Hostel of death

Rating: 8/10 (4 April 2014)

Here's a true horror film. Hostel is a true horror masterpiece itself, derived from not the sanest of minds. Roth has created something legendary here, where 8 years later, I still remember how terrifying the film was, when seeing it on the big screen. It's probably the most terrifying horror I've seen in my life. Roth is great as how he gives us a taste of gore at the start, blood and brain issuing down a drain from a tortured young victim, snatched from an infamous hostel, who's become the violent prey of rich Americans, whatever, getting their kicks, killing and torturing for a price. The idea is ingeniously sick, amazingly inspired by a real life torture and kill website. We follow three backpackers, two are whom are American, while the other stray, is an extroverted Icelanic guy who puts sparkle early into the affair before the high level gore and torture ensue. Like Wolf Creek, we get to know the characters where we're subjected to some nice nudity and some dangerously hot women who turn out to be shockingly evil. Even a swarm of little Slovokian street kids, are some of the dangerously underestimated. There's a nice easeful flow of story here. The torture scenes, aren't for the faint hearted and Hostel is a sick excursion into terror, that demonstrates how life can be cheaply disposed of, as in Wolf Creek, by remorseless beings. Rick Hoffman, as a sick American client, one of the most detestable, revels in in his role, that scene and the one with Takeshi Mike striding coolly back to his car, while delivering a killer line of answer to suss Jay Hernandez, who thinks he's about to look at some art, are my favourite two scenes. In this big old empty building, are rooms are death, from none of the survive. The Asian girl, having her eye burned out with an oxi torch, where the eyeball dangles out, leaving frenetic Hernandez, forced to make a decision, as to what to do, was one of the film's most intense moments. Later during their escape, I noticed a fault with Hernandez and Lim, evacuating a car in a line up, conducted by some corrupt cops. How they weren't spotted with the cops on close approach, I couldn't buy. For gore lovers Hostel's violence has a heavy style, and it rides high on bloodletting. There's humour too, where the whole story is structured brilliantly, it's finale just as violently shocking. It's a lot to take, where a lot of viewers will turn off. It's a truly underestimated torture show of terror, one which Roth with his great story structure is one to be proud of, but probably not for what he's doing for commercial backpacking. A scarring psychological horror, that will live on in memory for many years to come. Be prepared.