HOSTEL (2006)

Hostel is a decent horror film mixed with some 70's style exploitation and grindhouse elements. What keeps it from really taking off are some odd, failed attempts at humor and an unwillingness to truly embrace the darker and more horrifying elements of its story. When the movie starts to go in the right direction, it occasionally stabs itself in the foot with an awkwardly placed scene that either lightens the mood or dumb's it down. The sad thing is that with some tweaks here and there, Hostel could have been so much more.
The story follows two goofball American buddies, Paxton (Jay Hernandez) and Josh (Derek Richardson), along with an Icelander they recently met whilst backpacking through Europe, looking for a good time. So in the horror movie world, these bozos are just asking to be slaughtered. Anyway, Paxton and Josh learn of a particular hostel in a Slovakian town that's supposedly filled with beautiful women who love to lead dopey American guys to their deaths, ahem...excuse me, I mean to show handsome American gents a grand old time. Paxton and Josh jump at this opportunity and hook up with two gorgeous ladies, Natalya and Svetlana. All's going well until, one by one they wake up, not in the comfort of their snug little beds, but tied down to a chair in their underwear in a murky room that seems ripe for torture. And not only that, the hot girls are nowhere to be seen. Instead, they've been replaced by dirty old men, who have 80 different types of tools in their possession, intent on inflict some major pain.

So much can be done with this simple yet clever idea, and at times, Director Eli Roth delivers some truly gruesome moments. There is an early torture/kill scene that is simply excellent. Sadly though, its never really topped and nor does any other scene in the movie come close to it. Eli Roth had this same problem in Cabin Fever, although Hostel is a much stronger effort. He shows flashes of greatness and then seems to lose focus. One element of the movie that really takes it down a few pegs is the usage of a gang of little kids that are supposed to be shady and tough. Every time they appear on screen the film comes to a screeching halt. They're not amusing or entertaining in any way, shape or form. I felt like punching them in their stupid little faces whenever I saw them, and the part they play in the film's climax is really pathetic. Roth definitely needs to put a little more thought into his writing and try and balance the shocking visual imagery with a stronger screenplay. His dialogue is often poor and some of the situations he sets up lack common sense and believability.
As you would imagine, there is a good amount of blood and gore in Hostel, more than any other movie I've seen in recent memory and that's definitely a good thing. It's all done extremely effectively and some of the scene will make a few heads shy away in revulsion, which is also another good thing. These moments are where Eli Roth really shines. His shooting style is fairly basic but he does deliver the goods in some of these more graphic scenes. During these spicy moments the acting is solid as actors conjure up some highly pitched and highly believable screams. Jay Hernandez is fine in the lead role as Paxton, and Derek Richardson does an excellent job as the silly and gullible Josh.

Hostel is an improvement for Eli Roth which is promising as, despite the hype surrounding him, he's still a fledgling talent who has a lot to learn, but he is on the right track with this slice of grim death. It's entertaining overall, but its unrealised potential and storytelling lapses are frustrating. More people needed to be killed in the movie and it needed to go into a darker direction story wise. That said, it's still a decent horror movie that should satisfy most people's thirst for blood.