Hostel (2006)

[spacemonkey]

Title: Hostel (2006)

Director: Eli Roth (Cabin Fever)

Cast: Jay Hernandez

Review:

Of all the overhyped movies in the world...this one takes the taco. I mean, Eli Roth the director of the dissapointing Cabin Fever is back with his new creation: Hostel. And this time around he uses the same marketing strategy he wisely employed while promoting Cabin Fever wich was hyped as a "return to gritty 70s horror" and we all know how that turned out. So here we are again, with Roths latest money making scheme ...did he succeed in making a better film then Cabin Fever?

The story is about three friends who are out in Amsterdam backpacking through the country, enjoying all the girls, booze and drugs they can. On a certain occasion they meet this guy who tells them about a Hostel that has the horniest and prettiest girls in the universe. Of course they fall for that irresistible offer and go, they hook up with the girls and one by one the guys suspiciously start to dissappear.

There were some good things in this movie. First off, the way the film was shot is beautiful. We get some nice lighting, some nice grissly looking sets. Art direction and cinematography were excellent.

We get good performers, Jay Hernandez being the one that stands out the most. He shined in Crazy/Beautiful and here he shows he wasnt just a one time fluke. The rest of the cast of unknowns do a cool job and the characters seem real and likable. So basically we got the elements for a good film right?

The problem for me with Roths Hostel, was that it wasnt all that original. Roth has obviously been seeing a lot of Japanese horror films and he is just copying a lot of their style of storytelling. Roths appreciationand influence by J-Horror is so evident, that even Takashi Miike a very respected japanes horror director has a cameo on the film.

But again, the film was walking over all too familiar ground. The thing with the friends backpacking through a strange country is almost as overused as the old stormy weather/car breaking down/ spooky mansion down the road plot device. The basic premise is like taking American Werewolf in Paris and Eurotrip. Theres even a joke about a gay guy on the train with the guys, just like in Eurotrip! Similarities to Saw Im sure will spread like wildfire. Theres even a scene clearly ripped off from the japanese movie called Suicide Club.

I guess Roths just doing the same thing that Tarantino does with his films wich is basically ripping off stuff that he likes and using it in his own movies. But at least Tarantino makes up for that by writing excellent stories and dialogue. Not so on Roths film. Heck if youve seen John Woos Hard Target, youll get the gist of what this movie is about.

And then there was the gore. And this my friends was the thing that upset me the most. We get some gore, but this film is being marketed as a balls to the wall gore fest that will leave you gasping and it really isnt all that. The gore was highly restrained. I could feel the blades of the MPAA cutting away at this film, more sharply then ever before.

Watching Hostel reminded me a lot of the time when I saw Romeros Land of the Dead. You could just feel the censors holding back Roths film. Specially during those scenes involving the actual torture of the characters. Just when you think stuff is going to get good. Snip! The almighty hand of the MPAA cut the film. Im guessing I can better review this film once I have seen the final directors cut of the film and not this hacked down version. I hope the gore will really be out there, cause the version I saw at the theaters was really tame compared to other horror films Ive seen. It does have its moments (like that eyeball scene!) but for this seasoned horror fan, the gore was a bit light. Takashi Miike can shoot whatever gory scene he can think of cause in Asia they aint got a rating system, but in American, the MPAA calls the shots and it was all to evident on this theatrical release of Hostel.

But movies arent all about gore, so lets see. Aside from the fact that the movie was ripping off a gazillion other horror movies...some scenes were just too stupid. Theres an instance in wich a character looses two of his fingers at a certain point...yet he manages to drive a car, run around, hide and fight some bad guys, all without passing out. I wasnt alone in thinking that it wasnt at all possible. The dude would have passed out from hamerging a loooong time ago. Yet there he was hoping about. I know, I know, its just a movie, but suspension of disbelief will go only so far!

All in all, Id say that Hostel was a film that had its moments and had some good things going for it, and yes, when compared to Cabin Fever, Hostel is far superior. But still it was missing one ingredient that matters a whole lot for me in horror movies: originality. Still, I think Roth can come up with something better. This sophomore effort is ok. Im still going to wait out for Roths masterpiece, cause this sure wasnt it.

Rating: 3 out of 5

[doaflip]

Not relevant to the film or anything, just me being annoying, but the best man at my dad's wedding cut off two of his fingers once and he was fine. He said how he had to wait in the hospital for a few hours holding his severed fingers in a pint glass of ice. He also said the only real pain was when the things were reattached.

So I just wanted to say cut off fingers aren't that bad

[spacemonkey]

Originally posted by doaflip
Not relevant to the film or anything, just me being annoying, but the best man at my dad's wedding cut off two of his fingers once and he was fine. He said how he had to wait in the hospital for a few hours holding his severed fingers in a pint glass of ice. He also said the only real pain was when the things were reattached.

So I just wanted to say cut off fingers aren't that bad

Yeah, but your dads friend had medical attention at a hospital while Jay Hernandez was hanging out in a rusty torture chamber and running and driving and fighting. You do the math.

[Ratlehed]

Eli Roth!! Ripping of better horror movies!! I dont believe it!!

Thats waht I thought Cabin Fever was. Scenes from much better films wrapped around annoying characters.

[Cottonmouth]

Originally posted by spacemonkey

The story is about four friends...

Who's the fourth?

[spacemonkey]

Originally posted by Cottonmouth
Who's the fourth?

Typo. Fixed it.

[spacemonkey]

Originally posted by Ratlehed
Eli Roth!! Ripping of better horror movies!! I dont believe it!!

Thats waht I thought Cabin Fever was. Scenes from much better films wrapped around annoying characters.

Well, he did it again but even more this time around. Check out what Roth had to say about his intentions for Hostel:

I think that Miike makes the greatest Miike movies ever, and there's one Miike and there's no need to try to be Miike. I just want to be the best me, not the best Miike. If you're really, really looking at it, obviously it's heavily influenced by Audition and The Vanishing. I didn't want to imitate shots like in Cabin Fever; it's time for me to stand on my own. I can be influenced by these movies, but I am not going to watch movies and take shots. I wanted people to come out and say ‘that was sick and fucked up', but it still has to be an R-rated film. I kind of wanted to make something that felt influenced by that but was still an American movie.

Thats just so much bullshit right there! He stole that shot from Suicide Club were the girl jumps onto the train tracks and the blood splatters on all the bystanders....please.

This conversation between Eli Roth and Quentin Tarantino I thought was really really funny check it out:

I showed the draft to Quentin, and he was like ‘This is fucking awesome; lets go through it.' And we went through the script; he's like ‘You know what? We're gonna do a Bullshit pass. I'm gonna call bullshit where it feels like this could only happen in a movie. If this is movie convenience or it's not something that you and I would do, then I am calling bullshit.'

I thought that was funny because I thought that the last thirty minutes were total bullshit movie convenience! Shows how much bullshit this guy can talk in order to make his movie look good.

[zombievictim]

Written and Directed by Eli Roth

I may be in the minority but I checked Hostel out yesterday and thought it was really good. The story wasn't original, but what really is nowadays? I thought the main characters were interesting and fun. I liked that Roth used humor in his character development, I thought that was really smart of him. Since the characters used the same humor my friends and I sometimes have, I compared the characters with my friends. This may not have been Roth's intention at all and he may just be a really immature asshole

Now onto the the gore factor of this movie. I thought the gore was the right amount for a theatrical release. After all the hype about the gore I knew it was going to be cut to shreds by the MPAA anyway. I was disappointed that they didn't show the girls toe getting cut off. I was expecting it something really cool to happen with that. Too Bad

And something else about the gore, that we as horror fans seem not to understand. It was gory to a normal person. We, as fans, are so desensitized (sp?) by all the gory movies we watch that we don't even notice a dead body here or there, but NORMAL people do . Like when the man is cutting up all of the body parts, that's pretty sick to Joe Everyman.

Oh yes I almost forgot about the T&A. I gotta admit that Roth out did himself on this one and I couldn't have been more happy with it. Seemed like every other scene had a nudy shot in it. Not to sound like a little pervert but you all know thats good stuff.

So stop complaing that its a rip off of some OTHER horror movie because hell every heist movie on the planet is a rip off of another one. Just sit down and watch it for what it is: A fun, slightly gory, nudity filled, funny horror movie.

8/10

[Xipe Totec]

On originality:

I'm not going as far as my friend who thinks making art and entertainment is plagiacy (sp?) by it's nature, but in a way, yes it is.

Ofcourse your own experiences and things you've seen and liked are reflected in the movie you're making, so they already are copied from somewhere, real life or movies. The thing about the new wave of film directors - they're childhood was most likely filled with movies, who'se isn't these days, while the earlier directors got more inspiration from real life and books. Of course the direstor's life reflects in the movies he makes and, well, you've got to steal some ideas and that shouldn't be a big worry, when you steal, steal from the best as they say. Originality means looking inward instead of outward when making movies and expressing what you see or think differently. If something seems new and exciting to the director, let it stay that way. He shouldn't concerne too much about wether that's done already.

What I mean,
well, I haven't seen Hostel, but from Cabin Fever I know that Roth has a really good mixture of originality and homaging. He surely has his own way to look at things and I really believe it also shows in Hostel. If the film works, I don't care if it consists of things and ideas stolen, it just works and that's enough for me. I personally am not going to go picking on things done before. If the film doesn't have it's own style or angle, I'll notice those things, but I'm sure Hostel has it's own, from what I've seen and heard so far, as had Cabin Fever, as had House of 1000 Corpses, Saw and Saw 2.

Ok, the good news is, Lionsgate's films are working their way into Estonian cinemas so I'm getting to see the film in near future and could actually talk about it. At the moment I'm just rambling and making points about originality in films.

[moviegeek1987]

Your all talking about how the MPAA cut this down and that is why the gore was not as crazy as expected. Well I read an interview with Roth and he said the MPAA only demanded less the one second of film to be edited out....so I think the crazy, gory intensity was just very overhyped in this case (I have no love for the MPAA though, in fact I fucking hate them, I wish that less than one second clip had been in the movie even though it would probably have not made a huge difference).

[spacemonkey]

Originally posted by moviegeek1987
Your all talking about how the MPAA cut this down and that is why the gore was not as crazy as expected. Well I read an interview with Roth and he said the MPAA only demanded less the one second of film to be edited out....so I think the crazy, gory intensity was just very overhyped in this case (I have no love for the MPAA though, in fact I fucking hate them, I wish that less than one second clip had been in the movie even though it would probably have not made a huge difference).

If what you say is true, then I am truly 100% convinced that this movie was overhyped to the max. I was thinking that we might get a really gory version on DVD, but I guess it was all just a prank to get people to see it.

[NightStalkerGtx]

I FUCKING LOVED THIS FILM TO DEATH 10/10 AND DIDNT FIND IT OVERHYPED...

SPOILERS

For those that say the first 40 minutes are useless, you gotta pay a bit more of attention if anything maybe you can say the first 10 because once they met the pimp in amsterdamn its all necessary because as later revealed he was in on it and it shows you how the plan and how the whole trap works into getting the tourist into the factory.

end spoilers

[Doyle_Bloodfest]

I'm going to have to say i found it to be both Positive and Negative, but not in a bad way. I thought certain scenes were very well crafted, while others seemed cloned from recent Asian horror films. I figured i should reference the similarity between the shot when Jay is being dragged to the long corridor shots in Evil Dead Trap. All i can say is I loved Cabin Fever, it was bursting with originality and energy and it took the viewer on a feverishly paced nightmare. Although the film may not impress eveyone i think Hostel is the same type of film.

Its basically a very well crafted and thrilling character study, I mean if you've seen Cabin Fever you'll prolly notice how Eli looses his grip on his characters in the end. Especially Rider Strong who becomes a complete opposite of whom he once was. Same thing happens here in Hostel with Jay, but with jay it makes alot more sense. I do feel the train scene and a few others are lackluster clones of similar scenes, but Eli pulls them off with a style and rationality that is very original. And as anyone can tell he had to carefully plan this film to have it come together the way it does, and i think in the end its a well-crafted, gory good time! Keep-em commin Eli (man he can make me laugh)

Btw: Don't take this film too seriously or else you may find yourself dissapointed, I found myself and the audience both laughing in horror at just how extreme Eli takes this one.

[X-Nightcrawler]

Well, I just caught it on a sneak peek thing. I don't think I'll write a full review, but I really didn't like it.

I thought the pacing was terrible (40 minutes of boobies (good boobies), *torture scene that wasn't all that* 20 minutes of searching around town - 10 minutes of torture that wasn't all that - fun escape scene - 20 minutes of MGS-like revenge that seemed silly - end), all the characters were annoying and underdeveloped (this guy doesn't know about subtle characterizations. "Did I ever tell you about that kid who drowned? I mean, most traumatic experience in my life. Of course, I hadn't told you, my best friend. Anyways, I'm telling you know because it's going to come into play later."), lots and lots o'gore, well-spread silliness ("I'm coming with a chainsaw at you-WHOOPS! *slips*"), dumb revenge-y ending and I also thought it was hilariously badly scored (the bit where the guy's telling thema bout the hostel in Slovakya with the UBER INTENSE!!11 music in the background was hilarious). Sure, it had some interesting parallels and interesting character moments, but otherwise, I just didn't like it.

5/10. At least it wasn't a dissapointment, I wasn't looking forward to it at all.

[spacemonkey]

HEy X, glad Im not alone in thinking this was "all that".

[X-Nightcrawler]

Originally posted by spacemonkey
HEy X, glad Im not alone in thinking this was "all that".

Yeah, me too. I was quite surprised at how well received it was. Not only by horror movie geeks but by critics too (got like 60% on RT, which is quite high). I just didn't find myself too into it. Sure, the directing is great and the setting fantastic, but the writting was silly and the gore was . . . oddly disturbing, even if pure exploitation.

[Ripper1888]

1/10 This is one of the dumbest movies I've ever had the displeasure of seeing regardless of genre.

The dialogue is juvenile and quite homophobic and sexist ,the characters are one dimensional and forgettable I for one could wait for them to get tortured and killed. I didn't think the film was that gory and the scenes of violence and torture were actually quite cartoonish and not very disturbing imo.This felt like Mtv and the Sci-fi channel decided to make a movie together.


Director Eli Roth is 0 for 2

Cabin Fever 3/10
Hostel 1/10

[Jason13thh]

I saw Hostel on yesterday and I must say was rather disapointed I mean I expected something more violent and gory.

It was way too soft and smooth for me I mean where was the creepy vibe ? the dark and somber tone ??
I mean for the usual audience maybe they will find this movie gory and violent but for a horror fan like me it's just too clean and dry on the gore.
Howerver this film was not that bad and I like the ending,too. that's the reason why I give a 6/10 rating.

[doaflip]

I loved Hostel.

I've been waiting in great anticipation for a year plus to see this film. So I was pretty hyped up.

Of course there was a lot of negative hype. I kept hearing that the first half was just juvenile dialogue, full of swearing and sexist remarks whilst general drug taking and nudity appeared sporadically. And then I heard that the second half didn't have enough gore, or not enough as we were led to believe.

Being very much an anti-promiscuity and anti-drug man, I figured I'd be left jaded unimpressed by an opening half full of annoying characters and further disappointed by the second.

How wrong was I?

I loved it. I freaking loved it.

I didn't find the dialogue childish or immature at all. The bad language and remarks were sporadic, in fact I would go as far as to say that real life is much worse. Despite that, I found the characters to be realistic and pretty believable. Oli is the absolute stereotype of guys you find in European pornos; Josh and Paxton were actually fleshed out with character rather than the brainless penis-guided fools I expect them to be.

They were in Amsterdam so the drugs and nudity were totally in context. I figured it would all be there for hormone enraged boys to go "LOLZ LOOK AT DEM BOOBS!!!!!" but no, it actually served the opposite intention; showing how easily these guys are sucked into the trap. Flash a bit of flesh and these guys are yours for the taking.

I found the set-up to be paced very well, and I liked the addition of the gang of kids. The scene on the train with the businessman touching Josh also served to show the ignorance of the characters; in most of Europe it's custom to be very touchy-feely and be close physically to people. In fact, Americans have the most theoretical "personal space", that is how far you can stand or sit together without feeling uncomfortable.

Then the second half came... awesome. No, it wasn't the massive gorefest that was hyped up, but it was pretty hardcore in places. I had no problems with cutting away, I actually preferred that to showing us stuff in lingering detail.

And I really got behind Paxton. I wanted him to fuck up everyone. And he did.

So whereas I was expecting a brainless first half and a letdown conclusion, I got what I think is a genuinely good movie. I really think Eli Roth will go down as a major director of the genre.

Considering a sequel though, I really don't know what he could come up with. Having new characters going to the Hostel is a cop-out. Saying "oh here's another Hostel" would be the same. I'd really like to see a continuation of Paxton's journey or something, but I doubt we'll get that. I don't know what he'll come up with.

8 or 9 out of 10 bananas.

[MISFITS_Fiend]

Just saw it; loved it.

I didn't have a problem with the pacing at all. I liked how it took some time before things really started to happen; it builds up the anticipation, and a little character development is never a bad thing.

After checking out the other reviews on here, I just have one thing to say...do you people ever go to a movie just to enjoy the movie for what it is, instead of dissecting and over-analyzing it to death? Some movies, like this one, are just there for people to enjoy. Who gives a shit if some of the scenes are "ripoffs" from other movies? As long as it works in the context of the movie (and here it did), it's all good as far as I'm concerned.

And besides, at least it's not Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector. I would rather have someone cut MY toes and fingers off than sit through that shitfest.

8/10 (I do agree that it could have been a little bit gorier, but for a studio film it wasn't too dry.)

[spacemonkey]

Originally posted by MISFITS_Fiend
After checking out the other reviews on here, I just have one thing to say...do you people ever go to a movie just to enjoy the movie for what it is, instead of dissecting and over-analyzing it to death?

Well, thats what these here boards are for. For analizing films, if that doesnt tickle your funny bone then your in the wrong place bro.

But then again if you read my review youll see that I did enjoy certain elements from the film, like the gore (however dissapointing it was) and I found it vastly superior to Cabin Fever. Fuck, Id say a 3 out of 5 rating aint even that bad of a rating for what this movie is.

[MISFITS_Fiend]

Nah, I get what you're saying. I wasn't talking about you specifically; I just meant that almost none of the movies being made these days utilize original thoughts or ideas. Sometimes you just have to look past that and decide if, in the end, the movie did it's job and entertained you. For me, this movie did. It just seemed that the reasons people were panning this movie (again, not you solely) were not large enough to totally label this movie as 'crap'.

We have the When A Stranger Calls remake for that.

[Cronos]

ugh, aside from wondering why Takashi Miike would want to appear in this garbage the only thing i was left thinking at the end was what shots/scenes were stolen from what film. most of the scenes in Hostel looked exactly like ones ive seen in other films...Roth is not a good director, the film lumbers around and for a horror film, i was surprised the first half has nothing in the way of horror. that wouldnt be a problem if there was any story or character development but that is also missing from this mess. as for the gore, i was left wondering where all this amazing stuff we had heard of went. there was nothing aside from a splash of blood here and there with a couple of severed fingers. yawn

the acting and script are also shoddy and very childish

complete crap

3/10

[ilovemovies]

The eye scene was pretty gross. It got a major response from the audience I saw this movie with.

I like the fact that it starts off like some kind of sophmoric teen comedy with a surprising amount of nudity. It kinda caught me off guard then when the nightmare begins. And man, it gets pretty squirmy at the end. Pretty suspenseful and then I love when one of the big bad guys gets his much needed comeuppance at the end. It had both the audience I was with and myself cheering out loud!

As far as movies like these goes, it is somewhat similar to Wolf Creek and The Hills Have Eyes remake. It's not quite as good as those two movies, but it's still solid horror fare IMO.

[teenkiller]

I recently watched Roth's Cabin Fever. I wasn't expecting much from it when I found out it was about a flesh eating virus. Psycho slashers are more my cup of tea. It actually turned out to be a pretty okay movie though. Liked it a little more than I thought I would. If Roth was able to make me enjoy something like that then I could only imagine that I would enjoy Hostel even more. I'm looking forward to the dvd release. Well thats all for now GOoD JOURNEY my fellow schmoes.

[MisterTwister]

I loved the movie. Violent, sick yet Funny. 8/10

[lunatic]

Did anyone watch director's cut already? I bought it but was too busy watching Black Emanuelle 2 and Natural City to check DVD yet.

[zombievictim]

Originally posted by lunatic
Did anyone watch director's cut already? I bought it but was too busy watching Black Emanuelle 2 and Natural City to check DVD yet.

I watched it today. Didn't notice much of a difference
. Still a cool movie. I don't understand everyones hate with it.

[poopontheshoes7]

I loved it. I dont understand why everyone hates it. And whats with all the its so homophobic talk. Sorry to say it thats how young people talk now-a-days. Get used to it. Hell, the charecters is this movie were some of the most natural charecters I have seen in a long time. Show me one teenager or early 20 something that doesnt talk and or act like that. Dont think you can find one so easily.
I also found the violence very exceptional. I dont see how it held back .The gore was just fine for me.

Hostel was better than Wolf Creek thats for damn sure and most of the "old school" horror films coming out these days.

8.5/10

[JayWolf]

One thing that pisses me off is this.

Roth got down on Wrong Turn for using CGI to enhance the violence yet he did just the same thing in Hostel.

What a fucking hypocritical fucktard. I can't stand him at all, he makes me sick.

[zombievictim]

Originally posted by JayWolf
One thing that pisses me off is this.

Roth got down on Wrong Turn for using CGI to enhance the violence yet he did just the same thing in Hostel.

What a fucking hypocritical fucktard. I can't stand him at all, he makes me sick.

Wow...because he said one thing that he turned on later. Hmm...I'm sure you've done the same but people don't say you make them sick.

[spacemonkey]

Originally posted by zombievictim
I watched it today. Didn't notice much of a difference
. Still a cool movie. I don't understand everyones hate with it.

I didnt exactly hate Hostel, I just didnt appreciate the frat boy mentality / Eurotrip angle they went with.

[Misery]

finally saw hostel...

it was... meh. personally i loved cabin fever, so my expectations were relatively high for hostel.

the movie was okay, i guess. far from what it was advertised to be, which bothers me, but it was still a decent flick.

[PackBacker]

"Hostel" 2005

Directed by: Eli Roth ("Cabin Fever")
Written by: Eli Roth
Starring: Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson

Tagline: Welcome to your worst nightmare.

Rating: 8/10

Plot: Three friends backpacking through Europe hear rumors of the ultimate hostel. Horny, loose women who throw themselves at Americans...so off they go! Things aren't as they appear, though, as people begin disappearing.

Review: "Hostel" isn't for everyone. I find the lines in general center on your feelings about the writer/director Eli Roth. If you like Roth's dialogue/style, you're going to enjoy the film. If you don't, you probably won't like it.

The film is a bit uneven. The first half of the film is a glorified sex comedy. Booze, boobs, drugs, boobs, and a playful introduction to our main characters is the name of the game. Even though we are being assaulted with lewdness you can garner a certain affection for the American leads. This of course transitions into a much darker mood.

We go from a buddy sex romp into a torture/mutilation/chase/revenge bloodbath. Finally! Once it changes gears we go full tilt all the way to the end. Even with the somber attitude Roth still works in his wacky sense of humor with the Bubble Gum Gang and such.

The way to experience the film is truthfully in the theater. When I saw it, the house was packed- standing room only. I have never heard so much applause in a theater for a horror film before. Spontaneous cheers erupted for the eyeball scene, car meets girl, train meets girl, chainsaw scene, and the Bubble Gum Gang. Mix in some screams here and there and it is a terrific theater going experience.

So let's get to another sticking point for some- the gore. We will never have the gore Asian films display due to the MPAA. This one featured the most/best I've seen in a mainstream American release in I don't know how long. We've got more severed limbs than you can shake a stick at, gunshots, chainsawed limbs, a phenomenal eyeball scene, crushed skulls, severed Achilles tendons, car wreck victims, blood splattering everywhere, drills, and more dark imagery than can be imagined. Will it live up to Miike et. al? No. Could Roth have snuck more in past the MPAA? I don't think so. It has to be put into perspective- this was the goriest thing (IMHO) in years and lived up to the hype of the folks who don't watch a jabillion horror films or the Asian subgenre.

I found the acting to be surprisingly good. Basically the entire cast are unknowns. I guess that gave them a feeling of freshness and believability. I just can't imagine a teen of the week having drill bits piercing him or losing a couple fingers. Roth went authentic as well- using Europeans who sometimes couldn't even speak English. Again this was a great way to do it instead of irritating phony accents.

I fully recognize that this film is not for everyone. Go in with an open mind and planning on having a good time and it will be hard not to. Boobs, blood, laughter, and some uncomfortable "oooohs!" are gonna be on the screen and it's your own damn fault if you can't enjoy this combo in a highly entertaining mixture.

[nash]

I thought the movie was pretty cool. The gore factor was a bit of a letdown as there was nothing I haven't seen elsewhere. What was really scary is that fact there are sick fucks out there who get a boner by torturing and mutilating people.

[42ndStreetFreak]

"Hostel" -
Negative points first:

You could have basically removed the opening Amsterdam sequences (bar the kid
telling them about the Hostel) for better pacing, and I wish Roth would lose the
'gay', 'retarded' 'suks' spouting characters as I hate such plebs in real life
and don't need them as characters you are supposed to care about in films. I'd
torture the creeps too!
Not as bas as "Cabin Fever" for this though thankfully.

Also some of the nasty as hell mutilations seemed to be shrugged off after like
a paper cut! The finger amputation especially seemed to be almost forgotten.


Other than that, I have to say I liked it. I have no time for homophobia and I
hope Rot6h is not like his characters, but it has to be said that this IS
exactly how a good few American teens would act, it is after all 24 hour Baptist TV Land.
As such it seemed in place and even justified when the 'Dutch Guy', a complete
stranger, touched the lad up.
So no real criticism here.

Or in fact of the anti-American stance. Roth showed various nationalities of
victim AND villian...if anything it was biased against what Europe is supposedly
like! But hey..it's a horror film not a documentary.
And it seems the lead character would have learnt a valuable lesson anyway.

The plot was far fetched of course, but Roth embraced that fact and as such
neutralised any criticism.
Delightfully strange moments, like the pack of feral kids, even seemed okay
(like the crazy Kung Fu kid who came from nowhere in "Cabin Fever") because Roth
openly embraced the wackiness.

Gore was not that well done, but was suitably moist and in your face when needed
and a strong vibe of essential sadism ran through the movie. Could have been
stronger and even more disturbing...but then it would not get released outside
of Internet geek sites. let us not forget the environment (and the money that
goes with it) Roth is working in.

Nice to have some good honest (and very nice thank you) T & A on display for
once in a mainstream horror flick and the eastern Europe seting made for a
welcome change and the sets were atmospheric.

Loved the scene where a spot of 'the native language' seemed to work the trick
for a potential helpless victim....only to result in nothing more but a gag!

Overall it was not all it could have been but was better than most tries at
Exploitation we get from Hollywood although not in the league of "The Devil's
Rejects" or "Wolf Creek" because unlike "Creek" it sometimes played it too
'crazy' and far fetched.

But generally it was good, nasty, bloody entertainment with some nice atmosphere
and quirks. We just need rather less dip-shit characters to cheer for Roth!!

Damn weird but nice to hear a re-mix of "The Wicker Man's" 'Willow Dance' song on the soundtrack too!

[Horror]

EuroHorror

By

Nick Schwab


It may be an overused analogy, but the fact remains that a good horror movie is like a car wreck, in the way that it scares the viewer, but they still can not take their eyes off of the screen. While “Hostel “on the other hand is a car wreck, it is a terrible collision of a good idea with a locomotive of bad ones.

While mixing elements of a teenage-sex comedies with survival horror, “Hostel” mixes a bunch of movies together respectably (An American Werewolf in London, Eurotrip, Porky’s, Saw), but then when this movie-meal hits the horror oven, the film’s power and tension never rises above pre-heat.

This is partly because the first third of the film lifts a few scenes right from “Eurotrip.” Now though this film plays the raunchy comedy scenes much better then that movie, but at the same time, when the film kicks into horror it then will dawn on the viewer that “Hostel” would of worked better as a comedy.

Although Eli Roth is a cool cat and is also a very good technical director, with a knack for beautiful cinematography, characterizations through comedy, and shows special promise still in setting up the horrific suspense, at the same time Roth is what makes the film suffer. Because, as also the screenwriter, he still needs to hone his writing talents better.

The first block of “Hostel” actually uses comedy well to set up its characters. Now it is true that they are rather one dimensional, but empathy is still felt for them. However, later in the movie, Roth has an irritating way of trying to flesh out some dramatic backstory for the characters, and it is these scenes that seem like they belong in another movie.


Then in the final block Roth falters again on story telling. “Hostel” seems too much like a James Bond film, in the point that almost every person that they met on their trip turns out to be a diabolical psychopath. There are also too many car chases for a horror film and far too many over-the-top moments in the climax that lose the film’s credibility.

In the end, it should be stated that horror films are scary, because no matter how supernatural the plot is, the film has to seem like it can really happen. This is what makes “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (1974) and “The Exorcist” masterpieces, while “Hostel” sadly locks itself out of being a truly scary experience.

** (Out of 4)

[darchangel]

This movie was okay...nothing more, nothing less from me. I agree with a lot of comments that the gore was WAYYY overhyped; I was expecting a lot more, but there was none to be had.


However, I almost peed myself when the Italio-Russian chick says, "I get lot of money for you...and that make you MY bitch."







~darchangel~

[Hans, wihout Franz]

Wow. Well I'll say this about the flick its an either love it or hate it one. One thing I have to say about Roth is that his direction is improved more in this one and his characters are not as annoying. But the flick is no classic of horror and except for the part with the "eye". I thought it was gory but not as brutal as it could of been...or stated that it was. However, it was just ok and I'd probably never feel the need to watch it ever again since I've seen flicks before it that were scarier and gorier. Shoot, I think Cabin Fever might of been gorier.**1/2

[CHANCE]

Roth and Quentin have one thing in common;
wish fulfilment...

Both of them imitate Directors/Movies they like,hoping that their flicks will have the same effect.

Both of them create characters and situations the would like to be/be in.Roth is sex obsesed and Quentin wants to be a tough guy.

Both of them spew nonsense in interviews.
On the Cabin fever disc, Roth talks abour real horror movies;The Thing,Texas chainsaw,Alien....how these movies are not being made today but then turns and says that all great horror movies have nudity in them...?what...The thing?

Quentin denies that Resevoir Dogs is a remake of the 1981 flick City Heat, claiming several times that he never saw the movie, then that he did,then that he even owns a poster of the flick!

Both their movies are pop culture filled guides for anyone who only watches movies made in the 80's till now, who never watch anything that is not American.So most people will find their shit original as they claim it to be...which they are not...

Mostimportantly, like Rob Zombie, the movies they make lack suspense and are hardly "extreme" in my book.

Wanna see something ultra gory strange:Ichi the killer, Ricky 5...
Wanna see some thing Truly disturbing:Man bites dog

Tere are a lot of truly disturbing horror movies out there, they are mostly foreign but good none the less....

I liked some of Cabin Fever, Hostel and some of Qeubtin's stuff.
It is the constant patting on the back and the so called "expert of the genre"bullshit that gets on my nerves as their movies as a whole do not move a single cell in my body.

make something, release it and then talk about it!