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Directed By
Eli Roth
Written By:
Eli Roth
Cast:
Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, Eythor Gudjonsson, Barbara Nedeljakova, Jana Kaderabkova, Jan Vlasák, Jennifer Lim, Lubomir Silhavecky, Paula Wild, Lubomir Bukovy, Petr Janis, Jana Havlickova, Vanessa Jungova
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Hostel (2006)
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Movie Review by Tony 
June 15th, 2006
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HOSTEL opens with three buddies backpacking in Amsterdam, the buddies are Paxton (Jay Hernandez), Oli (Eythor Gudjonsson), and Josh (Derek Richardson). They are there to bang women, smoke pot, and have the time of their lives. Paxton is more of the leader, Oli is the charismatic horn dog, and Josh is the shy one. Roth has learned storytelling, as he takes the first 40 minutes for us to get to know the characters, before the chains, blow torches, and chainsaws make their debut. All three lead actors had chemistry, and the 40 minutes spent with them early on was a learning tool to get to know them.
They end up getting locked out of their youth hostel, and get invited to a man's house where he tells them of a hostel somewhere in eastern Europe where the women are all incredibly hot and have a taste for American men. Not to mention, all the men there are at war, so the women are just dying to be with some men. They decide to attend this hostel, and meet a pair of young and hot Russian women Natalya (Barbara Nedeljakova) and Svetlana (Jana Kaderabkova). Everything seems just as they imagined it. But it's never that easy in that movies, especially a horror film.
Soon, their friend Oli turns up missing, without leaving a note and things begin to get fishy. Things get even worse, when Josh turns up missing. Pretty soon, they find out they are being used as puppets for a pay-to-kill business that is being run here. Where businessmen pay money to kill, and torture human beings. It is all legal here.
A film like HOSTEL is going to divide it's audience three ways. There will be the gore hounds who are going to see this movie to see the torture and violent scenes. This might be the most graphic horror film to be released in the US in a while. But there is not tons of gore, so if you are looking for that, look for a Japanese horror film. This is the best that can be released in the states today, without getting an NC-17 rating. So don't expect insane gore, but expect some. Be realistic about it.
There will be the people who hate the pornographic nature of the film with it's sex and violence. They will label it snuff, and trash. They will see it as being simplistic and torture for the sake of the torture. Lastly, there will be the people who get this movie. They will get what Roth is commenting on, saying, his subtexts, and the genius behind this film. They will get "it".
Roth teases us early on with the first 40 minutes of the film. You think it will be a buddy picture in the vein of WEDDING CRASHERS, or 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN. This is a great time. Breasts, sex, drugs, you name it, it's glamorous. He then pulls the wool over our eyes and takes us in the darkest, most deprived part of human society. The underbelly. Roth worked on sets with David Lynch, and you can obviously see the influence of Lynch on Roth. You could argue this is a modern day BLUE VELVET. Only in a horror picture.
He also comments on how we are seen by others. By other countries, by other people. The ugly Americans, so to speak. How we use our bodies, and other peoples bodies like it is nothing. How we torture, kill, and maim each other and don't blink twice. How our libidos cause to act in a selfish manner. There is a scene in the movie where they are kicked out of a club and they go "We are Americans, we have rights!" As if they are entitled to do whatever they please with no consequences. Also, did you notice Americans are the most expensive to kill? Since they are in such high demand to be killed by foreign businessmen. Americans are seen as ugly, vile, and that is why people pay the most to kill them.
There is also the line between good and evil. We have to deal with the fact that the people doing the killings are human beings. One of them has a young child. The people in HOSTEL, are not monsters from a lab, outer-space creatures, or some mad scientist. This is human beings who are evil, and do evil things to others. We have to deal with the fact that human beings are doing this. Remember the Johnny Cash song: "I shot a man, just to see him die"? There is people out there who have an interest in killing, want to kill and get off on it.
The film's three main actors go through drastic changes in this film. They are early on in the film using other girls for their own pleasure. Later on, they are weak, vulnerable, and helpless. Roth shows this through their point of view. He will have a shot of them waking up, looking through the hole of the mask, looking at the weapons, then the person who wants to torture them. He has a real sense of danger in this film. It's bleak, dark, and ugly. No hero to save the day, just ruthless torture and cynicism.
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 | Javi
Feb 19, 2007 4:48 PM
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| Actually I think those of the Oriental persuasion were more expensive...probably due to isolationism, therefore being harder to "acquire" maybe? |
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