John’s Horror Corner: Cabin Fever 2 (2009)

MY CALL:  An unserious throwback to the original, this sequel was way more fun than expected!  Gore hounds will be super-pleased!  IF YOU LIKE THIS WATCH:  Cabin Fever (2002), of course it should probably be seen first…okay, it really doesn’t matter.  But true lovers of hilariously gory overkill should also hit Evil Dead (2013), The Cabin in the Woods (2012), Final Destination 5 (2011), Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010), Drag Me to Hell (2009), and of course Evil Dead 2 (1987) and The Evil Dead (1981).

You’ve gotta’ love it when sequels offer continuity.  In this case, part 2 picks up right where part 1 left off.  Our last victim to evidently not-quite-die (Rider Strong; Cabin Fever, Pulse 3) crawling from the reservoir from part 1, now literally falling apart from the virus, runs through the woods for help until he finds a road and is liqui-splattered by a school bus.

Sometimes liquid-splattered really is the best word.

In the next 20 minutes of this movie we learn three things:

1)  The first lines of dialogue reveal the acting quality with painful reality.  It’s as if it’s intentionally terrible.  As if part 1 was Oscar-worthy, right?  But, I have to admit, part 1 did feature better acting than we deserved for a movie that relied on slowly wasting away from a flesh-eating virus in an otherwise overly simple Cabin in the Woods premise.

2)  The effects and gore are not exactly indicative of a good budget. But the effort is clearly there and, for the money, they do a fine job with latex wounds and gallons of red liquefied human innards.  Much to my surprise, it’s really quite good.  They did a great job!

3)  The opening (and closing) credits feature a cute cartoon which spoon-feeds us the plot of this sequel.  That reservoir with the infected bodies feeds into a bottled water plant which recently sent a large shipment to the high school destination of the fateful bus in the opening sequence–the one that liqui-splattered Rider Strong.  It’s all fun and comical, and the tone never seems to get very serious–not even when we are met with nudity and a sloppy high school make-out scene during which the misogynist Alex gets a blowjob from a chick with a deadly cold sore.

See it?  Lower right.  Ouch!

What do these three things tell us?
This movie is gonna’ be a lot of laughs!

Moving on, John (Noah Segan; Deadgirl, Chain Letter) likes Cassie (Alexi Wasser; Growth, The Last Lovecraft) and, after some dreadful acting, John tries to secure a date for the prom.  Then there’s a little montage of prom prep.  To the lively tune of Born to be Alive we grinningly endure needless nudity, struggles with bowties, group photos of “the gang,” some Ferris Bueller peer pressure, and getting pumped up.  But when the locally bottled water is used for the prom punch we know we’re in for some real fun.  Returning from part 1, the local likably idiotic deputy (Giuseppe Andrews; 2001 Maniacs, Cabin Fever) adds to the sublime foolishness of the big picture.

Think she’ll say yes?

Director Ti West (V/H/S, The Innkeepers) shows us how much he loves tandem gore-spewing and how much he resents prom.  We have STD-induced penis issues, a viral prom miscarriage, some melting flesh, vomit to the face, all sorts of gore variety, and a prom staple first-time gone wrong.

They used to be alive.

He used to have two attached hands.

That used to be a face.

You can’t go wrong with Cabin Fever 2!