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Directed By
Eli Roth
Written By:
Eli Roth
Cast:
Lauren German, Bijou Phillips, Roger Bart, Richard Burgi, Heather Matarazzo, Jay Hernandez, Jordan Ladd, Edwige Fenech, Ruggero Deodato, Luc Merenda, Rick James, Philip Waley, Monika Malacova, Jan Nemejovsky, Mark Taylor, Vera Jordanova, Stanislav Ianevski, Milan Knazko, Ivan Furak, Zuzana Geislerová, Petr Vancura, Susanna Bequer, Mark Taylor, David Baxa, Roman Janecka, Monika Hladová, Peter Bláha, Davide Dominici, Milda Jedi Havlas, Patrik Zigo, Liliya Malkina, Rostislav Osicka
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Hostel: Part II (2007)
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Movie Review by Ben
February 3rd, 2009
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I was surprised by how much I enjoyed "Hostel" when I finally checked it out on DVD. Director Eli Roth put together a pretty good horror thriller filled with the requisite blood, gore, and wonderful breasts. Eli also took the time to give us characters we came to care about which I usually never expect to see (nor do I care to sometimes) in a horror movie like this. He also gave the characters the decency of getting laid before they met their horrific fates. Some people never get that lucky (never mind who). "Hostel" also pretty much brought the term "'torture porn" into the lexicon of popular culture thanks to film critic David Edelstein. I always figured it was someone who really hated these kinds of movies that would come up with a term like that, and that he would have porn on the mind more than he would care to admit.
"Hostel" shocked many with its incredibly graphic violence and drove a lot of conservative people up the wall because it became popular very quickly. Many wondered why films this disturbing are so popular. Hello! It's a horror movie!! Horror movies are supposed to be disturbing! Does every movie you watch have to be an enjoyable experience in order for you to like it? Besides, "Hostel" probably pales in comparison to all the Asian horror movies which hold nothing back in terms of gore and social taboos. Many critics keep b*tching and moaning about how unpleasant movies like "Hostel" and "Saw" are. I say to them, what the hell did you expect?
That being said, "Hostel Part II" is not as good as the original, and that's even with writer/director Eli Roth on board who also made the original (and got Quentin Tarantino's rocks off in the process). It's not that it's too disturbing. In fact, I didn't find it disturbing enough. I wanted to be disturbed and thrilled, but in the end, "Hostel Part II" is really a case of been there, slashed that. It's more of the same and nowhere as inspired. Eli Roth is not a bad director (that's what I think anyway), but he doesn't really bring anything new to this sequel other than doing a gender reversal. Whereas the victims in the first one were male, it's the females who get it in the jugular (among other places) this time around.
The movie starts off with Jay Hernandez's character of Paxton recovering from the horrific events of the first film. Like all the "lucky" survivors of the original in a horror franchise, he is plagued with nightmares, and he has not taken the time to explain what happened to the parents of his friends. Before he has the chance to do that however, he ends up meeting a fate much like the same fate Amy Steel met in "Friday The 13th Part 2." For those who have seen this movie, it is safe to say that Paxton got ahead of himself.
Once that loose end is tied off, the movie then introduces us to the next set of American victims, three female art students of varying personalities. We have the down to earth Beth (Lauren German), the spoiled and promiscuous Whitney (Bijou Phillips), and the sensitive and shy Lorna ("Wiener Dog" herself, Heather Paparazzo). They end up getting friendly with one of the painting models named Axelle (the ever so luscious Vera Jordanova) who invites them to spend a weekend with her in Slovakia, a place that should have seen a drop in tourism after the first movie. They all of course end up at the same hostel as did the characters from the first film.
Do you ever notice how Whitney always seems to be name of a spoiled brat? Sounds so proper, yet it reeks of girls whose parents give them everything they want and nothing they deserve. Anyway, that was just a thought.
There's a great moment when the desk clerk takes the passports of the three ladies and scans them onto the internet. This is where the bidding war over their inevitable torture begins. Since they are Americans, you know they will fetch a record high price. It is through this that we are introduced to the two men who will end up being the torturers with the most money to burn, Stuart (Roger Bart) and Todd (Richard Burgi). Their story and journey to Slovakia is presented as a counterpoint to the plight of the three women as we know what will eventually happen to them.
It takes a little longer to get to the payoff for the Fangoria crowd, and the movie's first death is literally a very bloody one as a woman lays back and uses a scythe to slice away at her prey. We see her become endlessly aroused as she is covered with blood that is forever denied to the Red Cross blood drive. I bet even John Waters was looking at this and saying:
"Even I couldn't come up with that!"
The movie does have one extremely memorable moment of bloody vengeance that will have the men going "OW!!!!" You'll know the moment when it comes, and it's the one part of our body we can't quite live without. Yikes! Ouch! Order that chastity belt now!
Overall though, the violence and blood (while extreme) feels pretty tame compared to what came before in the first "Hostel." Watching these women getting tortured in supremely disgusting ways is nowhere as disturbing this time around because we know what's going to happen. Even though we are never sure how it will happen, it still feels kind of inert. Or maybe it's just because the women come across as so much stronger than the men from the original "Hostel." Compared to Lauren, Bijou, and Heather, Jay Hernandez and his compadres look like a bunch of pu**y whipped b*tches.
The performances themselves are pretty good in general. Lauren German plays the most grounded of the three main women in the story, and I did get a bit of a kick over how her character turns the tables on her captor. Bijou Phillips plays another version of the spoiled rotten brat who sleeps around that she has played in movies like "Bully" and "Havoc" among others. At least Bijou wears more clothes in this one. Heather Matarazzo is sweet to watch here, and nowhere as memorably nerdy as she was in "Welcome To The Dollhouse." Roger Bart and Richard Burgi are also pretty good here, but I'm not really sure I bought the plot twist that occurred with them towards the movie's end.
In the end, I came out of "Hostel Part II" saying meh. I didn't really care for it, and I wasn't all that thrilled about it. The problem is that there is nothing really surprising and nothing really new going on. All we end up doing is impatiently waiting for the blood to pour out over the screen in gallons. I can just picture director Eli Roth on the set of this film screaming like Othello:
"BLOOD! BLOOD! MORE BLOOD!!!"
Eli Roth now has to find a new way to scare us that doesn't involve as many horny college students. The performances he gets from the actors are not that bad, and he does a good job of building the bleak anticipation of the brutal demise awaiting unsuspecting tourists. But "Hostel Part II" is undone by the familiarity we have from its predecessor, and it feels unbearably tedious as a result.
That Vera Jordanova is irresistibly sexy though. She can seduce me anytime.
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 | MCBD
Feb 20, 2009 1:15 AM
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