a good idea gone wrong

Rating: 4/10 (17 September 2005)

Okay, so, three backpackers (two American, one Icelandic) hear about this sexual paradise in Slovakia: a town full of gorgeous, horny women, who are desperate for male company since all the local men have been killed in the war. Of course, they waste no time getting there, where they discover, of course, that things are not what they seem.
The set up is more or less the same as 'The Beach', which is fine. The European locations and the cinematography all seem promising, but the movie falls flat pretty fast and stays there. There are scenes of imaginative gore, there are some beautiful women taking off their shirts, and that's about it. The film completely lacked suspense because we weren't given much of a reason to care about the characters. I found myself completely disengaged. Sure, I'll squirm when you show me someone getting chainsawed, but is that all there is? Increasing gruesome effects and nice camera work does not mean you've got a story. The main characters, who, in theory, we should be hoping will survive all the bloodshed, come off like shallow, annoying frat boys, but not SO annoying that you want them to die, which would at least be some way to connect to the movie.
Horror movies should not just be horrifying, but suspenseful as well, offering the audience a reason to think (or yell) 'Don't go in there you idiot!' Instead I found myself wondering if they shot the whole thing in Europe, or did the torture chamber scenes in a US studio. I was never scared - never even jolted - once during the whole screening.
As a post-script, Eli Roth was at the screening, and seemed like a nice enough guy.