Golden Boy Roth? Cliché boy more like..

Rating: 5/10 (17 April 2006)

Cabin Fever was OK - good fun in places but no more. Now we have Hostel, handily championed by Tarantino (smart use of your new friend there!), is nothing special either. I've nothing whatsoever against Eli Roth (except jealousy maybe coz he seems to be getting away it), but is it me or is his output a bit average and uninspiring? All the magazines I see are proclaiming Roth as the new chosen one when it comes to horror but I see nothing special here. There's stereotypes a-plenty and I found myself wondering if this was all tongue-in-cheek, but if it is the humour doesn't come through and it just feels like cliché-city. Roth has an undoubted talent for making your toes curl and that's great, but it cant sustain a full film especially when the gore is limited to 10 minutes or so. The gore itself is good, but nothing amazing or revolutionary (bringing up comparisons with Pet Sematary of all films). If someone can tell me what all the fuss is about I would be very grateful!!