I try my best to not have the same movie reviewed multiple times on the site. With only a few duplicates out of over 240 reviews, I’d say I’m doing a pretty good job of that. Sometimes, however, it is certainly worth it, in my opinion, to get different views on a specific title. If you read Roger’s review of the film, you’d know he wasn’t a big fan of Kaare Andrews’ installment in what has now become a franchise, Cabin Fever: Patient Zero. I, on the other hand, actually enjoyed quite a bit of it and think it turned out wayyyyy better than its predecessor, even if it couldn’t quite reach the greatness of Eli Roth’s original.
Synopsis:
When a group of friends enjoying a bachelor cruise in the Caribbean stumble upon a research facility on a remote island, a deadly virus is unleashed. The group must find a way to survive before the flesh-eating virus consumes them all.
I felt that Patient Zero started off very strong. We are introduced to a new twist on the outbreak story and have, what seems like, two different story arcs happening simultaneously. Sean Astin’s character, known as Porter, is captured by a research team looking for the vaccine using his immune-to-the-virus blood. While he is trapped like a rat, we see our new young friends enjoying a bachelor party on a remote island, where they are exposed to a bunch of dead fish and a ton of other rotting stuff.
Once the group is exposed to the virus, the gory stuff picks up rather quickly. This is where it all seemed to be going so well, at least for me any way. I thought Andrews and writer, Jake Wade Wall, did a great job at capturing the mood and atmosphere of the first film, while still remaining somewhat original. There is an insanely bloody scene where Josh (Brando Eaton) is performing… um… cunnilingus on his girlfriend and comes up with a face covered in gore. On top of that, Penny (Jillian Murray) vomits blood all over him. To me, this was a similar “woah” moment to the bloody shaving legs scene in Roth’s 2002 Cabin Fever.
While there were a bunch of things I enjoyed about Cabin Fever: Patient Zero, there were also some scenes that kind of made the film take a step back from where it could have landed. One overly silly scene that I want to use as an example is when they have Penny and one of the infected doctors slugging it out. I’m not sure why the girls were even fighting, but it was ridiculous to see two rotting people rolling around, ripping each other’s skin off. What the hell is the point of that!?
Roger hated it, but I think it had its moments. If you’re a fan of the series and want to see the third installment for yourself, be sure to pick up a copy on DVD and Blu-Ray, available now from RLJ Entertainment.
I give Cabin Fever Patient Zero 2.5 big black dildos out of 5.
