Good 18 rated entertainment, not as spine tingling as one might suggest.

Rating: 6/10 (5 April 2006)

Hostel, well...I was told by a friend that this will be the scariest movie you'll ever see and the trailer looked a bit creepy. It was the whistling and no music. The critics, well the ones I read, seemed to agree with the hype. Here's what I thought of it. Although not original in it's concept (My Little Eye)the idea was still a good one. If this was a film about giving thought to what you do before you do it and then bear the consequence then it didn't quite hit the mark although there was redemption in the film. I found the film good because it made me laugh. There was black humour in it but I don't know if it was intentional. The feedback from Roth on cable inferred not, moreover I was not frightened nor was I made to feel squeamish. Roth alluded to it himself when he stated that humans are more scarier than monsters and I could not agree with him more, but this film didn't enforce that belief. To make someone feel uncomfortable during death scenes you have to make it believable. The scene in Donnie Brasco in the cellar when they cut the body up, that was difficult viewing. The Native Americans and their arrows when they kill Timmins in Dances With Wolves, that is uncomfortable viewing. Butchering, maiming, killing... it can't have more impact than the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre and films from that era, or even recently Ed Gein with Steven Railsbeck. Hostel was 18 rated entertainment and it did that well. It made me laugh, it made me root for the good guy and more importantly it entertained, but it certainly did not frighten me, nor did it make me feel uncomfortable. My personal view is that there are a number of people in the film world and outside that like Roth as a friend and may be viewing the film through rose tinted glasses. He may be a good guy but you have to be honest to your friends.