“PANCAKES!”
Since Eli Roth has spent the past fifteen years spewing the
most purile, amateurishly cringe-worthy dialogue set to screen, choosing a
headlining quote for this episode was no easy feat. Also, the preceding
statement is a prime example of the direction B-Movie Bonanza has taken
over the the past few years. When I started the blog back in 2014, I swore I
wouldn’t make a mockery of the films I commentate. I repeatedly promised that
this wasn’t meant to be another RiffTrax, but my way of spreading the
love for these, my favorite celluloid gems. I promised I wouldn’t nitpick or
obnoxiously make mention of plotholes. That I would only share stories of how
the movies enriched my life and made those teenage years locked in my bedroom a
little more tolerable. Somehow, things veered slightly off-course.
While I wouldn’t say I’ve been ripping the movies to shreds,
I have been having a little more fun with them than I’d originally
intended. I’ve addressed senseless subplots, poor acting, redundant storylines,
and certain companies who’ve spent years slapping together movies comprised
primarily of stock footage, not to mention laughing my ass off at my own
less-than-clever quips.
With Cabin Fever, I couldn’t resist poking fun at the
unseasoned writing style of Mr. Eli Roth. But come on. When you consistently
pen characters who walk around rolling their eyes and remarking on how “gay”
everything is, you’re making yourself a prime target for negative criticism and
ridicule. I also do a fair amount of analyzing (sometimes over-analyzing)
elements of the highly debatable plot. Doing these little commentaries has
truly made me look at the films in an entirely different way and I often find
myself peeling back layer after layer, thinking aloud as I try to discern the
characters’ motivations, a truly pointless endeavor when it comes to movies
like Cabin Fever. That said, I hope you have as much fun listening to me
dissect one of the best so-ridiculously-bad-it’s-good movies of the early ‘00s
as I did recording this episode.
Please note: it’s imperative that you use the director’s cut
Blu ray edition if you’d like to watch along. The original DVD released by
Lions Gate will ruin the experience, and what an experience it is listening to
me ramble on for 1:37:47 about these cookie-cutter characters and the giant
brick of Swiss cheese Roth calls a plot.
