10 Body Horror Movies That Went Too Far

3. Cabin Fever

Cabin Fever
Lionsgate Films

Eww, eww, eww, eww!

That's pretty much the common reaction to a first watch of Eli Roth's directorial feature debut, Cabin Fever.

Inspired by a real-life infection Roth picked up during a trip to Iceland, this 2002 effort centres on a group of college kids who fall foul of a flesh-devouring virus when they rent your standard 'cabin in the woods'.

In terms of turning the stomach of its audience, two particular moments stand out in Cabin Fever.

After the group had accidentally set a hermit ablaze, Jordan Ladd's Karen is comforted by her boyfriend Paul (Rider Strong). Being a horror movie that's very much entrenched in the stereotypes of the genre, this comforting soon turns into a little something more - which then has the gruesome revelation that Karen's, err, nether-regions are infected by the virus that's at the centre of the picture.

If that wasn't enough to get you a little woozy, Cerina Vincent's Marcy would later be involved in a scene where she decides to shave her legs while taking a bath. With it unbeknownst to Marcy that she also has been infected by this virus, the audience gets to watch her flesh brutally peel off as Vincent's character starts to shave.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

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, 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 dayjob, his role as the 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, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.