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Wearing its B-movie pedigree proudly on its dilapidated sleeve, "Cabin Fever" doesn't concern itself with Wes Craven-like reinvention, but rather focuses its endless energy on paying homage to the horror genre's most infamous cliches. The story is fairly simple: five college kids (Rider Strong, Jordan Ladd, Joey Kern, Cerina Vincent, and James DeBello) head out to the woods for a week-long getaway in a remote log cabin. The nearby town locals are, of course, a handful of headcases who represent all manner of ominous signs that our group of friends completely ignore; once at the cabin, two hop off to have gratuitous sex (you knew it was coming), two go for a dip in the lake, and the other trods off to shoot squirrels. Their fun comes to a standstill after their encounter with a horribly-diseased man infested with a quick-acting, flesh-eating virus; soon enough, one by one, they begin to catch the sickness themselves, leading to all sorts of stomach-churning moments and mayhem of surprising sophistication. ***

Not that there's really anything sophisticated about director Eli Roth's feature debut, which adheres to the reputation of bygone horror films in such a way that I'm left to wonder if Tobe Hooper, the director of the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," would have any reason to disapprove. It's pure crap, to be sure, but much like this year's earlier debacle, "Darkness Falls," it does manage to serve up a sufficient shock quotient and some effective suspense, mainly generated by the anticipation of the effects department's next gooey gore trick. Buckets of blood abide here, and lots of graphic violence make it quite jarring in places, but if you're like me, you'll see beneath that Roth tipping his hat to these genre norms. He's not so much exploiting them here as he is proving their vitality, made all the more evident by his genius inclusion of some solid humor throughout the picture. It's not a great movie, and it tends to wear out its welcome in the final moments, but for what it's worth, "Cabin Fever" is worth catching, provided you've had your shots.

The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer for "Cabin Fever," like the movie, is good, gory fun for its entire. A robust-looking display of bloodshed, with excellent color saturation that focuses special attention to reds and bodily fluid hues, this one features great saturation and fidelity, with spot-on fleshtones and rich, solid blacks throughout. Contrast and shadow detail are terrific, especially during the nighttime scenes and moments inside the cabin. And clarity looks just great, with sharp edges that feature some slight enhancement halos in exterior daytime sequences. The source print is clean and supreme, with very minor film grain and no speckle or scratches. A spooky good time, this transfer does not disappoint when it comes to the good stuff. ***

Then we have the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track, which is your pretty typical horror movie mix that places special emphasis on the more intense moments, and sounds decent in regards to the more reserved elements. Dialogue and atmospherics (forest animals, birds, weather) sound natural, the former centered perfectly, the latter imaged throughout the soundfield to make great use of the surround channels. Nathan Barr's brooding score fills out the rears nicely, and the .1 LFE adds some much-appreciated zip and punch to those "jump" moments that are so much fun. Overall aggressiveness is in fine form, and overall, this tracks gets the job done with excellent results.

And I thought that "The Lord of the Rings" extended version DVDs had a lot of commentaries! After sitting through five different audio commentary tracks for "Cabin Fever," I can honestly say I never want to hear the voice of writer/director Eli Roth ever again! Not that he's not an engaging conversationalist by any means: in fact, it is his own personal track that earns the most kudos from this corner. In it, he talks a great deal about his movie, the inspiration it drew from movies like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Evil Dead," and the process of bringing it to the screen. His discussion of his own personal fascination with the horror genre, which began after seeing "Alien" and later "puking [his] guts up" over it, is also quite interesting, and cements his reputation as a pure-bred gorehound. If you must listen to one commentary on this disc, this is it. ***

And I thought that "The Lord of the Rings" extended version DVDs had a lot of commentaries! After sitting through five different audio commentary tracks for "Cabin Fever," I can honestly say I never want to hear the voice of writer/director Eli Roth ever again! Not that he's not an engaging conversationalist by any means: in fact, it is his own personal track that earns the most kudos from this corner. In it, he talks a great deal about his movie, the inspiration it drew from movies like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Evil Dead," and the process of bringing it to the screen. His discussion of his own personal fascination with the horror genre, which began after seeing "Alien" and later "puking [his] guts up" over it, is also quite interesting, and cements his reputation as a pure-bred gorehound. If you must listen to one commentary on this disc, this is it. ***

But if you must go further, you have four other options to choose from, all of which are moderated by Roth as well. In one track, he carries on with male cast members Joey Kern and James DeBello; in another, he talks with female cast members Jordan Ladd and Cerina Vincent. It should also be noted that his track with Rider Strong carries a humorous footnote in the menu. Overall, these tracks do look back on the production, and while they're not as involving as the director-only track, they're better than those you might find on the DVD for a movie like "American Wedding." The last commentary features Roth with producer Lauren Moews and cinematographer Scott Kevan, and this one is pretty technical throughout, which is a good thing. But if you must go further, you have four other options to choose from, all of which are moderated by Roth as well. In one track, he carries on with male cast members Joey Kern and James DeBello; in another, he talks with female cast members Jordan Ladd and Cerina Vincent. It should also be noted that his track with Rider Strong carries a humorous footnote in the menu. Overall, these tracks do look back on the production, and while they're not as involving as the director-only track, they're better than those you might find on the DVD for a movie like "American Wedding." The last commentary features Roth with producer Lauren Moews and cinematographer Scott Kevan, and this one is pretty technical throughout, which is a good thing.