I saw this movie...and many more like it.

Rating: Null/10 (13 January 2006)

This movie should not be totally at fault for my discontent with the horror genre in general, but it is a great example of how poor the art has become. I've read some message boards and reviews of this movie and I was really excited to give it a chance because everyone in Toronto was raving about it. Alas, I feel like I have been suckered into another hype-filled, sensationalist horror flick with the standard recipe of arrogant teens, sexual overtones, poor plot, split-second frames used for screams and gore that is substituted for movie substance. It's been a long time since I've seen a truly original work from the horror genre that didn't suffer from poor acting or clichÃ© and this movie is no exception. I've never even written a comment on IMDb before and this movie prompted me to comment on it, because I have trusted (naively) the reviews posted on this website.
Many message boards are trying to highlight the terrific social commentary and latent meaning behind the movie to create the impression that this movie is either groundbreaking or important, but I would say that if you search deep enough you could find the social importance of any movie if you want to, and that if that is your agenda, this is an important commentary.
Nothing new or creative exists in the movie. As soon as the three men meet the guy with the mole on his face and he directs them to the hostel, I figured out the entire hostel scam, including the main "surgeon." Not that figuring out a movie is bad, just that there were no plot twists to make me second guess it and nothing interesting in between to keep me entertained. Does it show the arrogance and promiscuity of visiting Americans? Yes. Does it objectify women? Yes. Does it follow the current them of the grungy, run-down, industrialized killers' rooms that we see in movies like Saw? Yes. I'm beginning to think that there is a template for turning out bad horror movies to generate profits and that someone took a blender from every late 1980's horror movie and poured the remains out into our horror movies today.
If you want social commentary on American arrogance or paying for the consequences of your actions, read a newspaper or listen to NPR if that is your taste. If you want a half-hearted attempt at a horror movie that takes an elementary approach to the discipline of film, then watch this movie. 4 stars because I've seen much worse, but don't let that make you feel like you should see this movie.