Worth every "Dolla"

Rating: 8/10 (12 May 2012)

One of the scariest and grossest films ever made. With a chilling soundtrack and freaky and haunting settings, the 1st delivery of the Hostel trilogy sets the pace for a world of horror, suspense and yuckiness.
I don't know if most people would realize, but the errors in geography were very noticeable and off-putting when it comes to the movie (it was shot in the Czech Republic).
When the guys are cruising Amsterdam, the first glimpse you get is of the streets of Prague (AMS and PRG are NOTHING alike at all!!!). Then you have Paxton speaking German with the hostel owner (instead of Dutch, as it should be in the Netherlands), then you see how everything in "Slovakia" is read in Czech (the town used for the movie was the Cesky Krumlov famous for its music festivals). Yeah I know, for the average viewer this is a whatever comparison but those of us who've been all through Europe will find this ridiculous.
Not to mention the Czech train station plastered with German signs (to make it look like it was Austria, yet had Czech signs all over).
Going back to the movie: It is interesting how two Americans would get so concerned over some Icelandic guy they've met like 2 days ago. Like Paxton says in the movie "this is how people do it here" but in America they have that tendency to do that as well. Anyways, the desire to get laid is what get them dead in the first place. There is no explanation at all as to why there's a hunting club, who manages it or why is the hostel involved (that is solved in Hostel Part 2).
SPOILER: While it is very unlikely that Paxton would be able to leave Europe after killing 14 people in his rampage, we feel happy for him once he leaves -fingerless- to his country.
This movie rescues something that had been lost for decades when it came to the horror genre. After the thrillers from the 70's and 80's, the 90's felt to deliver good horror flicks. They came across as humorous and tacky. While Hostel in 2005, rescued some of that including some movies coming out at the same time like Ringu, The Grudge or REC. Gore sells.
Anyways, despite the horrific geographical errors (to sum it up.. you can certainly TELL the difference between the Netherlands and Germany - both 1st world countries- and the Czech or the Slovak Republic which are notoriously poorer and less advanced) this is a movie worth watching every time, and as the head of the Bubble Gum Gang said, worth every "Dolla!!!!!"