Don't have any expectations

Rating: 8/10 (25 March 2006)

Why 'don't have any expectations'? Well when I first heard about this film I was led to believe like so many others that this film was all about torture and gore. Its not. I later learned that this film has lots of female nudity. It does.
So is this film simply about nudity and a touch of horror only? No. Confused? You wont be. Huh !? OK I will explain.
I watched this film on the second day of release in the UK. My expectations of the film were one thing and on coming out of the movie my realisation was different.
The film starts in a seemingly cheesy way that any teen horror might start and you begin to think to yourself "I thought this film was supposed to be different to all that rubbish" bear with it, the tide will turn soon enough.
In the mean time, enjoy the jokes, the humour and the female nudity. For the ladies, don't worry, its not gratuitous. This comedy show lasts for a good proportion of the film and you start to wonder where the gore comes in.
It will. And when it does don't expect too much of it. It only happens in bits and pieces but its certainly gory. Although having said that its not as gory as I expected it to be...thats probably thanks to the hype.
When the action starts though, it really shines through and you become more and more involved with the lead character. The director certainly has us by the short and curlies as the film progresses.
For me. The escape and chase scenes really grabs you.
The acting is good and strong I really have no complaints. The film left for me a strange feeling. I left the cinema asking myself "was that one of the best horror films I have ever seen?" well I would have to answer yes. If you take horror in its real form...think 'Texas chain saw massacre', 'Hannibal', 'Silence of the Lambs', 'Saw' etc...It is one of the best...Personally I think films like 'Sixth sense', '13 Ghosts', and the upcoming 'The Dark'are more terrifying due to the Spine tingling that occurs. But Hostel really is a great Horror flick. Yet its not just about the gore...its so much more than that. And I think the hype around the gore aspect has done the film an injustice.
Is the film worth seeing though? Yes and yes again, go and see it.