After studying under David Lynch and working on American TV series Chowdaheads, director Eli Roth makes his debut with Cabin Fever, an uproariously nasty horror flick about a flesh-eating virus.

Where did the idea for Cabin Fever come from?

When I was 22, I had this horrible psoriasis outbreak. It was all over my legs, I couldn't walk because my legs were cracked and bleeding. Weird things like that can happen to your body. When I was 19 I had this infection on my face. When I shaved I shaved off chunks of my face. I realised this would be a great idea for a horror movie.

What is it about 70s horror that's so popular at the moment?

In the 70s, people were coming back from Vietnam and there was a very pessimistic point of view of not trusting the government. It was reflected in the dark cynicism that came out in films like Last House On The Left; and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Now there's a wave of filmmakers out there who want to make movies like the ones we grew up on.

You seem to enjoy turning all your good-looking actors into mush on screen...

I made this movie for the mall kids, for the multiplex crowd. Plus, if you take a girl to see Cabin Fever, you will get laid. The girl won't want to look and she'll have to bury her head in your chest. If you don't have that girl on your lap by the end of the movie, there's something wrong with you. I'm telling you, Cabin Fever will get you laid.

But surely Cabin Fever is all about the fear of sex? About how nasty and gooey it is?

Well it's that whole body horror thing... er... Look, I got laid right after Cabin Fever, I'll tell you that. Well, actually maybe that was because I'd just sold the movie and I was a single director in Hollywood!

I hear the dog in the movie was a little crazy...

The original dog we had was this 200-year-old runt so we called in another dog. But it turned out to be a police attack dog. They train it in Dutch so you can't yell "stop!" This dog was so vicious and terrifying that we put the camera on remote control while we hid behind the catering trucks. And of course, my cameo in the movie is the guy with the dog! As soon as we shouted "action!" he just turned rounded and started shagging my leg! There's gonna be a whole thing on the DVD about that!

Cabin Fever opens in UK cinemas on Friday 10th October 2003.