To See Hostel or Not To See Hostel

[Kikabi]

Hello, the Horror Movie High freshman here. I feel certain that I might get conflicting answers to this question, but I've been struggling over the decision to rent Hostel or not.

Hostel, as far as I can tell, is a controversial film that people either love it or loathe it, and from it was born that hateful term "torture porn."

On the one hand, if I'm going to explore all aspects of horror movies, I feel almost obligated to see Hostel. On the other hand, I'm not a gorehound and I'm not really interested in seeing movies whose main appeal to horror fans is that it's gorey. Gore I can handle. It's not that. But I don't like gratitious gore - gore just for the sake of it. just for the sake of titilating the audience.

So the question I have is this: What are Hostel's merits (without spoilers)? That is, does it have an interesting story to go along with the torture and gore? A solid plot? Interesting characters? A sense of humor? Something important to say when all is said and done?

[LordSimen]

Well let me clear things up: Hostel is not THAT gorey, it's merely one of the goriest of the man stream films. You've seen the Korean film Bloody Reunion, right? That flick is ten times bloodier than Hostel. If you can stomach that movie, you can stomach Hostel.

Another point: The film doesn't get gorey untill the last half of the movie and there is a LOT left to the imagination, and it's not "gratitous gore" as many people have labeled it. There are two main torture scenes in the movie and the rest of the gore occurs when one of the main characters is on the run.

Here are Hostel's merits, as I see it: For one, the film has a solid sense of humor, as the plan plot follows a two college students and their antics through europe searching to get laid. For two, it's social commentary on the objectivity society puts on sex is extremely prevelant to anyone willing to pay attention to the movie and get past the fact that it's (although it's truly not) "gorey."

The two main characters are fun, one being more of a party animal while the other being the opposite and their chemistry works well.

The plot itself is pretty simple: Two college students get tricked into going to this town on Slovakia where they get kidnapped and people pay to torture/kill them for money.

The movie also comments on the subject of a person "getting high," asking what would happen if someone were to have nothing left that gets them high, what would they turn to?"

When the movie's all said and done you'll either look at it one of three ways: You'll either be in the camp that felt it was simply 90 minutes of boobs and violence, you'll either feel it was decent but nothing more, or you'll be like me and feel it actually did have something say underneath it's horror fun.

[X-Nightcrawler]

Oh screw it, just rent the melonfarming thing.

[Kikabi]

Originally posted by X-Nightcrawler
Oh screw it, just rent the melonfarming thing.

Ok. But "melonfarming?"

Thanks for your take on it, LordSimen. So all the talk about it being so gorey is really over-hyped? Don't worry about me not being able to stomach gore, I do pretty well. You know how much I love The Red Shoes and that's gorier than Bloody Reunion.

Anyway, I experience the same sort of thing about Saw. People were saying how gorey it is, but the story sounded interesting. When I saw it, I had to ask "what gore?" Even Saw II wasn't that gorey. I only felt that Saw III had some of gratutious gore in it.

[LordSimen]

Originally posted by Kikabi
Ok. But "melonfarming?"

Thanks for your take on it, LordSimen. So all the talk about it being so gorey is really over-hyped? Don't worry about me not being able to stomach gore, I do pretty well. You know how much I love The Red Shoes and that's gorier than Bloody Reunion.

Anyway, I experience the same sort of thing about Saw. People were saying how gorey it is, but the story sounded interesting. When I saw it, I had to ask "what gore?" Even Saw II wasn't that gorey. I only felt that Saw III had some of gratutious gore in it.

Pretty much it's in the same boat as Saw where the gore was overhyped by the public. I can understand how the film might be "really gory" to someone whose extent of horror film knowledge includes films like I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream, The Ring and any other incredibly main stream horror film... But anyone whose seen many horror films most likely will find the gore to be underwhelming compared to the hype.

It is, however, gorier than Saw, which had practically one gorey moment and that's about it. XD

[Kikabi]

Originally posted by LordSimen
It is, however, gorier than Saw, which had practically one gorey moment and that's about it. XD

A hellaluva lot more movies are gorier than Saw I, which is why it just floors me when people say it's gory. Wan cuts away from the "main event," only showing a bit of the beginning. (Thank God - have to admit that I'm not so good with disemberments. Just saw Suicide Club the other day and had to look away during the mother cutting the vegatable scene. I can handle seeing hacked-off limbs, just not watching the actual hacking!)

Anyway, I'll pick it up tomorrow and see for myself what the hubbub's really about. Just wanted another opinion since I can't stand wasting my time on a bad movie, and I wasn't sure if Hostel was really worth it.

[Le_Big_Mac]

Originally posted by Kikabi
So the question I have is this: What are Hostel's merits (without spoilers)? That is, does it have an interesting story to go along with the torture and gore? A solid plot? Interesting characters? A sense of humor? Something important to say when all is said and done?

Hostel, like LordSimen said, is about womanizers who get the tables turned on them and become play things to something even more sinister, but thematic material only goes so far. Plotwise, the movie has two acts. First act: basically soft porn. Second act: gore (which doesn't satisfy on the gore level). And the first act is stretched out over about an hour to allow this to be a feature film. To a person who's not squeamish, the movie isn't scary. There are moments where you'll sympathize for the characters, but they're all too brief.

The characters are all basically the same: backpackers in Europe who want to get laid. They're extremely dislikable and if it's the film's intent to make us feel they're getting what they deserve, it removes too much of the fear and suspense from the movie. I suppose they all make jokes, but I don't remember anything funny about the movie, except Pulp Fiction being watched on a television (a reference to the film's distributor).

You should probably see it just for the sake of having your own opinion and the fact that it basically spawned the "torture porn" phenomenon, although it won't matter if you don't read this before picking up the DVD (don't waste money on it unless you end up liking it). Don't go in with any expectations of being disturbed or frightened.

[Kikabi]

Originally posted by Le_Big_Mac
You should probably see it just for the sake of having your own opinion and the fact that it basically spawned the "torture porn" phenomenon, although it won't matter if you don't read this before picking up the DVD (don't waste money on it unless you end up liking it). Don't go in with any expectations of being disturbed or frightened.

Yes, that's what I mean about feeling kind of obligated to see it as part of my exploration of the genre. Was hoping to be entertained by it along the way, though! No expectations of being disturbed or frightened, huh? Bummer. Actually, from what I understand of the subject matter, you'd think I'd be a little disturbed. Ah, well. I'll see for myself tomorrow evening. Thanks for your insights, Le_Big_Mac.

[teenkiller]

I found it overrated. I watched it a second time when Hostel Part 2 came out and still felt the same. It was mediocre and the end was too drawn out. However I LOVED the sequel. It was just far more interesting to me. I'd say watch them both just to judge for yourself. Well thats all for now GOoD JOURNEY my fellow schmoes.

[hrdude]

As my fellow schmoes have indictated it's all about judging a movie on it's merits. Hostel is most defintely not gory....not even scary by my definition, however everyone has their own perception.

[!MorganOnyx!]

Just fooking rent it, it's a SWEET ASS movie! As for all the negativity surrounding the damn thing I never have understood it. Does it use exploiatative tricks involving naked women and over the top gore? No more than hundreds of other horror films I've seen! And as for everyone slating the "homophobic" dialogue between the characters, grow up! This really IS how frat boys talk - deal with it!

I'm from a small city in the UK called HEREFORD with a population of about 500,000 people. Here, if anybody does something bad/stupid/rubbish it's called "gay". If somebody is acting like a tool/idiot/asshole they're called "gay".

It's been that way for years.

Could I relate to the characters in HOSTEL, hell motherfucking yes!

[Cronos]

Originally posted by Kikabi
What are Hostel's merits (without spoilers)? That is, does it have an interesting story to go along with the torture and gore? A solid plot? Interesting characters? A sense of humor? Something important to say when all is said and done?

the actual idea for the film is pretty damn good but it's execution is really bad, the script is terrible and very childish so if you find that sort of thing funny you might laugh at some fo the crap the characters say...i didn't. the plot is weak and very predictable, the characters are thin and uninteresting. it has nothing important to say about anything but then again not a lot of horror films do. as for the torture and gore, there's not much of either so i wouldn't worry about that.

[Kikabi]

This talk about it not having as much gore and torture as I've heard kind of surprises me - with the caveat that I know that these things get over-hyped! I've heard they had quite a battle with the MPAA and had to submit it 8 times before they got their R rating. Then again, the MPAA can be hard to please.

[Kikabi]

Ok, rented and watched. I disagree with those who say that there's not that much gore or torture in it. Or maybe my gore-meter has different setting than others do. It quite gorey - however, this is not at all complaint since I don't think it was gratuitous. The film definitely aims to shock and succeeds. And it's a very shocking subject, moreso because it's not just possible, it's very probable that this kind of scenario does go on (I doubt in such a large, elaborate fashion.) Now that's scarey.

Hostel does feel like it has a dual personality. The first act and second act has an entirely different feel than the far better third act. The third act is exciting, mysterious, revolting, occassionally scary (to me), and feature some solid character growth for Paxton. He's a character I didn't like before he got strapped into that chair, but, at one point, he won me over.

The first two acts were so-so. The only character I cared about was Josh since he had a moral/ethical center, and more high-minded than the other two. But that's the best I can say about the first part. Oh, and, ah, "Jugs?" Do college-age guys actually refer to women's breasts as jugs? When I heard one of them use that word, it sounded so '70s to me. I don't think I've heard that term used since the '70s until today.

The only things that raised the goosebumps were when Paxton was taken down the corridors and we see glimpses of the other torture victims, and when the mystery of the place and what it's really about is revealed. And yes, I had to look away during the finger-cutting moments!

So, I'm glad I saw it. Overall, I think it's pretty good and I give it a 7/10, a rating heavily leaning towards the third act. I agree with Cronos that the movie could have executed much better.

Thanks, everyone, for sharing your opinions with me.

[teenkiller]

A 7/10 is what I rate it also but I have a reversed opinion to yours. I thought the first two acts were pretty good with the third kind of falling apart. Still it was pretty cool to see Paxton conversing with one of the customers. Will you be seeking out the sequel?

Oh and yes, the term "jugs" is still used somewhat frequently.

Well thats all for now GOoD JOURNEY my fellow schmoes.

[LordSimen]

Glad to have helped.

[Kikabi]

Originally posted by teenkiller
A 7/10 is what I rate it also but I have a reversed opinion to yours. I thought the first two acts were pretty good with the third kind of falling apart. Still it was pretty cool to see Paxton conversing with one of the customers. Will you be seeking out the sequel?

Oh and yes, the term "jugs" is still used somewhat frequently.

Well thats all for now GOoD JOURNEY my fellow schmoes.

I liked seeing Paxton doing the hero thing and actually going back into that hell to save the girl, in a way, redeeming himself for not saving the drowning little girl when he was a child. He had actually a pretty strong character arc through the movie, which I appreciated.

Not really interested in seeing the sequel. Hostel said what it needed to say about this particular subject matter.

Thanks for the heads up about "jugs." lol. Back in my day, that term wasn't used which is why it sounded so dated to me. Arg, listen to me - back in my day. I wanna go sailing on that river in Egypt! That or get out more.

[X-Nightcrawler]

Originally posted by teenkiller

Oh and yes, the term "jugs" is still used somewhat frequently.

So is "melonfarming"!

. . . right?

[Kikabi]

Originally posted by X-Nightcrawler
So is "melonfarming"!

. . . right?

I figured as much

In college I had a friend who'd joke-flirt with me by telling me how much he admired my "mammories." No slang for him!

[PSU80]

Hostel. To sum up this movie in a sentence or two, let's just say that it was the worst film I have ever seen. Not only the worst horror film, but the worst film period. Unless you can rent it somewhere for 50 cents or less, you paid too much.

[!MorganOnyx!]

Originally posted by PSU80
Hostel. To sum up this movie in a sentence or two, let's just say that it was the worst film I have ever seen. Not only the worst horror film, but the worst film period. Unless you can rent it somewhere for 50 cents or less, you paid too much.

Dude, you must be one of the most lucky movie fans in the world to not have seen a film WORSE than HOSTEL!

I seriously envy you. If only I was that lucky! *thinks of movies like ULTRAVIOLET and shudders*

[Kikabi]

Originally posted by !MorganOnyx!
Dude, you must be one of the most lucky movie fans in the world to not have seen a film WORSE than HOSTEL!

I seriously envy you. If only I was that lucky! *thinks of movies like ULTRAVIOLET and shudders*

Lol! Was thinking the same thing, actually, that he's lucky. Just substituting Death Tunnel for Ultraviolet . . . ye, gads

[ERIN_LoJ]

Hostel really wasn't very good, but I say to go for it as you never know. It's better to try something, even if you're afraid you won't enjoy it.

[Kikabi]

That's good advice. I was asking just because I hate wasting time on a bad movie and I'd heard some many bad things about it. I really just needed a kick in the butt to just see the damned thing :P

But, as you can see earlier in the thread, I did rent, watch, and pretty much liked it and gave it a 7/10. It's not a movie I'm drawn watching again and I'm not interested in the sequel.

But lesson learned, just as you say - better to just try something since there's nothing much to lose!

[mattmanw54301]

You would have really been upset with the alternate ending Kikabi....


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In the original ending, Pax follows the businessman on the train, and instead of killing him, decides to kill his daughter, who's like 6. It ends with Pax killing the little girl and throwing her body in a dumpster. Tarantino, as fudged up as he is, told Roth not to have that ending.

[Kikabi]

Originally posted by mattmanw54301
You would have really been upset with the alternate ending Kikabi....

You're right, I would have been . . . but not too surprised. That was one thing the movie left me with was wondering what all that had done to Pax's psyche, considering he didn't any qualms about cutting off that guy's fingers and then killing him.

But ending it with him killing a child, no. That would have taken this way too far over the edge. Tarantino gave him good advice there. It's actually more satifisying to see Pax kill the guy than to see him take an indirect route of revenge by killing his daughter. And, considering how the movie came out, it would have been out of character for Pax to do something like that, because he's a more direct, take action now, kind of character. At least, that's how I see it.

Thanks for letting know about the alternate ending!

[SplatterMaster5]

The DVD directors cut of Hostel which is coming out the same day as Hostel II has the original ending involving child murder tacked on supposedly. I am not sure how I feel about this type of ending, I'll have to see how it is executed when the DVD comes out. Sounds sick as fuck though, hope they dont show Paxton slitting the girls throat, that IMO would be going too far. I am really more interested in seeing if Josh has an extended torture sequence, because that death didn't show too much in the unrated/theater version(except for the infamous achilles tendon shot. Ouch) well anyway, from this pic below it seems as if quite a bit of drilling was cut out.

[LordSimen]

Originally posted by SplatterMaster5
The DVD directors cut of Hostel which is coming out the same day as Hostel II has the original ending involving child murder tacked on supposedly. I am not sure how I feel about this type of ending, I'll have to see how it is executed when the DVD comes out. Sounds sick as fuck though, hope they dont show Paxton slitting the girls throat, that IMO would be going too far. I am really more interested in seeing if Josh has an extended torture sequence, because that death didn't show too much in the unrated/theater version(except for the infamous achilles tendon shot. Ouch) well anyway, from this pic below it seems as if quite a bit of drilling was cut out.

Something tells me that you'd have a problem with the entirety of the movie Battle Royale. Haha.

But overall, yeah, I agree that the girl ending definitely sounds incredibly fucked up and Tarrantino probably gave good advice to Roth about that. However, part of me has atleast wanted to see it to see whether or not it would have palyed off well or not overall.

[Le_Big_Mac]

Originally posted by mattmanw54301
You would have really been upset with the alternate ending Kikabi....


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In the original ending, Pax follows the businessman on the train, and instead of killing him, decides to kill his daughter, who's like 6. It ends with Pax killing the little girl and throwing her body in a dumpster. Tarantino, as fudged up as he is, told Roth not to have that ending.

More reason to believe Eli Roth is a fucking psycho.

[Frank the Tank]

I liked Hostel. From what I've read in interviews, Eli is kind of a douche, but this is still a damn good movie. The term torture porn is really dumb. The first half of the film is comparable to say Eurotrip, but it's still really entertaining. The second half isn't extremely gory or anything, but it's pretty intense and that helps make it more disturbing. I liked all the characters, and I really enjoyed the movie. Hostel 2 was meh, but still had a little tension. Just way more annoying characters.

[X-Nightcrawler]

Originally posted by Le_Big_Mac
More reason to believe Eli Roth is a fucking psycho.

Or a hack.

That ending was compeltely retarded. Went completely against the character of Paxton.

I thought the original ending with Paxton killing the guy was a little off-the-wall (though still believable to a degree), that other one was just retarded.

[SplatterMaster5]

^ It's a fictional film, who says it needs to be believable. Paxton would obviously change ALOT anyway after escaping near death from a torture facility. I wish these movie buffs(and I dont mean X-Nightcrawler, I mean all of them)would stop trying to ruin films by pointing out every single flaw. And enough with that "Eli Roth is a hack" thing, it is getting old. Hostel is definitely not flawless, but it is entertaining and has some good suspense, plus the atmosphere of the movie in general is quite dark.

[X-Nightcrawler]

Originally posted by SplatterMaster5
^ It's a fictional film, who says it needs to be believable.

For the love of movie jesus, what are you saying?

Of course it needs to be believable, that's exactly what a dimensional character is! It's not a fantasy or a sci-fi comedy where characters aren't meant to be dimensional. It's a gritty horror movie that exactly wants to say something about the human condition, if its characters aren't realistic, it's never going to achieve that. I don't buy for one second that he'd go that fucking psycho after that. I could buy him killing the dude in the bathroom, that's fine, I don't have beefs with that move. But HUNTING DOWN A SIX YEAR OLD DAUGHTER AND MURDERING HER is just stupid.

Don't tell me it's not supposed to be believable, that's flat out, grade A, unadulterated, infection-free, stinky horsecrap.

Originally posted by SplatterMaster5
I wish these movie buffs(and I dont mean X-Nightcrawler, I mean all of them)would stop trying to ruin films by pointing out every single flaw. And enough with that "Eli Roth is a hack" thing, it is getting old. Hostel is definitely not flawless, but it is entertaining and has some good suspense, plus the atmosphere of the movie in general is quite dark.

Yeah, I wish too, I hate sounding like a broken record with "Hostel". It's definitely not the worst movie ever, I personally only half disliked it, and I'd agree about suspense and atmosphere ( . . . to a degree). Sadly, the screenplay is just terrible.

And it's such a shame you wish movie buffs would stop trying to ruin films by pointing out what they thought are flaws. No one's trying to ruin anything. You can call "Hostel" perfect and I'm not going to change that.

But you're in the wrong place to dislike getting your favorite movies picked at. If you're looking for "Happy Land Of Friendly Magic Forum ~ Where no one dislikes anything!", you're a few towns away.

As far as this place goes, you're gonna have to deal with peoples' opinions that are different to your own.

[SplatterMaster5]

Sorry man, I know I came across as stupid there(I DO like movies with developed characters)I guess I was just tired of the Hostel bashing, which I shouldn't care about because every1 is entitled to their own opinion. So my bad, and I can agree about that child murder ending being way unrealistic. But I guess I think of Hostel in a different way, I never thought of it as a film trying to explain the darkest side of human nature, I thought of it as more of a fun, above average gore/horror movie. This is probably because I seen it a year after its release, I actually never payed attention to Hostel when it was in theatres proclaiming it was the goriest/sickest film ever, I just thought it would be like Saw. But yah, thats a different subject there.

[Jim H]

Considering how much torture people imply is in this movie, there really isn't much. One pretty bad scene which is a couple minutes, and one other scene which is also short. Marathon Man probably has more.

[sarah1980]

not to see hostel

2/10 torture porn is boring

[kubotakhan01]

forget Hostel.....it is no more original or frightening than any other mainstream film you have ever seen in your life. before I saw it Iwas told that it was so frightening and once I saw it , it would change my life. Bull sheeeeit. The first half of the moive is a complete snorefest(except for the occasional boob shots which were hot, but Isaw it with my moms and my girl so that killed any reaction I might have towards them) and once you get to the good stuff you realize its all been done before in one way or another and its no more gory than one of the SCREAM flicks.

OVER RATED!!!!!!

* out of 5 stars.

[!MorganOnyx!]

Watched it again yesterday, and it made me realise three things:

1. I LOVE it even more now than when I first saw it.
2. The banter between PAXTON, JOSH and OLI is fucking hilarious. The dialogue regarding the fannypack had me crying!
3. There's no way on this planet the sequel is better.

[miceland1]

Honestly, the film is worth a rent for certain.

Why?

Its quick paced. Its slick like so many movies made now with digital effects coming out the wazoo.

It plays with your emotions and lost of viceral scences.

Its not perfect, or really even that satisfying movie to watch. I wouldn't force myself to watch it, its not like its an important film in any way. Its just typical of what you are getting nowadays in Horror and films in general. Tricky, but not terribly heartfelt or passionate.

[darchangel]

Since you've already seen it, I guess there's not much point here, but I'll say what I thought anyway...

- The gore was not even CLOSE to being as 'balls to the wall' as it was played up to be.

- The characters were poorly developed, and I didn't care about them.

- The most disturbing part of the film for me was


SPOILERS


When the kids beat the thugs to death for a bag of bubble gum.


END SPOILERS