Eli Roth co-wrote and directed Cabin Fever, a 2002 American horror comedy movie featuring Rider Strong, Jordan Ladd, James DeBello, Cerina Vincent, Joey Kern, and Giuseppe Andrews. The plot revolves around a group of college grads who rent a lodge in the woods and become infected with a flesh-eating illness. The novel was inspired by a real-life event Roth had while on vacation in Iceland when he suffered a skin illness.
When a hermit walks through the woods, he comes face to face with his dog, who has died of a blood sickness, and the hermit becomes infected. Meanwhile, college students Jeff, Marcy, Paul, Karen, and Bert spend their spring break at a rural cabin. Bert goes out to shoot squirrels but instead shoots the maimed and bloodied hermit. Bert escapes, ignoring the hermit’s pleas, and remains silent about the encounter.
That night, the party gathers around a campfire, where they are joined by Grimm, a kindly vagrant, and his pet dog, Dr. Mambo. Grimm goes with his dog to pack his possessions while it rains. While the group waits for Grimm to return within, the hermit reappears, pleading for assistance. Bert tries to take the group’s automobile while vomiting blood after shutting the door on the sick hermit.
In 1995, while working as a production assistant for Howard Stern’s Private Parts, Eli Roth co-wrote Cabin Fever with a friend and former NYU roommate Randy Pearlstein. Attempts to market the script was initially unsuccessful due to studio perceptions that the horror genre had become unprofitable. In 1996, the picture Scream was released to critical acclaim, prompting studios to rekindle their interest in horror movies.
The film was shot on location in North Carolina for 24 days starting in late 2001. Catawba cabin, an isolated area at Raven Knob Scout Reservation near Mt. Airy, was used to shoot cabin scenes. Cerina Vincent was supposed to reveal her nude buttocks during her sex scene with Rider Strong, according to Roth.
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