10 Best Body Horrors That Make You Squirm

4. Cabin Fever

Cabin Fever
Lionsgate

Cabin Fever is the movie that put director Eli Roth on the horror map.

That 2002 release was an idea that Roth had been developing as far back as 1996, and it was his first major motion picture - following in the footsteps of the fun, erratic, oft-offensive Rotten Fruit web shorts.

By the time of Cabin Fever's release, the horror genre was swamped with J-horror features or English language remakes of such films. As such, Roth's picture felt fresh and truly different to so much of what else was out there for horror hounds.

When it comes to body horror offerings, it's easy for a movie to go too far with some of its gore and visuals. Likewise, there has to be a decent amount of such grotesqueness on display in these films. With Cabin Fever, Eli Roth got that balance absolutely perfect, as he juggled an engaging, entertaining story, with some fun comedy moments, and with some stomach-turning scenes.

In particular, a bathtub shaving scene is just as wince-inducing today as it was upon first viewing the movie nearly two decades ago.

Of course, Roth would follow Cabin Fever up with an even more grotesque beast in the shape of his twisted torture porn effort, Hostel.

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Senior Writer
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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.