Reviewers observed the film's homage to low-budget horror and thriller films, including "Night of the Living Dead", "Deliverance", "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre", "The Evil Dead" (and its sequel), and "The Blair Witch Project". IGN said "Cabin Fever" "struggles valiantly to be both a worthy addition and simultaneous homage to these genres ... becoming instead a passably enjoyable slab of schlock", criticizing its failure to reinvent the films that inspired Roth's. Conversely, Newman said: "There's a fine line between homage and simply stealing, but writer-director Eli Roth mostly manages the former". Stephen Hunter in "The Washington Post" said "Cabin Fever" compared poorly to "The Evil Dead" and "The Blair Witch Project", describing it as "a loud, derivative grade-Z horror film of no particular distinction". McDonagh said "Cabin Fever" was "more "Straw Dogs" than "Night of the Living Dead"", citing its theme of "degeneration of relationships under pressure".