Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever

Directed by: Ti West

Release Date: 2009

First thing's first - where's the cabin? Maybe the title should have been changed but besides this huge omission, I was completely involved with this movie.

It is widely known on the internet horror community that Ti West publicly disowned this movie due to post-production issues with the company. Even though West states the movie isn't his because he wasn't present in post-production, I would have to disagree with him.


I saw House of the Devil this year and I absolutely loved it. The slow boil, tension and anxiety created in every scene and nuance were spectacularly done. While some people may have disliked how slow it was, I appreciated the layers of foundation put upon the audience so that we'd explode at the end. Devil played like a supernatural horror tale like Rosemary's Baby; it was that good.

The sequel to Cabin Fever wasn't as nuanced and slow moving but definitely had a slow boil atmosphere going on throughout.

The opening sequence is animated, which I didn't expect, but was an entertaining and disturbing touch to the film. After this long sequence, Cabin Fever 2 settles into the humdrum high school life for these high school seniors - Alex and John - the morning of prom. John is pining for female best friend, Cassie, and is threatened by boyfriend, Marc to stay away from her. Prom night rolls around, Marc threatens John again, and the school is quarantined. The rest is self-explanatory.

With the opening sequence showing the audience how the contamination occurs through bottled water, all the audience can do is see how the rest of the movie plays out - especially during prom. There's nothing particularly novel about the storytelling of this picture, but the gore, the blood, the way people die, and the references (Evil Dead, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the first movie, and those 80s teen horror movies) make this a decent addition to the horror genre.

There were a significant amount of cringe moments that made me squeamish but I love horror movies, so I barreled through. What particularly worked about this movie was the pacing. West's stamp of the slow boil before all hell breaks lose was present for three quarters of the movie. Just like Devil, the foundation was laid down and then broken - so effective. I was totally grossed out. There was some gnarly moments that I don't want to ruin for others.

I expected the absolute worst when I learned about the sequel to one of my favorite pictures. However, when I finally saw this, I really enjoyed it albeit many other horror fans hating this with a passion. Cabin Fever 2 wasn't amazing or thrilling but the movie provided this horror fan with enough squeals of disgust and surprise throughout. I haven't been that delightfully disgusted since Cabin Fever actually. Especially that scene with Rider Strong and Jordan Ladd's character? The same gross out vibe was present in this movie even though the theme was completely different from the first picture.

My biggest criticism was the tacked on ending. This ending was completely unnecessary and superfluous. You'll see what I mean when and if you watch this movie. But everything else worked for me. 

Overall, give this movie a chance. If you can't watch it halfway through, it's okay. It's not for everyone but I was completely into it.