Gruesome and very effective

Rating: 7/10 (10 January 2006)

Hostel is one of the more gruesome movies you will ever see, but it is one of the most effective at displaying a sickening and horrifying desire (fetish? need?) that is more than likely buried deep within a LOT of people. Being 43 myself, these young guys kind of ticked me off at their behavior near the beginning of the movie - backpacking across Europe with only one purpose: hooking up with women. There is a lot of nudity in the movie, but it never felt gratuitous to me. And with all the naked women traipsing around the hostels and spas, it makes this Slovakian city seem like a GREAT place to visit ... until you find out what some of these women are up to. Near the end I was a little bothered that there seemed to be no point to what was happened, but when the shoe dropped I was shocked and horrified. The ending to the film is brutal and shocking. Cabin Fever was a decent movie, but Hostel - I think - vaults director Eli Roth in the category of directors to watch out for. I can't wait to see how his prospective movies The Box, The Bad Seed and Scavenger Hunt turn out.