Roth uses the right influences plus his unique raw style.

Rating: 7/10 (6 March 2006)

"Hostel" is one of the new generation movies that tend to bring back to life the exploitation sub-genre, of course, in light, R-rated versions.
I know that comparisons are not always necessary but I have to say that Roth is HEAVILY inspired by Tobe Hooper's "Texas Chainsaw Massacre". Don't get me wrong, I give my respect to Roth for being brave enough by creating "Cabin Fever" and "Hostel". It takes guts to produce these kind of movies in a world that consumes PG-13 Horror flicks. Roth seems to don't give a sh** about making money, but he wants the respect of fans of the genre.
Anyways, I compare it to TCM (1974 of course) mainly because it has the same basic plot elements: torture, sadistic people, symphaty for the main characters, extreme violence, and a creepy setting.
The plot is as simple as it gets: Two American boys along with a drunken fun guy from Iceland plan their "spring break" style trip to Europe, not Cancun or Ibiza. A series of events lead them to a hostel in Slovakia where they meet a cruel fate after partying with no limits. One by one these guys are getting slaughtered and butchered by savage town people as a part of an "art exposition" or something like that. It's not like they had bad luck, because these people kill any foreign tourists.
Why? and who is behind these atrocious activities? What's behind the purpose of killing? Could it be something with economical purpose? You need to witness the interesting motives.
"Hostel" isn't by any means a shocking Horror flick for those who have seen exploitation flicks from the 70's or heavily violent Slashers from the 80's. The movie succeeds in delivering extreme violence, glorious blood (thanks to the f/x team!!), and raw violence. We got smashed heads (those children really had a bad behavior, where were their parents?), severed bodies, butchered body parts, and the good old chainsaw violence. What else could you ask for?
* The highlights of the movie, in my opinion * 1. When Paxton witnesses brutality towards people. The events he looked at really looked like scenes taken away from a snuff film. 2. The now infamous "eye cut" scene. Poor Kana. The scene is memorable and will soon become a favorite among fans of the genre.
The movie goes directly to the point after you get used and feel symphaty with the characters. After the mix of sex, HOT women, alcohol, sex, and more sex, we are driven through a torture ride without asking for our permission. Now violence, blood, gore, more violence, and violence substitute sex and chicks. I liked the abrupt change! Roth knows how to create tension and make the audience feel disturbed by the movie's events. This guy is going to get far in the genre. He takes the right influences (TCM mainly).
Jay Hernàndez delivers a believable strong performance. The man knows how to demonstrate pain and desperation. Oli was my favorite character. It seems that the actor is really a party animal. Nice casting overall. Likable villains also.
Overall, "Hostel" is a decent Horror flick which doesn't relies 100% it's gore and violence on it. The movie does have a plot (minimal if you say) and good production values. I really prefer this new wave of film making than PG-13 or R-rated re-makes.