Cabin Fever Blu-ray

Cabin Fever

 (2002)

Horror | Thriller



Jeff, Karen, Paul, Marcy and Bert embark on a vacation deep into the mountains. With the top down and the music up, they drive to a remote cabin to enjoy their last days of decadence after college. Then somebody gets sick. Karen's skin starts to bubble and burn as something grows inside her, tunneling beneath her flesh. As the others try to save her, they look at one another and realize that any one of them could be next. One by one they turn on each other and the rest of the town... realizing that the disease is the least of their problems.

For more details about Cabin Fever on Blu-ray, see the Cabin Fever Blu-ray Review

Starring: Jordan Ladd, James DeBello, Rider Strong, Joey Kern, Cerina Vincent
Director: Eli Roth

Cabin Fever Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 17Mbps), Cabin Fever sports an inconsistent transfer, but looks far better than I anticipated. Fine object detail never dips into sub-par territory during well-lit daytime scenes, but the second nightfall descends, we’re treated to a noticeable drop in clarity. A veil of film grain still saturates the image during the less detailed shots, leaving the impression the haziness is merely a product of the low-budget source material, though it still affects the proficiency of the presentation. Moving along, the color spectrum demonstrates a push toward yellow and red that becomes more pronounced in the later stages of the film (coinciding with the progressive nature of the subject matter). As a result, the presentation demonstrates a tendency to appear a touch on the drab side, which enhances the dreary nature of the film. Black levels retain adequate depth through the majority of the film, but there are several sequences where contrast exhibits weak shade differentiation, resulting in a loss of shadow detail (such as the campfire scene in the early stages of the film).

If my assessment of the visual presentation sounds underwhelming, let me take this opportunity to make it abundantly clear this is a substantial improvement over the prior DVD release. There are still several issues that plague the high-definition upgrade, but given the budgetary limitations of the source material, they’re easy to forgive.

Cabin Fever Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


Continuing their trend of delivering a lossless 7.1 audio track on the majority of their catalog titles, Lionsgate delivers an upgrade that certainly isn’t worth dying for, but serves up a heaping portion of gore-drenched fun. The proficiency of the audio track never rivals the robust design of an action-oriented production, but if you listen closely to the more subtle effects in the surround mix, you’ll develop a newfound appreciation for the film’s attention to detail. Examples include the sound of a campfire crackling, dried leaves rustling across the ground, or the distinct high-pitched whine of a creaking door. Those are the elements that make their way into the rear sound stage, while the dialogue and more direct aspects of the mix remain focused on the front region. As a result, most of the film has a tendency to rely a bit too heavily on the front speakers, creating an impression that the sound design isn’t fully utilizing every channel. Immersion may not be the track’s strong suit, but it makes up for it in other areas. Clarity is exceptional throughout the majority of the film, including moments when you might not want it to remain so crisp (the sound of flesh peeling away is increasingly morbid with lossless compression). Likewise, the volume balance between the dialogue, music, and effects remains entirely appropriate, without too much weight placed on one single element. All in all, this is a value-added audio presentation.

Cabin Fever Blu-ray, News and Updates

• Cabin Fever Blu-ray for February (Update) - November 24, 2009

Cabin Fever Blu-ray, Forum Discussions

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