Why Cabin Fever’s pancakes scene is so weird

The Cabin fever Pancakes scene may be the strangest in Eli Roth’s debut horror movie, and it still makes very little sense all these years later. Roth has had a varied directorial career, and whether you love or hate his films, it’s hard to deny that they are usually at least memorable. What started with Cabin fever (2002), a strange blend of horror and comedy. One minute a character is peeling the skin off his leg due to a terrible flesh-eating virus; Next, Roth makes a cameo as a rock. The tone of Cabin fever is all over the place.

How much of this queer sensibility is informed by Roth himself is quite clear when you watch the 2016 Cabin fever Remake, which stuck to the original very closely but seemed to lack any of its charm or heart. As much weird as can be found in cabin heat, The award for funniest scene goes to the “Pancakes!” Child. It’s an inexplicable set of events that adds nothing to the story of the film and usually leaves the audience confused.

What is the pancakes scene?

A young boy screams pancakes and starts biting a man’s hand

Early in cabin heat, The group of college students who become infected by the flesh-eating virus stop in a small shop near their cabin. Things get weird pretty quickly, like when Paul (Rider Strong) sits down next to a young boy named Dennis on a swing out front porch and tries to be friendly. The boy is silent and does not move much, and it is clear Paul did not pay attention to the sign that warns people not to sit near Dennis on the bench. There is a reason for this sign.

This comes back to bite Paul, literally, when the boy bites savagely at his hand. Later in the movie, after everyone starts getting infected by the disease, Bert (James DeBello) heads back to the store to seek help. However, when he gets there, Dennis gets a wild look in his eyes, and starts yelling about “pancakes.” Dennis then inexplicably does some martial arts moves in slow motion, as he makes his way to Bert and then bites into his hand.

The whole scene is completely out of place, and feels like it was edited from another film.

Why Cabin Fever’s pancakes scene is so weird

Eli Roth added this because the Dennis actor was practicing Tae Kwon Do

The whole scene makes no sense and if it seems like something that Eli Roth just came on the scene and threw in Cabin fever For no real logical reason, that’s because it was. Roth saw actor Matthew Helms practicing his Tae Kwon Do moves between takes. He decided to give him a showcase scene in the film. Why it had to include him yelling the word pancakes is anyone’s guess. After this happens, Dennis’s father runs away from Bert with a gun, blaming him for what happened.

Still, the scene is extremely difficult even when viewed all these years later, and the plot point of Dennis’ father getting angry with Bert for possibly infecting his son could still be done with nothing but the bite.

Fan reaction to the Cabin Fever Pancakes scene

Fans count the scene as a highlight

A lot has happened in Cabin feverAnd the movie remains known for its intense scenes of gore and body horror. It has been added to the list of torture porn movies, although the flesh-eating virus is the torture. However, although this is one of the main calling cards, Many fans only remember the “Pancakes” scene because of its wild nature. A Reddit Thread was posted calling it one of the “Funniest scenes in horror.” The OP just posted the video, but the commenters all agreed.

“I think Roth always wanted to make a horror comedy. It is a style present in every single movie he has made“, wrote one commenter. Another added, “Something tells me that Roth and the other makers of the film initially planned to make a straightforward horror movie, but got bored halfway through and decided to leave as it was.“

The Youtube Video itself has close to 1,000 comments on the scene. “I remember watching this with friends in the 20’s and I laughed so hard because it came from somewhere“, one commenter wrote in response to the video. Another mentioned the warning sign, writing, “That scene stayed in my head forever. But I almost forgot the label with the warning words: Do not sit next to Dennis!“Of all Cabin fevers Deep scenes, it seems that this one stands out above most others.