Hostel* * 1/2Type: HorrorLength: 95 minutesMPAA Rating: RCast: Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, Eythor GudjonssonDirector: Eli RothPlaying at: Brier Creek, Carmike, Crossroads, Grand, Mission Valley, North Hills, Wakefield
The forecast in Bratislava, Slovakia, for any unfortunate, foreign soul is a 100 percent chance of blood, vomit, tears and an excruciating death.
Hostel, the new horror film written and directed by Eli Roth and produced by Quentin Tarantino, shocks the audience through a whirlwind of emotions.
With their eyes glued to the screen, helpless viewers sit paralyzed while watching the gruesome deeds being performed; all the while wishing for the horror to end.
Half soft-core porn and half seemingly a snuff film, the mood quickly changes from light and fun to disgusting and horrifying.
Hostel follows two American college students, Paxton (Jay Hernandez) and Josh (Derek Richardson), as they backpack through Europe with the befriended European drifter named Oli (Eythor Gudjonsson). The light and fun starts at this point as the three are shown partying hard in Amsterdam; smoking the reefer and looking for hot chicks.
When the backpackers get locked out of their hostel for a night, they come across a tip that the most beautiful girls who love to get freaky with foreigners, especially Americans, are in Bratislava.
Hesitant at first, our protagonists witness digital photographs of gorgeous women participating in an orgy.
With that in mind, the next scene sends them on their way to Slovakia; where they soon learn everything is for sale.
At first everything in Slovakia seems perfect. Model-like girls are the boys’ roommates at the hostel, and the girls have no problem getting naked. But the fun soon turns to horror as people begin disappearing.
Terror ensues as the torture begins. In a city with nothing to lose, a market has developed in torturing people to death for money. An American comes with the highest price tag at $25,000, making sleeping with Paxton and Josh a worthwhile investment for the sexy women they meet.
The director purposefully sets up the plot for the Americans to seem naive and immature in their thoughts and actions as a comment on current American society.
Hernandez and Richardson are the only Americans cast in major roles because Roth preferred to use locals of Prague where he filmed.
Hernandez and Richardson very believably portray the quickly changing emotions of torture victims. From confused to pleading to desperate, their performances are what make the film truly horrific.
Roth was inspired by internet urban legends and Web sites about being able to pay to inflict torture on others. He brought the idea to Tarantino, and together they created the goriest 95 minute film imaginable.
Hostel never holds back. It goes beyond any horror flick to date in its relentless search for the most brutal scene. Beware the electric drill, surgical scalpel and large iron claw moments. As the film becomes more intense, attempting to watch the screen becomes futile.
Hostel is only the second film directed by Roth, following the successful horror flick Cabin Fever in 2003, which he also wrote. Tarantino, on the other hand, is a seasoned vet and recognized Roth’s talent in a May 2004 interview with Premiere Magazine in which he referred to Roth as, “the future of horror.”
