Country: United States
Genre: Horror
Director: Eli Roth
Year: 2005
Rating: 
TRASH CINEMA RECOMMENDED MOVIE
Paxton (Jay Hernandez) and Josh (Derek Richardson) are two young and dumb sex tourists from America who are lured to a hostel in Eastern Europe with the promise of cheap, plentiful sex with desperate, poverty-stricken, beautiful women. They find out the hard way what being exploited is like.
To start with, this is a great, original premise for a horror movie. After the boys arrive at the hostel, the movie begins a rapid descent into hell and pretty much stays there. The story, direction, acting, and effects are all pretty much top notch from that point on.
Why then, is this movie not a Trash Cinema Essential?
The problem lies with the Animal House-like 1st act. The beginning of the movie is intentionally sophomoric, reveling in gratuitous female nudity and dunderheaded behavior, which is purely intentional on the part of the filmmakers. But here is the problem: portraying the “heroes” as shallow stupid hedonists is not the same as introducing elements into the story which are only there for the sake of titillation. That lack of discretion leaves a bad taste in the mouth and keeps Hostel from achieving true greatness.
And there’s a lot that’s terrific about Hostel. Eli Roth doesn’t let his hero Paxton off the hook even for a minute, a rarity in these kinds of films. He is constantly having to make moral choices that effect the outcome of the story. The depictions of torture are honest, which they have to be to avoid being obscene. And Roth has the audacity to include a blackly comic scene where Paxton comes face to face with one of the torturers (Rick Hoffman, absolutely brilliant), who insists on engaging in shop talk with the horrified Paxton.
However, there is one scene involving Paxton, a blowtorch, and an intended act of mercy which is almost unbearable to witness. I think this scene spoiled the movie for me a little because it involves the agony of a completely innocent person. The fun of this movie is in the rich irony of watching our “heroes,” who are accustomed to exploiting others, having the tables turned on them, and to then find ourselves rooting for their survival.
I think Eli Roth is a little too fond of genre conventions and tackiness for its own sake for his own good as a filmmaker. But even with all my reservations, I would still recommend Hostel as a thoughtful horror film for those with a strong stomach.
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