[horrorview]

"Hostel" (2006)

Directed by Eli Roth

Starring Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, Eythor Gudjonsson



American horror films have long been lagging behind their far more brutal and efficiently horrifying Eastern counterparts. Director Eli Roth, whose Cabin Fever proved to be one of the most refreshingly original fright flicks in years, seems to have taken notice of this with the gleefully sadistic Hostel. Roth’s also seemed to taken a page from the Japanese horror masters, especially the infamous Takashi Miike (who has a cameo here). While I’ve certainly tired of the “long-haired ghost” crap and the Japanese obsession with possessed home electronic devices, Miike’s films represent a very dark and gruesome sub-genre of J-cinema that has even the most hardened of gorehounds doubled over the porcelain and crying “uncle”. While Roth doesn’t quite achieve those results with Hostel, it’s certainly not for lack of trying.

With the assistance of Quentin Tarantino, who serves as the film’s producer, as well as a brilliantly old-school marketing campaign that evokes the promotional jargon of early 70’s exploitation (“Warning: At recent advanced screenings of Hostel, paramedics had to be called to blah, blah, blah”), Roth has delivered a film that is really not the fearsome beast it claims to be, but is still much more violent and intense than your average studio picture, as well as an enormously entertaining throwback to the glorious pre-political correctness cinema of the “grindhouse” era.

Paxton and Josh (Hernandez and Richardson) are two red-blooded American college students backpacking their way across Europe for one last adventure before settling down as cogs in the corporate machine of life. Along with their newfound Icelandic buddy Oli (Eythor Gudjonsson), the pair hit Amsterdam on a quest for hash and hotties. However, the boys soon find out that Amsterdam’s no longer the hottest spot in Europe, when a friendly tip sends them to a swinging hostel in a Slovakian town. It’s a place where the woman are hot, the parties endless, and the nightlife…well, it’s just killer.

Obviously, if you’ve seen the commercials, you know what to expect from here on out, so I won’t ruin any of the film’s other nifty little surprises. One of the biggest surprises, though, was how much I enjoyed this film, especially after all of the hype, and the buzz of negativity that’s surrounded this film for the past few weeks.

I found Hostel to be just as fun, over-the-top, and entertaining as Roth’s debut film, Cabin Fever. The cast, especially Hernandez, are a likeable lot, and the script is chockfull of the wise-ass remarks and “real world” dialogue that made me such a fan of Cabin Fever in the first place. While it does take its time getting to the actual horror part of the film, once it’s there it doesn’t let up, and the forty minutes or so leading up to plays out like a twisted mélange of 80’s sex romp and Euro-Trip, but funnier and with many, many, many more breasts. The dichotomy of the first and second halves of Hostel makes for a very interesting juxtaposition, and is a nice bit of cinematic sleight of hand as it makes the film’s conclusion seem that much darker and more demented than it all really is.

Here’s the deal; If you’ve seen enough horror flicks, Hostel will not make you “pass out”, “scare the hell out of you”, or cause you any distress of any kind. Personally, I found the marketing campaign to be something of a hoot, but I think that a lot of folks, especially seasoned horror aficionados, may leave Hostel feeling gypped. Sure, there’s a decent amount of gore on display here, and I could see this movie turning weaker stomachs, but I found 2004’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake far more disturbing than Hostel. So, while I think the marketing campaign will definitely put asses in seats, I also feel that folks who go in looking for a bloodbath worthy of the Grand Guignol will be in for a bit of a letdown. However, this is definitely one of the most violent studio films I’ve seen, and I was actually quite surprised by how much got past the MPAA (which I would think can be credited to Tarantino’s involvement).

Now, all of that aside, I had a great time with this movie, and the packed house I saw this with seemed to share my enthusiasm with many cheers, belly-laughs, and grossed-out groans throughout. I don’t think Hostel will make anyone rethink the state of horror, but, despite its marketing campaign’s outlandish claims, I don’t think this film ever aspired to be anything more than what it is; a stylish, fun, and mildly sadistic piece of popcorn cinema.