Hostel (2005)

Hostel (2005) Horror Movie Review
Written By: Grave Reviews Staff

Film Information

Director: Eli Roth
Producer: Mike Fleiss, Chris Briggs, Eli Roth
Screenplay: Eli Roth
Date Released: September 17, 2005

Cast:
Jay Hernandez as Paxton
Derek Richardson as Josh
Eyþór Guðjónsson as Oli
Barbara Nedelijakova as Natalya
Jennifer Lim as Kana
Jana Kaderabkova as Svetlana
Jan Vlasak as The Dutchman
Rick Hoffman as The American killer
Keiko Seiko as Yuki

Rating = 3.5/5 Graves

***May contain some spoilers***

Synopsis

Paxton (Jay Hernandez), Josh (Derek Richardson) and their Icelandic companion, Oli (Eyþór Guðjónsson) are backpacking around Europe and venture into Amsterdam. One night, they get locked out of the hostel that they are staying in because of a curfew. They eventually run into a young man named Alexei who invites them to stay at his apartment. Infatuated by a couple who are having sex in the apartment, they are convinced by Alexei to visit a hostel in Slovakia that is allegedly filled with beautiful women. Upon arriving at the hostel, they become mesmerized by the beauty of the women and the ease of companionship. However, strange things start happening when Oli starts disappearing. What may seem like a normal hostel turns out to be a death trap for all who go there.

Gore Factor

The best description of this film is “torture gore.” What this film tries to build on is shock value. The scenes that involved torturing of people are fairly brutal. When the victims make their way to the dungeons where they will ultimately be tortured to death, it is the killers choosing how to torture the person. For example, on one scene concerning Josh, his heel is cut causing his foot to break off from his leg. That is just one of the few examples that Hostel (2005) has to offer. So, if you have a weak stomach, this film may not be for you.

The Grave Review

No longer do we only see films that involve ghosts, vampires or ghouls. We are moving towards new sub-genres within the horror industry. Although there have been prior films which have worked off of shock value, Hostel reminds us that people will go to great lengths to make an impression on the viewing audience.

What is most impressive with Hostel is the beautiful European locations that the film decided to use during its production. Take away the fact that the plot is about paying an anonymous company to torture people. The plot itself is sound and interesting that makes you want to find out what happens next. In addition, Jay Hernandez who plays Paxton is excellent and adds a dimension of realism to the story.

The one negative that could be said about Hostel is that it relies on the torture scenes as a way to emerge the audience. Sometimes imagining what was done to be a person is worse than actually seeing the physical act.

For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives Hostel (2005) three and one-half graves out of five graves.

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You may also like our review of the film, The Human Centipede.