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Hostel
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Plot
Tempted by a stranger on a Eurotrain, travellers Paxton (Hernandez), Josh (Richardson) and Oli (Gudjonsson) wander off the backpack map and book in to a hostel boasting a roster of European ladies. What sounds like heaven fires into hell, as sinister forces propel our trio into a world of pain...
Review
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Not to cause any reader distress, but if you’ve seen Audition, all it takes is one simple word to retrigger the nausea: ankles. So, in anticipation of anybody going to see Hostel and rereading this review, here’s one for the memories: yolky eye. Crossing your stomach yet?
Eli Roth’s (Cabin Fever) new movie is a “squirmer”, one of a growing crowd of sado-horrors à la Saw where audiences are sausage-machined through a series of unimaginably ghastly scenarios and come out the other side feeling like they’ve been riding the ghost train on a dentist’s chair. This isn’t jumpy-scary pulp. This is extreme test-your-nerve pulp. But it’s still pulp, and deeply proud of it.
The “Tarantino Presents” tag is more than bluster. QT had script input and, once the film gets into gear, the central set-piece feels like Bring Out The Gimp: The European Remix. Still, there’s another, less fortunate comparison: From Dusk Till Dawn. Hostel’s a movie of two halves, and one of them doesn’t measure up.
Having ragged the fear glands with a creepy tile-washing credit sequence, the mood flattens into a bland fratboy travelogue, complete with routine hash-and-hooker scrapes. Do we really care whether sensitive Josh pops his load with the
Happily, it delivers on its threat. For all his throwback genre licks (Hostel, bizarrely, has its very own Igor), Roth’s strongest game is playing on primal fears, and he’s a merciless button-pusher. Entering Hostel’s snuff-world is a bit like reliving a running-from-something nightmare with an enchanting twist: somebody’s cut your legs off. You might not feel that deeply for the characters, but you definitely feel their pain. There may also be regrets about eating those nachos early on.
Hostel’s gristle is pretty explicit, but then, in this genre, gratuitous is what you pay for. Cut it, and a key part of Roth’s hell goes with it. In fact, you could even argue this is splatter with conscience, the stupid-but-chilling revelation offering a bitter vision of how the world looks at a post-Guantanamo — and how looks back. It’s this souring aftertaste that lasts longest. Actually, that’s a lie. It’s the yolky eye bit.
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| Your Reviews |
Average user rating for Hostel |
| so s**t | |
| Oh my god this is s**t. really dissapointing. the 'quentin tarantino presents' tag is completely wasted on such dribble. i cannot believe they are making hostel 2 the concept is good and it probably happens in real life but it takes so long for anything to happen that you just lose interest. The yolky eye bit looks like something Sam Raimi would have done 20 years ago. The whole thing stinks, GOD nothing is scary anymore....I just wanna be scared s**tless !! ... More | |
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Posted by jerkyjudas at 18:05, 04 September 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| very very good alot better than the saw films. the "eye" scene was horrible, one of the most horrible scenes in any film i have ever seen ... More | |
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Posted by casino at 16:08, 26 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| pretty poor | |
| not as grim as i thought, sure some moments make you wince a little but not as much as i expected. Then again, I wasnt really expecting much from the guy who directed that piece of shit, Cabin Fever. oooooh stinky. ... More | |
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Posted by Sinfonic at 11:50, 25 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| pretty poor | |
| not as grim as i thought, sure some moments make you wince a little but not as much as i expected. Then again, I wasnt really expecting much from the guy who directed that piece of shit, Cabin Fever. oooooh stinky. ... More | |
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Posted by Sinfonic at 11:50, 25 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| What a disappointment | |
| With all the hype surrounding this film i was expecting a film that would deliver from the off and continously make you gag and recoil at every turn, instead i was left watching in disbelief, where was the film that was supposed to re-invent the horror genre, personally i didnt see one, what i saw was a director who was given a budget and was left to roam free sticking as many pairs of tits and ass he could lay his hands on and then attempting to scare us. The idea for the film was a good one, ... More | |
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Posted by hawkuk at 19:34, 15 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| My arse was this the most fucking shocking film ever. I mean half of it is basically the 2 main guys having sex with all these hot women. Its barely a horror film. ... More | |
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Posted by huny_monster at 15:35, 14 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| complete and utter rubbish! what a waste of time - not a patch on Saw. I didn't squirm once. When will movie makers remember that it's tension and build up that create an effect - if i wanted cheap and tacky blood effects i would watch casualty. ... More | |
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Posted by peateedee at 01:45, 12 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| I'm not alone! | |
| What a let-down, I really got suckered buy the hype which I almost never ever do. This is a 90 minute prick-tease of a film. the first half is no better than 'An American Werewolf in Paris' and the second half is a sub-standard 'Saw'. Eli Roth is a shameless self-publicist, probably the only thing for which I admire him for. 'Hostel' was a huge disappointment, it's story thin, plotting and pace workmanlike and performances are cardboard. The long anticipated second half is a major let-dow... More | |
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Posted by TheMadFatChickKiller at 11:19, 11 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| Hostel | |
| Well I can safely say this is one of the most boring films of all time, ti has no proper story to it, it all goes really quick, I would have thought that he would have hada little more trouble escaping but he didn't, even the torture scenes were poor, the best part in the film was when he cut off the eyeball of that girl. It was one of ther most overated films ever and I wudn't recomend it to anyone. ... More | |
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Posted by humanmachine at 14:40, 10 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| all that hype for nothing | |
| rubbish...films an exercise in terrible acting from start to finish...gore isn't nearly as bad as people made out (...nice boobies though ... More | |
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Posted by jamie_speak at 19:34, 09 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| Under-rated | |
| This film isn't as bad as people make out. Your preconceptions before you see the film that will affect this, but as a fan of Cabin Fever (PANCAKES, PANCAKES), I was expecting laughs and OTT thrills. I enjoed it from begining to end. ... More | |
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Posted by Workshed at 09:43, 09 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| Pointles | |
| This is probably one of the worst horror movie i've ever seen, even worse then cabin fever. This movie is slow and got absolutly no story backing it, even the torture scenes were terrible dull. The idea of sequal of this movie makes me want to scratch my eyes out. This was an hour and a half of my life I want back ... More | |
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Posted by Madmax82 at 14:51, 08 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| Pointles | |
| Edit >> for some reason my response was posted twice. ... More | |
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Posted by Madmax82 at 14:51, 08 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| RE: Hostel | |
| My word what a load of rubbish. as a fan of gore and horror that was a piss poor effort by a director with little or no talent. The first half as noted was rubbish, he never built anything up, created remotely interesting characters or forwarded the story in a way that would make one excited about the inevitable nastiness that was to come. yeah to the gore. if people think this is squirm inducing youve never seen decent gore. actually im gonna stop there, there is so much wrong with this film i... More | |
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Posted by boot at 03:03, 08 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| I think these writers should be locked up, i started watching it while eating a sausage and egg bap, towards the end of the film, i wish i hadn't. I think it was good. I'm not going to refer my sister to watch it, but definately my friends who like audition and irreversible! ... More | |
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Posted by gingerdaniel at 18:27, 06 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| Grouse Movie | |
| Lets face it the first half sucked we all know that but the second half is a tour de force of gore and the dark side of the human nature. After all his friends are systematically tortured and murdered in brutal ways Hernandez character makes the descent into madness and get the taste for blood. After watching this movie youll never want to touch you eyeballs again. The chick being run over by the car was another nice touch also, All in all a dark gorey movie about the sick nature that dwells wit... More | |
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Posted by spideyfan666 at 04:59, 06 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| Grouse Movie | |
| Lets face it the first half sucked we all know that but the second half is a tour de force of gore and the dark side of the human nature. After all his friends are systematically tortured and murdered in brutal ways Hernandez character makes the descent into madness and get the taste for blood. After watching this movie youll never want to touch you eyeballs again. The chick being run over by the car was another nice touch also, All in all a dark gorey movie about the sick nature that dwells wit... More | |
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Posted by spideyfan666 at 04:56, 06 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| As with Cabin Fever there was such hype around Hostel being the sickest, goriest film ever and i have to say i was disappointed. I found tho with both Cabin Fever and Hostel on second watch (without all the expectation) you really get to see if the films are any good. Hostel isnt the best horror film in the last year (or 10) but it's certainly better than most just for the pure what seems to be hate for all human kind. Eli Roth has pushed the boundaries as to how far films can go, and the tortur... More | |
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Posted by dj vivace at 21:02, 05 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| a bit Hostile to Hostel | |
| How dumb were they to believe that story? was it as dumb as us paying to see it? I went into this film expecting to be shocked and it seemed to miss its target, the location was ripe for a real heart pumping suspense, but like "the Hole" if anyone recalls how great that looked in the trailer, the movie let us all down. The Character escaping by using a gun let me down and was lazy writing by Roth, as for the Tarantino connection maybe Roth should re-watch the Ear slicing scene in &quo... More | |
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Posted by punchdrunk at 16:25, 03 August 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| A pitiful, revolting, sick film, which despite it's horrific gore is not scary in the slightest. A film which is so amoral, and horrifically pointless that there is nothing to recommend it. Horrifying and grubby. ... More | |
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Posted by killervideotape at 10:19, 30 May 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| Nasty | |
| What a horrible, nasty little film. I don't mind a bit of gore but this was just pointless. Tarantino should be ashamed to even attach his name to this! ... More | |
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Posted by trueborndjross at 15:56, 27 May 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| Nasty | |
| What a horrible, nasty little film. I don't mind a bit of gore but this was just pointless. Tarantino should be ashamed to even attach his name to this! ... More | |
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Posted by trueborndjross at 15:56, 27 May 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| NOTHING IS SCARY ANYMORE !! | |
| I WAS EXPECTING AN ENJOYABLY GRIMEY PIECE OF WORK BUT ALL I GOT WAS THIS TOSSPISS. CAN'T BELIEVE THEY ARE MAKING A SEQUEL. NOTHING NEW IN THIS FILM, ONLY GOOD STORYLINE WAS PEOPLE PAID MORE MONEY TO KILL AMERICANS ... More | |
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Posted by jerkyjudas at 23:46, 08 May 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| Hostel | |
| I enjoyed it. Can't understand why all you "horror fans" didn't... ... More | |
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Posted by corozin at 21:44, 24 April 2006 | Report This Post | |
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| Vacant Hostel | |
| I can't believe Empire gave this 3 stars. And the write up really paints an outrageously glossy picture for a flick that is, excuse the pun, total toilet. Another example of 'don't believe the hype.' Not that I make a habit of seeing splatter fests, I'd heard this one was only for the steely of stomach and a cut above the rest. Not so. Gore (and there is not that much of it, and what there is is nothing original) is no substitute for tension. And you just don't give a damn when characters you do... More | |
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Posted by Major Gaper at 10:54, 21 April 2006 | Report This Post | |
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