Friday, October 13, 2006

Hostel

(2005) ****


Two American backpackers and a friend from Iceland fuck and smoke their way across Europe as one last hurrah before attending graduate school in the fall. Upon learning about a “not on the tourist map” hostel in Slovakia where beautiful European woman are just waiting to please men in every way imaginable, the lure of endless pussy proves too tempting and the trio embark on what appears to be the libidinous opportunity of a lifetime.

Initially the rumor appears to be true. The sexy European women are all too eager to show these boys a good time from the moment they arrive. However, all is not what it seems. When one of the friends mysteriously disappears the horrifying truth about the hostel emerges.

Summerisle recently remarked that we’re in the golden age of “gornography” and I couldn’t agree more. Gritty recent films like Wolf Creek, Saw 2, The Hills Have Eyes, and now Hostel restore my faith in the horror genre, which has been sorely lacking over the past few years. Hostel will, and should, upset you. I’ve mentioned cinema verite in several of my reviews and it is appropriate here as well. Apparently the idea for this film came from the discovery of a disturbing Thai internet site. Watching Hostel you will believe that such a place exists.

The three leads in the film are likable and you’ll feel bad when the shit starts hitting the fan. On a side note, Hostel also boasts one of the most satisfying endings in recent history. Without giving too much away I’ll just say that some of the things that you would want to do if you ever gained an upper hand in such dire circumstances play out exactly that way. Although I don’t normally go for the “torture” genre, Hostel grabbed me and I’m still thinking about it. See Hostel.

6 comments:

Octopunk said...

Cool! I'm glad this is good. This movie looked good from the get-go but had the unfortunate release date of shortly after the Horrorthon, when none of us can take anymore.

JPX said...

Yeah this one's a total winner. They're shooting Hostel 2 right now, this time with a female cast. The less you know about Hostel the better.

Octopunk said...

Oh, NOW you tell me. I'll just unremember your review with a sharp, selective blow to the head.

Whack!

Thump.

JPX said...

you know nothing!

Octopunk said...

Boy, you're right about that. Who are you and what are you doing in my tool shed?

Johnny Sweatpants said...

Nice! I completely forgot about this movie, it was on my to-do list.

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