Key horror elements are present.

Rating: 8/10 (29 September 2008)

I just finished reviewing jaws, and strangely enough, I feel this film has a few elements of success in common.
The opposites: Jaws starts out with a pleasant scenario. People are on vacation, looking for a good time. Same in Hostel. This makes a big contrast with the horror that follows. The helplessness: Like a swimmer being caught in the water, who eventually realizes something bad is going to happen to him, but can't get out and can't defend himself properly against it due to his environment - our tourists are stranded in a foreign country, with people that are unwilling to help them, or are in on the plot to torture them. The suddenness: Like the shark movie, our tourists can be stricken at any point without warning. The isolation: like being alone in the water, our tourists are all alone in the country. The authorities: They don't help much. In jaws, because of the money, in order to not close a beach during tourist season. In Hostel, because of the money - they are in on the torture scheme. The method: all are picked off one at a time. The deaths: all are violent and painful. The solution: the heroes of both movies need to fight and conquer the evil all by themselves. The realism: Both movies feel like it could happen in real life.
This movie obviously differs from jaws, apart from jaws starring a fish, with the element of betrayal and setup; also hostel focuses on the blood and gore. Indeed, the intense gore of the movie turns it from a (psychological?) thriller to a full-blown horror fest.
For a horror movie to be successful, it needs realism. And hostel pulls it off masterfully. It combines all needed elements, and keeps everything brutally simple. The aptly named Eli Roth nailed the essence of the genre with this movie, unhindered by (probably) a low budget.
Well done.