'Hostel' Is A Bloody Bore

By: James Wortman

Posted: 4/21/06

Eli Roth's "Hostel," released on DVD this week proves to be a misguided critique on the relationship between sex and violence. While the message this film is trying to get across is a fascinating one, it is lost amidst a barrage of bad acting, inappropriate humor and over-the-top violence. As promised in the trailer and television commercials, the film has a strong focus on torture. Unfortunately, the only real victim here is the audience.

The film introduces the main characters Paxton (Jay Hernandez), Josh (Derek Richardson) and Oli (Eythor Gudjonsson) as they enjoy all of the vices that Amsterdam has to offer. They learn of a hostel in Eastern Europe, where the girls are plentiful and easy. They immediately embark on a quest for sexual fulfillment, and find that the hostel is everything they could ever want. In time, however, things go horribly wrong. They begin disappearing one by one, and the audience soon learns that behind the hostel's pleasant veneer lurks a terrifying secret.

One of the most unsettling things about this film is the way it is structured. It starts out as a typical sex comedy, complete with gratuitous nudity and drug use. Then things get violent. It is during these scenes that most viewers will become confused. The violence in this film is so grotesque that it can hardly be enjoyed for its camp value. Roth seems intent on making people laugh and cringe at the same time. Unfortunately, the only thing shocking about these scenes is that the characters actually bleed. Otherwise one would assume, due to the stilted dialogue and rigid acting throughout the film, that these characters are instead made of wood.

Like most horror films as of late, "Hostel" never makes any admirable attempt to develop its characters. As a result, no one truly cares if and how they are killed. The three backpackers are wholly unlikable from the beginning, leaving the audience with no one to relate to.

The film also runs out of steam rather quickly. After the truth behind the hostel is revealed, the film boils down to pointless detours that serve only to extend the film to its 94 minute running time.

As far as special features go, "Hostel" includes four commentary tracks, a three-part featurette entitled "Hostel Dissected" and a multi-angle interactive scene from the film. The featurette is surprisingly more entertaining than the film itself. At one point, production screeches to a halt when an actor playing a taxi driver is found intoxicated.

"Hostel" is an example of a fantastic idea that was poorly executed. Roth leaves the audience wondering whether they should take the film seriously or if it is merely a piece of campy entertainment. In the end, the film is not half as funny or as frightening as Roth seems to think it is. Like much of the "squirm cinema" today, such as the "Saw" films, "Hostel" places far too much emphasis on gore and not enough on story and believable characters. Why Quentin Tarantino placed his stamp of approval on this mediocre film as an executive producer is near incomprehensible.