). No, Joey was great. It was awful [for him]. We were smashing things and lighting people on fire. We really put them through the ringer. The more we hurt him, the more he loved it. So we're like, "Alright, if he's coming back for more, we'll beat the crap out of him."
What can audiences expect from "Cabin Fever?"
They will come out of it saying, "That is the most craziest, wildest experience I've had in the movies in years." It will be like getting on a roller coaster, or going on a fun house ride where you are laughing one second and you're screaming and throwing up. People forget that horror movies are the best date movies. Every five seconds you get the chance to grab her hand, put your hand on his knee... If you can't get laid after seeing "Cabin Fever," you are pathetic. Mobs and mobs of people will go see this movie and there will just be like huge orgies breaking out in the theater. That is what I expect. I will not be happy unless that happens.
Will you be held responsible for that?
Yes, that's what I want. I expect "Cabin Fever" babies like a year from now.
Will there be a sequel?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We are working on that right now.
How did the shoot go?
Filming was a blast. Actually, it was a nightmare. It was a difficult movie to make. Everyone was covered in blood and guts, and the humidity... Everyone was covered in blood all the time. There was a lot of blood.
How much blood did you use?
Oh, lots of blood. We lost track. I mean after day 4, we had 30 gallons of blood on the first couple of days. We had so many of those water bottles just filled with blood, we went through them right away.
What was your favorite scene to film?
There's one particular scene with a nasty shaving incident that was so disgusting and unbelievably sick - but I can't say anything more. It was so gross; it was so much fun to do.
