Not as harrowing or brutal as others make it out to be...

Rating: 6/10 (4 May 2006)

The subject matter underlying Hostel should have been enough to make this movie a harrowing one. However, the film did not reach the level that it should have in dealing with the subject matter.
The main problem with the film was the characters in the movie: they act like typical, horny teenagers straight out of typical, teenage sex comedy movies. If these characters had been in, say, American Pie or Porky's, they would not have appeared out of place. Here, they act as distractions. They are not memorable or have any redeeming qualities about them. The only character who I felt had any depth and substance was the main character, played by Jay Hernandez, but only barely.
The story itself unfolds unevenly: the first half plays like a sex comedy and the second half, like exaggerated torture and gore flick. Unfortunately, even the bad characters are portrayed like caricatures and, thereby, ruin the realism of any of the scenes that could have had any massive, visceral impact.
Hostel is not a boring or unwatchable film, however. To be sure, there is much genuine suspense and terror throughout the film, especially in the second half, but not to the degree it was purported to have had at the time of the release.
A passable, gore film that should please most gorehounds.