Very disappointing

Rating: 1/10 (13 January 2006)

Like "Wolf Creek," Hostel's reputation is horribly over-hyped. As I was told, Hostel was the be-all end-all of disgusting, bloody horror and mayhem, so naturally I had high expectations. What I got in exchange for my nine dollars was an hour and a half of "what the hell is this?" Without going into detail, I'll sum the movie up: the characters are boring, and one watches them do their thing for a good solid fifty minutes before anything interesting happens. If you've seen "Eurotrip" you've seen the first FIFTY MINUTES of this movie. By a certain point in Hostel you are guaranteed to stop giving a care in the world to the main character(s) and wish only for them to be subjected to painful, awful things like you were promised in the trailers you saw on TV or the internet.
Hostel surprised me unpleasantly. I expected to see brutal torture and plenty of material worthy of making me put down my bag of popcorn lest I vomit in it. What I got instead was an urge to tell my mate to "wake me when we get there." If you're looking for a movie to satisfy the sadist in you, you're looking in the wrong place. Avoid Hostel unless you're dying to see a mediocre Saw with watered down violence and a sleep-inducing story.