A fantastic film that surprised me

Rating: 9/10 (27 March 2006)

Let me start by saying that I thought Eli Roth's last major effort (Cabin Fever) was badly scripted and directed (although it had some merit on some levels). This film therefore managed to surprise me as it's very well done, the Finish character was a non-starter though which could have been done to make you glad when he was the first to die. The ending doesn't really work either, although it's the alternate ending really as the original ending has Jay Fernandez's character kidnapping the Edward Salad Hands characters daughter and ending with the ambiguous does he save her or kill her ending.
Realistically at the end, there is no way he would have gone back for the Chinese girl, he would have got out to report it and try to stop it happening to thousands of others rather than a very unlikely go back for one person who is probably already dead (I know the story about the kid in the lake is meant to explain this but it doesn't wash with me). Then the bit where the Chinese woman jumps in front of the train (because of the way she looks, and possibly to distract the men), I am sorry but it was all so obviously for shock effect.
I would have much preferred some closure on the hostel for this, it is obvious that the character would have gone to the authorities, I would have liked to have seen this.
Apart from those minor points it is very realistically/ claustrophobically done and they successfully make you believe the dorky guy from dumb and dumberer is going to be the hero who survives it's quite a surprise when they kill him.