Utter, utter rubbish!

Rating: 1/10 (1 April 2006)

Eli Roth, what have you done? The trailer made this film look like something that was on-par with (or maybe even better than) the delight that was Saw 2. The full film, however, fails to deliver on every count.
We're given three lads who backpack and want to get laid - cue loads of naked women and sex. As the dudes party on, they're (one by one) drugged and dragged off to a place where they're tortured and then killed by people who have paid to do so. The third guy is taken by other means and ends up escaping, whereupon he enacts a revenge not unlike the torture his tormentors have dished out.
This is very much a film of three parts. The first part is the "getting to know the characters" part, where we see the three lads drink, dance, and smoke pot a lot. After around 45 mins of this (half the film) we get to the action *cough* part where the torture kicks in. This is the "gore" section of the film. It is meant to be full of suspense, but.... Well, it isn't. The horror isn't very horrific - gore filled, but nothing is on the same level as Saw 2.
The gore is justified well enough, it just doesn't seem to be the right gore, if that makes any sense. And, while this may sound odd, there isn't enough gore. Too much is left to the imagination, and then ruined by letting you see the aftermath which is so tame compared to what you imagined. One scene with a drill makes you wince as you imagine the guy being drilled to have large chunks of flesh removed, when in fact he was about three small holes which leak a little blood.
I think the main reason this film doesn't compare to Saw 2 is that the victims are just that. They are victims. They (apart from the last guy) just lay down and take their punishment. In Saw 2, the victims had a chance if they were quick witted, calm, and (in some cases) brave enough. Most of the torture sequences in Saw 2 had the victims fighting for their lives, which made for compelling viewing. In Hostel, the only survivor makes it out alive by luck more than judgement. The sad thing is what he does next is just pathetic.
The third part of the film is the "escape & revenge" part which plays out for the last 20 minutes or so. This involves the survivor rescuing a girl who's having her face burnt off by a welding torch (not as horrific in the film as it sounds here in text) and killing the "heavies" who run the place, mostly by shooting them or hacking them up with things (again, it sounds more entertaining than it actually is). He ends up stealing a car and running over some more people involved with the torture farm (for lack of better words) before finally ending the life of a torturer he met earlier on the film (albeit not knowing he was involved then) in the toilet on a railway station. The revenge is played out more like a comedy, with the final death being more amusing than disturbing.
The events in this film hit all the popular clichés too. Let's see... Slaughter of main characters who are male and in early 20's - Check. Characters whom you felt no connection to - Check. Setting mood using dimly lit corridors - Check. Lots of sex, naked woman and drug use - Check. Lone survivor - Check. Main "evil doers" killed - Check. Needless car chase sequence - Check. Complete and utter lack of plot - Check. Jump moments - Che... no, wait. I can't remember any. There might have been one, somewhere. Very bad music (strings) to heighten tension/suspense - Check.
All in all, a complete waste of time. If you want a good horror flick, go see Saw 2 - or revisit any classic horror movie from times past. You will have a much better time doing that than watching Hostel - fact!