“Cabin Fever” is the brainchild of local boy Eli Roth. Roth was born and raised in Newton, Mass.. At eight years old he already knew what his calling was: he wanted to be behind the camera directing blood gushing scenes. He wanted to be one of the names among the list of great horror directors. He made this announcement at Temple Emmanuel at his bar mitzvah. “I got sawed in half by a chainsaw at my bar mitzvah. I remember getting sawed in half thinking, ‘Wow, I’m a man now, this is great.’ My bar mitzvah cake was a director’s slate with blood splattered on it.” Now, at 31, Roth is seeing his vision come to life. Roth wears three hats on this production. He plays the role of director, producer and co-writer. His father, a psych analyst, made sure to nurture his creativity by making sure he saw films made by the best directors. “I remember in the Coolidge Corner Cinema in 1981 or 1982 they had a film festival of Buster Keaton’s movies. These movies were unreleased on video. They had never been on television. Every night my parents took my brothers and I, they felt this is an important part of [our] education, this was as important as school. My dad came home when I was 14, he saw “Blue Velvet,” and he was like, ‘We’re going to see this tomorrow night. You have to see this movie, you should know who David Lynch is.” “Cabin Fever” is the story of five friends who rent out a cabin for a week after graduating from college. All the typical characters are in place, there is Paul (Rider Strong) the sensible, nice guy. Karen (Jordan Ladd) the virginal girl, Jeff (Joey Kern) the snobby rich guy with the hot girlfriend, Marcy (Cerina Vincent), the hot girlfriend and finally, Bert (James DeBello) the immature, funny fifth wheel. More than likely all of these names, except that of Strong who played pretty boy Sean on the television series “Boy Meets World” are unrecognizable. This was no accident, Roth intentionally wanted to cast no-name actors. “On a film like ‘Cabin Fever,” which takes place primarily in the woods, we needed actors who were not just right for the role, but ones that were professionals and did not mind working long hours drenched in blood. The actors truly went above and beyond what was required of them.” When the friends arrive at the cabin they are prepared for a week chocked full of rest and relaxation. Jeff and Marcy are locked away in their room already christening the place upon arrival. Paul and Karen are sunbathing on the lake and Bert is off to kill innocent squirrels with his BB gun. This is when things take their much anticipated turn for the worst. A homeless man, who Bert accidentally shoots, makes his way to the cabin with half his face gone. This is when the gang is finally exposed to the flesh-eating bacteria. The film was shot at a camping site in North Carolina. “We very consciously made this movie to look and feel like a late ’70s early ’80s horror film. In the ’70s, horror films were taken so much more seriously,” Roth said. He purposely chose such a remote setting so he could fashion his movie after those that are more classic. Roth claimed he was inspired by movies like “Evil Dead,” “The Thing,” “Texas Chain Saw Massacre” and “House By the Cemetery.” “So many horror films of the late 90’s were super slick and super polished and they looked like music videos. When I watch a horror movie I don’t need to see that, I don’t need it to look perfect. We sanitized this film of all of that.” Cabin Fever opens in theaters Friday, September 12.