FINALLY...something unpredictable hits the theater!

Rating: 10/10 (9 January 2006)

Before I start writing a long comment about how hot Jay Hernandez is and how awesome his character was in this movie, I have to say that the making of Hostel was a job well-done. First of all, it is very unpredictable. This is a quality we're losing during an era of frequent remakes. It is nice to watch a movie these days and not know how it is going to end until the actual end. When Hernandez's character escaped from where he is staying in the Slovakian city, I figured...hey, that's great, but he'll either die in the end or the evil characters will win. This is usually what happens in most horror movies, and while a lot of people like that, it gets to be quite an overused approach. The one part of the movie that did not prove unpredictable was when the Japanese girl committed suicide after viewing her deformity. (I really did see that one coming.)
Another great thing about this movie is that it is somehow able to mix humor with thrilling and gory scenes. Most intense thrillers do not have truly funny moments that leave you to bust out laughing, but this movie had moments to be scared, moments to laugh as well as moments to clap.
For those of you who have not yet seen the movie, I will tell you that the whole ending portion is truly different from anything you have ever seen in a thriller/horror movie before, but do not be discouraged. Change is good and it proves to be refreshing in this movie.
The acting is great too. When the backpacker friends are scared, they don't give us this special thought out reaction; they just give us a realistic portrayal of fear. One panics and begs for mercy (which is probably what I would do), and the other shows fear, but also tries to use whatever strength he can muster from his brain to develop his strategy for escape (that would be Jay). I will not reveal anymore about this movie, but I will say that you just have to see what Hernandez does at the end. It will truly serve as a surprise!