For the sadist in you...

Rating: 8/10 (22 April 2006)

If you are after a nerve jangling horror movie laced with suspense and well placed jumps, then this isn't the movie for you. Eli Roth does not make that kind of horror film. Think of softcore pornography and Saw, and you'll get the idea. His films are for the sadist, expect intense gore, horrific deaths and sex lots of sex.
That is not necessarily a bad thing. Because if you like that kinda thing, and I know many do, then you can't go far wrong than Hostel. A film about two Americans (Paxton and Josh) who go on a European Sex Holiday with their Icelandic friend, Oli, and are led to Slovakia, where the "real women are found". The Hostel that awaits them is fantastic and it gets even better when they discover they are sharing their room with three gorgeous women. Yet these femme fatales have more than sex in store for them, seducing them before delivering them to the surgeons, vicious tortuous killers, who earn money depending on the nationality of their victim.
Roth knows how to cut the right limbs. The small, dirty eastern European town (used to great success in the latest Resident Evil video game) is a perfect location for the twisted world our protagonists find themselves in. With the police beating the residents, the children ruling the streets and drugs freely passed amongst the characters, we are presented with a suitably anarchic feel for such a lawless movie.
There are flaws of course. The sex obsessed opening lasts way too long, it takes nearly 45 minutes before the shagging stops and the brutal torture scenes kick in. You won't feel overly sympathetic for any of the stars either, a few times you'll even be begging for their gory end. And the vengeful coincidences that occur for Paxton at the end are nearly laughable.
Nevertheless, you may not feel sorry for our stars but you'll still cringe at every knife slice, drill hole, and toe removal. And you'll still lust for some brutal vengeance against the many that have led them to their fate. And the revenge does come and you'll cheer, regardless of how ridiculously "convenient" it all is.
Jay Hernandez (Paxton), Derek Richardson (Josh) and, Eythor Gudjonsson (Oli), put in solid performances. Their lad behaviour is easy to scorn but even easier to laugh at and they play their roles to throat slitting perfection. And that's not to mention the beautiful seductive performances of Jana Kaderabkova and Vanessa Jungova.
Eli Roth has come a long way since Cabin Fever. You won't find any true scares here; this is a true vomit inducing shock movie. Quentin Tarantino recommends and so do I.