Roth succumbs to the pressures of the mainstream audience

Rating: 6/10 (26 April 2006)

It's not a bad film. It's just not a particularly good one either. Wehenever I examine 'new horror' objectionably I like to view it from the standpoint of an both ardent fan and a mainstream viewer. I found that Hostel failed to deliver on both levels, simultaneously trying to satisfy one then the other. As a true horror fan I found much to admire - the sets/lighting/sounds of the torture chambers were handled impeccably and offer a real sense of dread. The characters 'natural' reactions to their impending deaths are eerily portrayed and do ask some rather cathartic questions of the viewer. The effects work, while standard stuff are heightened by their application and in true 'Texas Chainsaw' fashion, the implication is often more appalling than the grue on display.
However, whilst I enjoyed the first half of the film as a piece of characterisation, it IS still a little dull. The set-up, a little too set up, and the hostel unnaturally accommodating. I'm not suggesting that the owners take notes from Lord Summerisle or Tubbs and Edward, but I have stayed in many hostels and never once have been offered a sauna with two naked Slovakians. I've tried...
Set-up aside, the natural progression is to reward our patience with a second half that delivers on all counts. Which it does... for ten minutes and the results are truly horrifying. Not because we are being offered anything new in the way of gore and suspense (which are both competently handled) but because, and not wanting to put too fine a point on it - this sh1t is probably happening somewhere as we speak and that in itself is enough to give the most ardent fas a shudder down their spine.
If only this level of energy could have been maintained for the following 30 minutes, but alas. After the initial escape from the chambers (and the improbable and ill-conceived re-entry) the film simply gives up. As a film in its basic sense it's a polar opposite to cabin fever, Roths earlier effort. The contrast is phenomenal and I'm fairly certain it's self imposed. I can't imagine there were many, if any studio pressures on the production as that would be like asking Shakespeare to write a play, only using a handful of words. It seems to me as though there may have been fears as to the films release or content if it didn't offer retribution and moreover 'closure'. However the very nature of the film should have dictated its conclusion, which is this: if these 'underground killings' are taking place, it is likely we will never find out about them. A true end to a film of this nature would have seen the second victim never leaving his chair. I understand that this would repel many audience members, and it should. One should not leave the auditorium with a sense of 'hope' or 'closure' after viewing a film of this nature. If anything it should promote unclean feelings of dread fear. The film did promote a fresh ideal - not every horror film has to be some self-referentially post-modern Craven-imitation to garner box office success (see 'wolf creek' also). Along with a few other touches it WAS refreshing to see the weaker of the travellers die as such and not continue this ridiculous trend of creating hero's from victims by the end of the final reel (see Alexandre Aja's Hills have eyes - then rent out his vastly superior Haute Tension to see another director with a clash of purpose and apparently talent). In addition, whilst the stronger of the 2 characters does survive, we don't not envy his success in any way, and although the murder/revenge he commits is there to satisfy a mainstream audience it is carried out with enough 'ill will' that it almost convinces the rest of us -when you accept their rather coincident train journey and the vocal repetition which brings the two protagonists together.
In conclusion, a great premise, handled competently where required but ultimately falling short of its own hype and unwillingness to see the events through to the bitter end.
Best scene - The shot of our third 'victim's' hands as he grasps the chair he's chained to when the chainsaw starts from behind him. Pure gold.