Very Impressive

Rating: 8/10 (23 January 2008)

This is an excellent example of the new 'torture porn' horror. Whereas Captivity and Saw are poor movies with little plot or subtexts, this film explores the American view of Europe being a strange place with strange people. It also displays three guys and their three hobbies, sex, drugs and being abusive.
Eli Roth portrays Amsterdam and Slovakia as drug infused, violent places but they are perfect for this movie. The tension is intense, I was hooked from the beginning. It's a bit different, for the first half an hour it's like a Eurotrip with sex, drugs and idiotic behaviour from the three main characters.
The remainder is very clever. We have a wide variety of nationalities and the interesting treatment of the American's. the insidiousness of the set-up and intelligent use of ordinary looking men being so evil is brilliant. The real villain was not who I expected.
Jay Hernandez (Paxton) was impressive and you really were behind him beating these sick people!
What I really liked was the constant uneasiness throughout the movie. Every scene has a sense of shadow, darkness and that the character is going to find himself in trouble.
Roth's Cabin Fever was good but this is better. I was mistaken before I saw this in thinking it is 'torture porn' and consistent violence but it manages to combine a real story-line and gives depth to the characters, rare in horror movies. And when the violence did come it was not gratuitous but real and grim. I particularly liked the setting. The factory like building had a real sense of unease. and the close attention to detail with the tools and grotty walls accentuated the premise.
If you like horror you will love this but even if you don't you will enjoy it. Hostel manages to crossover, a rarity in horror.