As a horror fan with no life, I watch a TON of horror movies. But, like nearly every horror fan, there are some films whose first viewing leaves deep impressions that will last a lifetime. I can remember where I was when I first watched House of Wax (2005), and The Evil Dead. Just to name a few. One film viewing that stuck with me most from my childhood was Cabin Fever. Probably because I watched it in a cabin in the Poconos during a once-in-a-lifetime snowstorm. While I condone little to nothing of what Eli Roth stands for nowadays, both personally and professionally, I cannot discount the effect his films had on me and my love of horror. Now, if we want to talk about a film I have apparently watched before and have zero recollection of? That would be Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever.

What Is Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever About?

John (Noah Segan) and Alex (Rusty Kelley) are two outcasts who find themselves on the short end of abuse from bullies and teachers alike. As prom approaches, the two friends have little hope for dates and are nearly resigned to spending the evening alone. The only chance John has for a date is his childhood crush, Cassie (Alexi Wasser), who is dating John’s biggest bully. After a series of events, catalyzed by Paul (Rider Strong) polluting a local water source, the kids of Springfield High are exposed to Paul’s deadly disease. One by one, the kids start infecting one another, leading to a prom that is bound to be bloodier than Carrie.

With a story from Randy Pearlstein and Ti West, a screenplay by Joshua Malkin, and directed by Alan Smithee (Ti West), Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever is truly a sight to behold. Many parts of Cabin Fever 2 feel retconned to justify its connection to its predecessor. While other parts of it work deliciously within the Cabin Fever universe. It’s no coincidence that Ti West fought tooth and nail to get his name removed from this project. In fact, this might be the first Alan Smithee film I’ve covered for Horror Press (hell, maybe in general). Copious reshoots from producers turned Ti West’s vision into this slapdash product that feels tonally unsure of what the hell it is–Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever is a goopy Frankenstein that exists in a better form on a cutting room floor somewhere…potentially lost to time forever.

Cabin Fever 2’s Biggest Problem is the Pacing

Most likely due to producer reshoots, one of the biggest sins of Cabin Fever 2 (and a general sin for film) is its pacing. CF2’s pacing starts like the final few minutes of a meth comedown, before slowly plateauing into meth fiending. Halfway through the film, brought to you by a great Patrick Hernandez “Born to be Alive” needle drop, we get our hands back on some meth. But that meth is stepped on and cut with something because the film goes completely off the rails. In both entertaining and excruciating ways.

After a solid Deputy Winston (Giuseppe Andrews) cold open, we’re given these gorgeous animated opening credits. These credits follow the source of Paul’s spread of the disease into a local water source, all the way through the bottling process, and ending in a bottle of water that’s delivered to Springfield High. And that’s when the film stops being remotely interesting.

Noah Segan Does His Best with a Bad Script

I’ve been a huge fan of Noah Segan for a long time. From Dead Girl and Scare Package, through The Pale Door and Blood Relatives, Noah Segan has always delivered for me. But even early-career Segan has a difficult time working through this awful dialogue that seems written on shoot day. Sure, Segan delivers the goods, but at what cost? His only remotely interesting early scenes exist between him and Cassie, and even those scenes only do so much to keep the viewer’s eyes glued to the screen. As the film goes on, and the action picks up, Segan finds his footing. Only it’s too little too late at that point.

But what’s a Cabin Fever film without skin-rippingly grotesque gore? The original film succeeded with crafting interesting (enough) characters that kept you enthralled until the crap finally hits the fan. Joshua Malkin’s script decides to throw all of that out of the window for whatever reason. Most of the character motivation from the first film is, indeed, sex. And there’s nothing wrong with having sex be a character’s motivating factor. But if those characters fail to be interesting in any way, shape, or form, then that’s where you have a product that will fall more flat than the skin of a degloved arm.

Ti West’s Visual Fingerprints and Where They Break Down

It’s somewhat hard to tell what was created by Ti West and what was crafted by producers, even if there is a slight tell. Many of the scenes have a distinct aspect ratio that feels very West-y. And that visual feel is kept through the entirety of the film, but with one distinct difference. Ti West has a very distinct shooting style that has carried through his entire career (except for you, MaXXXine). You can feel when the style is substantive and purposeful versus when a producer came in and was pigeonholed into shooting like that to keep visual continuity. The film’s visual tone becomes an overall detractor because, again, while it all looks the same, you can feel when it’s intended and when it’s done because they had to.

Is Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever Worth Watching?

Overall, Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever is a mess of a film. There are a handful of really great scenes of gore and violence, though it’s far from enough to make this product worthwhile. And screw the producers for not letting Ti West remove his name from this film. Even though my idol Larry Fessenden is in this film, I don’t think it’s worth a rewatch ever again. If you haven’t seen it, I don’t think I can even recommend it unless you’re a Ti West completionist. At least it’s better than Cabin Fever Patient Zero.

If you’re at the intersection of video games and horror, then you know not all video game film adaptations are created equally. For every Silent Hill (2006), Werewolves Within, or Detention (2019), there is a lot of heartbreak and titles we’re still trying to forget. Which is why, when Kotake Create’s beloved Exit 8 video game was tapped to become a film, we held our collective breath. How would this quick psychological nightmare transfer to a feature-length film? Would the filmmaker chosen understand the assignment? Luckily, the movie works overall, and horror and game nerds have another title in the win column. 

In Case You Missed It

Exit 8 puts gamers into the shoes of an unseen protagonist who is stuck in a subway station. Players soon realize that this location is not what it seems. They are also tasked with spotting anomalies in hopes of making it to the eighth level and (hopefully) back to the real world. Some of the anomalies are subtle, some are anxiety-inducing, and some leave you wanting to scream WTF? However, the game is a pretty quick introduction to liminal spaces and self-gaslighting. 

The film, written by Kentaro Hirase and Genki Kawamura, understands what made the game effective. They even keep and elevate some of the anomalies that were my personal favorites. The duo also builds three very distinct characters to keep us from sitting for 95 minutes of vibes.

Walking Man (Yamato Kochi) is not just the creepy guy making circles in this hallway with us in the film. He gets a full arc in his chapter that informs us he was a human who panicked and made the wrong choice. He is now doomed to spend eternity here as part of others’ nightmarish quests. While all of the performances are great, Kochi brings a humanity and sadness to the role that was unexpected. He finds ways of using his character’s repetitive nature as a way to add subtle layers. This makes the shift into his chapter feel more alive, frantic, and heartbreaking. We know this journey isn’t going to end well for him, but it’s hard not to fully invest and feel that heartbreak anyway. 

It’s Not All Great at Exit 8

Exit 8 plays with us in the beginning before shifting from first-person perspective to reveal our protagonist will be Lost Man (Kazunari Ninomiya). He and his girlfriend are having a moment when he ends up in this subway station on a loop. Their phone conversation reveals she’s pregnant, so Lost Man is having a bad day before getting stuck in liminal limbo. This, on its own, is fine. However, after a lot of laps, he meets The Boy (Naru Asanuma) and discovers he is not an anomaly.

The Boy ties Lost Man and Walking Man’s stories together. He tries to assist both of them on their journeys while being too afraid to speak for most of his screentime. Again, all of the performances are great, but a kid killing it with a mostly silent role is highly impressive. His relationship with these two broken and frightened men is believable and palpable. He and Lost Man specifically bond and form a lovely duo that, unfortunately, underscores the pregnant girlfriend to lead to a very pro-life message.

Exit 8’s Politics Derail the Horror

Kawamura directed the hell out of Exit 8, and it’s a good time. However, it’s hard to wash away the very heavy swerve into pro-life territory in 2026. Especially as a person with ovaries who lives in a country that doesn’t want me to have autonomy. Horror is political, and this game has so many things that could have been expanded on. The insertion of an anti-choice layer into a film centered on three male characters (at three very different stages of life) is wild. I personally hated it because, aside from that, it does capture the vibes of the game. It feels like watching someone piss in the lemonade on a hot summer day.