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Hostel
It only seems like last week that John Carpenter was telling us horror movies these days had to be pitched at teenage girls and a PG-13 certificate. Evidently no one told Eli Roth, who has followed his bacterial Cabin Fever with the even more disgusting Hostel (released this week). That remake of The Hills Have Eyes takes no prisoners either. Seems like horror is getting seriously horrid again. I would like to suggest this is somehow linked to what is going on Iraq – just as critics have claimed Night of the Living Dead, The Exorcist and their spawn were a reaction to the Vietnam war. But in that case the increased violence on TV news is supposed to have encouraged filmmakers to get more realistic. This war is pretty much happening off screen. More likely, these things are cyclical, and while it was fun to enjoy wisecracking post-modern stalkers like Freddy Krueger for a spell, the jokes get stale eventually and you find you want to get back to basics. On top of that, there’s the influence of the Asian horror masters like Miike Takashi, whose work pushes past taboos American filmmakers simply couldn’t conceive of. Over the last few years, hardcore horror fans have been gravitating to these Japanese and Korean films, in part because they’re more stylish and original than their Hollywood counterparts, and in part because they do force you out of your comfort zone. A century into cinema’s history, that’s some accomplishment. (Takashi has a cameo in Hostel and his fingerprints are all over the infamous tendon scene.) 
Hostel takes a scenario straight out of Euro Trip. A couple of American backpackers (Jay Hernandez and Derek Richardson) and a new Icelandic friend, Oli (Eythor Gudjonsson) are getting their rocks off in Amsterdam when they hear whispers of the wild women of Bratislava, and before you can say ‘The Beach’ they head straight off to Slovakia to investigate. Judging by the users’ boards at the internet movie database the Slovaks are not much impressed with how Roth has portrayed them and their native land. But that too is straight out of Euro Trip (or, if you prefer, the Transylvania of our collective imagination). He’s not exactly flattering about Americans either. Hostel has been called misogynist, but if you’ve seen Cabin Fever you’ll know he’s basically a misanthrope with a sick sense of humour. That allows him to do some unconscionable things to his characters – but it also allows the audience to watch with impunity, because we don’t really care about these jerks anyway. I won’t give away the film’s twist – although if you’re a fan of this genre you probably already know that Harry Knowles of Ain’t It Cool News played a hand in its devising… something about a Thai website that appealed to Roth and his producer here, Quentin Tarantino. Those self-same genre fans will also know that there’s nothing new under the sun, and that the website was itself probably inspired by a story that has been filmed countless times before, The Most Dangerous Game. What goes around comes around. Speaking for myself, if these horror movies get any heavier, I’m going to be ready for some PG-13 cheap thrills sooner rather than later. Tom Charity 
More information about Hostel » Critics' ReviewsSight and Sound HOSTEL confirms Roth as one of the brighter hopes for mainstream horror... His troubling climax lets us wallow in violent retribution Uncut It's devastatingly effective... It's hands-over-your-eyes horrible, toe-curlingly savage and, eventually, strangely haunting Nigel Floyd, Time Out After the flesh-eating horror of Cabin Fever, writer-director Eli Roth brings us a grisly tale of abduction and... read more on www.timeout.com Members' ReviewsReviews Voted Most HelpfulMost Recent Reviews |