It could happen here

Rating: 8/10 (15 March 2006)

I was reading the interviews with the director, and he said he saw a website in Thailand. I'll bet there are some websites in MY country, which is in the same Asian region as Thailand. So the perspective I'm coming from is it CAN be real and it CAN happen, not just in Slovakia or (more realistically) in Thailand.
The movie itself is decent, with maybe a bit too many coincidences happening that favor the heroes, but the real point of the movie is people can become a commodity. We can now put a price on anything, love, war and even a human life, and that's not an original idea, because even before the 20th century there were a lot of countries being conquered by other countries. My country the Philippines being taken over by Spain, for instance. That's when the abuses and the torture comes in, because a commodity for you is a something which you can take care of or break, whatever pleases you.
The gore isn't the real horror. It's the idea that taking a human life is a business that makes it all truly disgusting. I think this point of view elevates Hostel past its imperfection to a pretty good horror film (despite being not violent enough for horror nuts and being too violent for the regular moviegoers).
As for the people who deplore horror films, they should meet two horror masters, Cronenberg and Miike. I haven't really met them in person but I hear they are very gentle, funny people in person, and Cronenberg's movie set is the most un-tense, relaxed and collaborative set an actor can work in.
So do violent films really beget more violence? Should horror film directors be aborted after conception? Or do they actually perform an important aesthetic function for mankind?