Cabin Fever

Lion's Gate Home Entertainment delivers one big wallop of a package for Eli Roth's love-it-or-hate-it splatter epic, Cabin Fever. Forgoing the usual over-hyped two-disc "special" editions out there, this lean one disc delivers the all the bloody goods (and then some) for all of you aficionados in DVD-land. As far as extras go, the first thing you have to mention is the five feature-length audio commentaries. Considering how many companies skimped out and just edited together multiple commentary tracks during this time, you have to respect this disc for throwing it all on the line and including all five -- each of which is immensely entertaining. The madness begins with Roth's solo track, which is a doozy! His commentary is never boring and abounds with Tarantino-like references -- the director comes across as exactly the type of hilarious horror geek that the film's hype made him out to be. It's perfect, then, that he's the moderator for the rest of the tracks, including one with the guys in the cast, another with the girls, one that consists of him and members of the crew, and, finally, one just with Boy Meets World star Rider Strong (who, as the DVD put it, talked so much they had to move him to his own track). Amazingly, none of it feels like filler, and with so many moments of brilliance (Roth's call to his old N.Y.U. film professor is genius), the five tracks add to up hours of entertainment for those brave enough for the task. If you hop on over to the special features, there's more fun waiting for you, starting with a brand-new cut of the film called the Family Version (great for a laugh or two), while the Chick-Vision feature blocks the image whenever something frightening is about to happen -- a neat (albeit throwaway) idea that more or less just adds another silly bonus to the list of features. For those behind-the-scenes lovers out there, head straight to the "Beneath the Skin" documentary. Clocking in at 30 minutes, the featurette contains on-set footage and numerous interviews that show off the relaxed set and detail some of the smaller production elements that weren't covered quite as much in the commentaries (though don't be surprised if there's some overlapping information). The Pancakes special feature shows more of Matthew Helms' outrageous kung fu abilities (further proof that Roth needs to shoot an action flick starring the young blonde one very soon), while the Rotten Fruit section has three segments from the hilarious gore-filled stop-motion series created by Roth and Noah Belson. Technically, picture quality is superb and the disc's 5.1 Dolby Surround track (along with the standard stereo track) is equally fantastic, creating depth in the darkest reaches of the score and atmospheric sound mix. All in all, it's a disc worth shouting about, and one that will keep you busy for a long time to come. Also released in a Limited Edition featuring a holographic slipcover.