The Ugly Americans

Rating: 8/10 (7 January 2006)

With Eli Roth, Quentin Tarantino and Takashi Miike all taking part in this film, I was pretty sure going in to it that it would be worth the price of admission. Not only was it worth the price of admission, but it will be worth the price of the unrated DVD with commentary when that comes out in several months.
The movie is technically appealing to watch for any students of film. QT, thankfully, is a student of film and he no doubt had a big hand in helping Roth shoot and edit his film and the editing choices, sound effects and homages from Suicide Club to A Clockwork Orange films made the film that much more enjoyable.
The movie is simplistically suspenseful, using the old adage of "nothing you can show on screen with compete with what is in the audience's imagination" that has been used in horror films for several decades. While there is gore, some of the most graphic I've seen in a US film to date (J-Horror still tops it), the most graphic scenes are the ones left up to your imagination... the film cuts away at the perfect moment several times in the film, especially early on, letting the audience's suspense grow.
Then what's even more suspenseful is how long it takes for some of the torture scenes to be completed... you keep waiting for it to be over and it doesn't stop... culminating in what will forever be known as "the eyeball scene" which puts tremendous strain on your nerves and when over, is libel to make anyone with buttered popcorn bolt for the bathrooms to vomit.
But all the editing choices, cinematography and horror homages aside, Hostel is most importantly a movie with a message. Yes, the movie does have a message and this is why the film is and should be loved by critics. The film explains, in the best way possible, through example and a "walk a mile in their shoes" mentality to show the ironic reciprocity of how Americans can objectify stereotypical Europeans, especially women, and how those same stereotypes can fall on Americans and come back to bite them in the ass.
As odd as it sounds, this film will have an effect on audiences that is very similar to the one that Crash did. This film will make you question not only your sense of sanity or your preconceptions of what is "too much" but it shines a light on the dark underbelly not only of Eastern Europe, but shows that the "Ugly American" label is appropriate now more than ever.
If you are planning on seeing this movie and read this review, do me a favor and when you leave this film, stop and, with what you just watched fresh in your memory, think about this: If you think the bad guys and girls in the film are bad, what does that say about someone who paid to watch a movie about torture for 95 minutes? Hm? Great Movie. Great Film. Great Message.
Kudos to you Eli Roth... kudos.