“Laugh it off man, this ain’t shit.”

Story: The survivor of the original Fever made it out (relatively) alive, hooray! He swam in a river and came out the other side. But don’t get attached. Instead, wonder what happens to water when a highly infectious virus hits it…and gets bottled for the local high school.
Who’s ready for prom?

Scares: Few. Because let’s face it, you’re here for the gore, not the scares.

Splat factor: Just as icky as the original, but with a slightly different feel. Still, maybe skip spaghetti and meatballs during this one.

Closing scene “shocker”?: Not to anyone who’s read the first few chapters of The Stand.

Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Sequel to the original lose-your-lunch infection-fest, Cabin Fever. Naturally.

Trick or Treat?: C’mon admit it – you’re curious. And as much as I wavered on the idea of Cabin Fever 2: Electric Boogaloo, the “kids during prom” premise was intriguing. And it’s actually not a bad film to stream while you’re amping yourself up for Halloween Month.

Though there’s tons of blood and bits here, it doesn’t have the same je ne sais gore as the original. Let’s face it, nothing beats the original’s leg-shaving scene for squicky squirm. With Spring, it’s just a lot of blood barfing and pus-filled blisters. Well, there is an oozing penis. Which I assume was tossed in for that glorious R rating. (That, and some blistered tits. Beewbs!)

Directed by Ti West (V/H/S, The Inkeepers) is obviously having a good time skewering high school BS here. The prom theme? “Disco Under the Sea”. Complete with a great getting ready montage, with girls covering “sudden breakouts”, all while downing those damn bottles of water.

Stuff that wasn’t so great? A weird janitor that seems to hate all the students for no discernable cause. Great performance, but the motivation was a head scratcher. Don’t get me started on the weird police officer, and how he and his friend seem to be auditioning for Trailer Park Boys halfway through the film. Where’d that come from?

And I wasn’t a fan of the way the biology teacher was portrayed. An overly strict teacher, sure. But with a clef palate scar that’s so glaringly prominent that the students call her “freak”? Didn’t sit well with me. If she’s gonna be a bitch, have her be a bitch. But shaming someone for their looks was only done well in Uncle Buck. This felt like a way to exorcise West’s personal high school demons.

Fantastic animated opening credits that shows the water coming from the river and right into bottled water…and then cuts back to live action as a teen grabs a bottle. There’s a similar scene during the end credits, and a quick post credits chuckle.

Score: 3.5 out of 5 pumpkins.