10 More Horror Movie Remakes That Were Instantly Forgotten

Long before Hostel, Thanksgiving, or (sigh) Borderlands, Eli Roth made his directorial debut with 2002's Cabin Fever. The skin-crawling splatterfest follows a group of college students vacationing in the woods, oblivious that a flesh-eating virus has infected the locals and wildlife.

Cabin Fever wasn't a showstopper but it managed to stand out for its nightmare-inducing imagery (especially the leg-shaving scene). Although Roth didn't return for the sequel or prequel, he agreed to co-write the 2016 remake.

Sadly, this version doesn't work for a number of reasons. The script is almost word-for-word the same, so there's zero surprises for anyone familiar with the original. Although the first Cabin Fever had moments of levity, this one plays out like a straight horror. There's nothing wrong with this decision in theory, but it makes the comedic dialogue from the original script sound awkward and stilted.

Though the practical effects in the 2002 movie led to many gross-out moments, most of them are replaced with CGI this time around, which looks fake.

Considering it earned less than $40,000 at the box office, 2016's Cabin Fever is proof that not every horror deserves to be remade.