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Imagine Girls Gone Wild meets Faces of Death . . . that’s Hostel.
This movie is really two movies in one. The first half is about three guys backpacking through Europe and spending what could easily pass for “spring break” in Amsterdam. It’s all drugs, partying and a whole lot of mattress mambo. So much mattress mambo that at times it seemed we were watching a porno. Then suddenly, they are tipped off as to the perfect Hostel in Slovakia to stay in and indulge in whatever pleasures they wish. This brings us to the second movie. All torture and gore. Apparently, if you have enough money and you are evil and twisted beyond all reason, you can pay to torture innocent kidnap victims any way you wish until they are dead. And the kidnap victims are those staying at the Hostel. As luck would have it, only two of the main characters get slaughtered. The third manages to escape and dole out some pretty nasty revenge on the bad guys.
As far as gory torture flicks go, this one’s not all bad – but it’s close. The cinematography is decent and the movie’s concept – a human suffering fantasy camp – is novel and provocative. Unfortunately, though, there’s little drama or suspense, and the graphic and detailed people-butchering is – as one might expect – woefully unappealing. The movie’s ending is somewhat satisfying, but the route to that ending is too contrived and predictable to be worthwhile. If you can’t get your hands on a “Girls Gone Wild” video and like that sort of thing mixed with some unconscionable acts of torture and sickening gore, then you could see this movie . . . or, better yet, get yourself some serious help. The rest of us, however, will find Hostel disturbing or – worse yet - annoying.
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On the Movie Night Traffic Light on a scale of GREEN meaning “Go – it’s a must see”, YELLOW meaning “Caution – it’s okay” and RED meaning “No - stop don’t do it."
We rate Hostel RED. Stop – Spread the word, don’t pay full price for this one, don’t see a discounted matinee, don’t even rent this one. |
