Not Up to Its Hype

Rating: 5/10 (14 April 2006)

Considering the marketing of Hostel as one of the most shocking horror films, my girlfriend and I were eager to watch the just out "uncut" DVD. Actually, I watched most of it alone as she fell asleep within 45 minutes.
We watch a lot of horror films, yet this one fell well short of any frights, dream-weavers, or even suspense. I'm being generous in giving it a 5 of 10.
And do not expect it to be a Quentin Tarantino film either. He neither wrote nor directed it, and I can only imagine how much more interesting it would be if he had. There was no evidence of Tarantino in it whatsoever. Now I'm not hating on Eli Roth, I liked Cabin Fever, with it's mix of angst, blood, and black humor, but he took a fine concept for a film, and turned it into a shmozzle of a road-trip movie without any laughs, a soft-porn movie that wouldn't even excite a teenager, a gore movie which just seemed wholly unrealistic and hokey, and a thriller into a predictable outcome without any tension.
Yes there were some scenes that were disturbing, perhaps, to the squeamish, but I wouldn't let my mother watch it anyway. I found Rob Zombie's "Devil's Rejects" much more disturbing, unexpected, tense, and story-driven than this yawn, I mean, yarn.
I was expecting much more with Tarantino prominently featured as executive producer. I mean, True Romance, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Dusk Till Dawn even, these are all either noteworthy or excellent movies he's written, but sadly, he penned nothing here. I would really be interested in what he'd do with a horror screenplay himself.
To summarize, I'm glad I didn't pay to see it in the theater, and also glad I work in a video store so that I could see it for free. It's barely worth a DVD rental (very scant special features BTW), if only to inspire others to strive to do more and better in writing and directing than this tame might-have-been.