Many people know Eli Roth as one of the actors in Quentin Tarantino’s hit film Inglorious Basterds. Horror fanatics like me most likely know him for his work directing the film Cabin Fever. Those of us from Massachusetts may know him as one of the hometown Boston area boys who made it big. Personally, I prefer Roth’s writing and directing to his acting any day. He has some unique ideas and his deep imagination is reflected in his films. You could say that Roth has had plenty of experience as he has been filming since the young age of eight and not with your traditional home video recorder, but with a Super 8 mm camera. The movie Alien is what originally inspired Roth to make his own films. It disturbed him enough that he actually vomited when it was over and he was amazed at the effect a movie could have on its audience. Roth would make violent films with his friends and his brothers including power tools as weapons and ketchup for fake blood. Perhaps he absorbed some of his creativity from his parents since his father is a psychiatrist and his mother is a painter. What a great mix to fuse together the study of the mind and visual art and it’s effects on its viewers inspired by the determination to make great horror films! Roth went to film school at NYU and won a Student Academy Award in 1995 for his tribute to Quentin Tarantino’s film Reservoir Dogs with his version titled Restaurant Dogs. He made his first feature film Cabin Fever with his college roommate and it was released the same year right after his graduation. I was first interested in learning more about Eli Roth when he captured my attention with this movie. Of course, you have the somewhat typical young group of friends camping out along with a few sex scenes type deal but the unique thing about this film is that you didn’t realize it was about to turn into something quite out of the ordinary. The budget for Cabin Fever was $1.5 million and the movie took in a gross of $22 million. Hostel was his next film released in 2006. Roth surely went for the shock factor with this film. Roth fans everywhere were full of suspense and excitement to check out this torture flick. The trailers were mysterious and the film looked frightening. The acting could have been better but at least I could look at Jay Hernandez for a few hours. Overall, I can say that the movie was certainly unique, slightly scary and I could feel the pain during the torture scenes. This was not my favorite film of all time, but I have to give Roth credit for sticking his neck out and trying something off the beaten path. Hostel’s budget was $4 million and it ended up reaping in a gross profit of $80 million. Roth took a salary of just $10,000 while making the film to keep costs to a minimum. Hostel 2 might have made a larger profit it were not leaked onto the internet before it was released to DVD. Roth claims that the film could be found on the streets of Mexico City for a quarter and that it wasn’t even released in countries where piracy is common. Grindhouse (2007) included two movies: Death Proof by Quentin Tarantino and Planet Terror by Robert Rodriguez. Eli Roth made one of the trailers that were shown between the two films. It was for a fake slasher film titled Thanksgiving. Roth has decided to turn Thanksgiving into an actual movie that will be shot in just 18 days on a very small budget. He said, â€I just want to go, go, go. Get as much footage, and as many kills as possible, and not be self-conscious.†Roth is mulling over the idea of making an entire series of Thanksgiving movies and releasing them out of order. Roth told the press, â€People'd be like, 'Why did 7 come out already?' It's like, 'Well, it doesn't matter. It's just a bunch of people getting chopped up anyways. Who cares?'" Roth is first working on his sci-fi film Endangered Species that will have a PG-13 rating. He wrote Endangered Species and will produce, direct and act in the film. Roth explained that it will be a nice break from the R-Rated horror scene so when he’s done he’ll be ready start immediately on this bloody slasher flick. Endangered Species will include plenty of destruction as we’ve seen in the films Cloverfield and Transformers, both of which were an inspiration to Roth. He has shared his script and ideas with Quentin Tarantino who gave him a few pointers that he’s taking into consideration. I’ve heard that aliens may be involved and humans are at risk of becoming extinct but it could just be a rumor. I suppose a little suspense is great as long as it’s worth the wait! Roth will produce the film Cotton that should be released this year. I haven’t even heard talk of this movie nor have I read anything about it until today when I actually had to search for it online. I’m very surprised that more people aren’t aware of an upcoming Excorcist style movie! Though Roth didn’t direct it the plot sound great and it seems like a formula for a great horror film! He said, â€Cotton was one of the best written, scariest scripts I’d read in years. It felt totally original with the potential to be terrifying and realistic the way The Exorcist was.†Among the other films that may be on Roth’s to do list is a possible remake of the 80’s horror film The Funhouse. Roth has confirmed that he will not be involved with Hostel III but won’t argue if someone wants to pick up where he left off. There will also be a sequel to Cabin Fever made by someone else. The film is titled Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever and is written and directed by Ti West. The film should finally be released in the spring even though it was completed back in 2007. Eli Roth films certainly have a flavor of their own and audiences either love them or hate them but the one thing you have to admit is the fact that they’re original. Not everyone is attracted to gory slasher films but those who are seem to take quite an interest to Roth’s films. Perhaps there will be an opportunity to reach a wider mainstream audience with Endangered Species as its rating will not allow for anything too graphic and it will probably make Roth earn more money to invest in his future films. Cabin Fever was a winner in my book and the original Hostel film was interesting. I’m guessing that Thanksgiving will be a movie that I’ll watch out of sheer curiosity, expecting to see a lot of blood and some slightly cheesy acting. I hope that the shock factor alone will be enough to make the movie work. Cotton has grabbed my attention completely now that I’ve learned more about it. I’m a huge fan of horror movies that have a deeper plot and incorporate a little psychology along with a religious aspect. I’d have to say that I’m looking forward to Cotton more than anything. It looks like Roth’s career has received a boost ever since his performance in Inglorious Basterds. He has been placed in the limelight more now than ever before and this may be the jump-start he needed to make his career take off. Roth seems to have plenty of plans to keep him busy for the next few years so stay updated on his new projects to find out what he’ll come up with next! By: Frank Bilotta
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