For a film that bore the tagline "the goriest movie you'll ever see" across the front cover and had Quentin Tarantino's name attached to the credits, Hostel really did have a lot to live up to. In the interest of keeping this review as open and fair as possible, I will try and avoid talking about the hype too much in the hope that you can come to your own conclusions at the end.
But first, some brief notes...
TECHNICAL INFO ==============
Release date: March 2006 Written & Directed by: Eli Roth Certificate: 18 Runtime: 94mins approx.
MAIN CAST =========
Jay Hernandez - Paxton Derek Richardson - Josh Eythor Gudjonsson - Oli Barbara NedelJakova - Natalya Jan Vlasak - The Dutch Businessman Rick Hoffman - The American Businessman
PLOT ====
Backpacking across Europe, Paxton, Josh and Oli end up in Amsterdam with sex on their mind. They party all night and make love to many anonymous women. However, with a cocktail of drinks in their system and empty genitals they discover that they have been locked out of their hostel after missing curfew. But apon learning of a new hostel in Slovakia where the women are free and easy they catch the next train to "paradise".
On the surface this new hostel appears to be a dream come true but when Josh and Oli go missing Paxton begs the women in the hostel to help find them. When she escorts him to an abandoned warehouse where he believes they are, Paxton finds himself in a slaughterhouse for humans where no one escapes and no one dies peacefully.
GORE =====
If you are vaguely unfamiliar with gory films then Hostel may make you wince in disgust at one or two parts but suffice it to say it will probably not make you heave. However, most people who have a taste for all things gory may find this film somewhat lacking. There are some scenes in it which may appear a little bit gross but the claim that is one of the goriest films of all time is a complete fallacy. It is a shame really because it did have the potential to be all-out sick and disgusting because, let's face it, that's the only reason people watch this film.
MY THOUGHTS ============
It's difficult to come to a conclusion without thinking too much about the hype. But as far as I am concerned this really is a one-time-only film. It was created as a sort of amalgamation of sex and violence and although there is plenty of sex (particularly in the early stages) the latter is few and far between. In fact, most of the death scenes happen off-screen in a kind of psychological fill-in-the-gap-yourself kind of way.
It's not that I was expecting a thought-provoking or gripping storyline but had the plotline been a lot stronger it would have been something to fall back on and would have made it a lot more worth the money. I am starting to wonder whether this Hostel would have recieved the praise and popularity it did had it not had Tarantino's name on the front.
If you want to see an hour of European topless girls then this film may intrigue you, but if you after grotesque violence then I would recommend Peter Jackson's Braindead.
But make up your own mind, violence is not the be all and end all of films but this is pretty much the only thing that Hostel has to offer...and even that is lacking.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 1984 - Horror - Director: Joe Dante - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday, Frances Lee McCain, Judge Reinhold, Corey Feldman
Production Year: 2002 - Horror - Director: Danny Boyle - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Cillian Murphy, Megan Burns, Noah Huntley, Christopher Eccleston, Marvin Campbell, Brendan Gleeson
I was only aware of this film because of complaints from a Slovak colleague. Having read this very helpful review, I don't feel that I want to watch it. Adam
clownfoot 20.06.2007 11:59
What an awful film. Lacks everything a good horror requires - tension and suspense. Whilst there's lots of gore on show, it makess for a very shallow movie that only fifteen year olds are likely to approve. Agree, watch Braindead (or Evil Dead 2) instead! Alboy
lc15 20.06.2007 11:47
I didn't enjoy this film much. But your review was good!!
Lxx
excessive-skin-displayed-before-gruesome-bloody-to rture-begins genre--Hostelfollows two randy Americans (Jay Hernandez,Friday Night Lights, and Derek Richardson,Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd) and an even randier I...
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excessive-skin-displayed-before-gruesome-bloody-to rture-begins genre--Hostelfollows two randy Americans (Jay Hernandez,Friday Night Lights, and Derek Richardson,Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd) and an even randier I...
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A trio of teenagers two American one Icelandic backpack around Europe looking for a ... more
good time. While in Amsterdam they are told of a youth hostel in Slovakia where all their wildest dreams will come true. Jumping onto the first train there the thr...
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![Quentin Tarantino Presents : Hostel [2005] [DVD] [2006]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78487819.jpg "Quentin Tarantino Presents : Hostel [2005] [DVD] [2006]")
Jun 20th, 2007
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