Hostel

Jay Hernandez
Derek Richardson
Eythor Gudjonsson
Barbara Nedeljakova

Written and directed by Eli Roth


Plot: Two Americans and a European are backpacking through Europe, taking advantage of the prostitution and plentiful drug use. They run across a fellow backpacker who tells them of a youth hostel behind the old Iron Curtain that promises a higher level of debauchery with some of the most beautiful women in Europe. When they arrive, they run into much more than they bargained for. They soon realize that their search for the ultimate thrill comes with a pretty high price.

Review: After seeing Eli Roth’s first film, Cabin Fever, and totally digging the campy gore, I was looking forward to this one. After walking out of the theater I was pretty sure I had just seen something that was an entirely unique type of horror film. The first half of the film has all the makings of a good horror film, an overabundance of sex and drugs, plenty of debauchery to go around, very much a hard R rated Porky’s in Europe with an expense account. Then the movie takes a one hundred and eighty degree turn. The movie does things with the horror genre that I haven’t seen in theaters well, since I can even remember. Instead of the obligatory scare shot of something jumping out at you from the dark, or the slasher hunting down its victim, killing them, then moving on to the next death scene, this horror film is all about what you don’t see. The peek around the corner into the dark room that you are sure something unspeakably horrible is happening. Watching something that would make you jump out of your seat and cover your eyes, and letting your imagination carry you past the point of the film and creating your own horror. I can’t say enough about how important that is to the movie. Now Hostel does have it’s share of blood and gore, but the really scary stuff is just out of eyeshot. And then it happens. Just when you think you are watching a raunchy soft core flick, then a pretty inventive horror flick, the real fun kicks in. Imagine being trapped in an unknown country, with no means of possible escape from the worst possible conditions you can think of, watch as the tension builds more and more with just enough well placed dark humor to remind you that even the tensest situations can be relieved with a little vengeful murder. Eli Roth doesn’t just top his last film; he completely runs over it with an expensive European car and then rams it with a bus. You have to check out this movie. Check it out in the theaters and soak in the exuberance of the crowd around you. You can thank me later.


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