Turistas (2006) Movie Review
Written By: JEH
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: John Stockwell
Producers: John Stockwell, Marc Butan, Scott Steindorff, Bo Zenga
Writers: Michael Arlen Ross
Date Released: December 1, 2006
Cast:
Josh Duhamel as Alex
Melissa George as Pru
Olivia Wilde as Bea
Beau Garrett as Amy
Agles Steib as Kiko
Desmond Askew as Finn
Max Brown as Liam
Miguel Lunardi as Zamora
Rating = 2/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
Alex (Josh Duhamel), his sister Bea (Olivia Wilde), and her friend Amy (Beau Garrett) are backpacking through Brazil. After a bus accident, they meet other tourists, Pru (Melissa George), Finn (Desmond Askew), and Liam (Max Brown). Together, they discover a hidden beach where people are friendly and parties are fun. They get drugged, waking up the next day with their belongings stolen. The group asks for help in a small village but instead gets into trouble. A local, Kiko (Agles Steib), assists them and leads them to his uncle’s cabin. They soon find out what happens to the guests of his uncle.
Gore Factor
Turistas (2006) shows a lot of gore and it tries to get on the same level as the Saw series. If you’ve seen Saw and Hostel, this film might feel tamer for it focuses more on suspense than gore. But some scenes are still shocking, including organ harvesting and eye stabbing. The practical effects (fresh body organs, cracked skull) are also realistic. There’s nudity in the film and heavy implications of sexual intercourse.
If you are claustrophobic, there are underwater scenes and hiding in dark caves.
The Grave Review
Turistas (2006) is often compared to Hostel (2005) and Saw (2004) and viewers expect the same level of gore. Surprisingly, although the movie was advertised as a gore-fest, it focuses on suspense. Fortunately, John Stockwell knows how to build up tension that keeps viewers engaged.
All the characters, even the small roles, feel developed. Most of them are likable, which is rare in movies that have younger characters. The beach and party scenes also make the viewers feel envious of the fun the characters are having. Until that one phone call that gives the audience an idea of what kind of trouble the characters have gotten themselves into. This is the charm of the first half of the movie; everything feels well-established with the hints of danger cunning. But the second half of the movie slowly drags the movie down into the cliché trap.
After they got drugged, they wake up confused and feeling sick. They later find out that the whole village is involved in what happened, possibly responsible for the disappearance of their two acquaintances. This is where the plot starts to fall apart. If all of them are targets for organ harvesting, why did the people take only two victims first? All victims were drugged and passed out, why did the organ harvesters not take advantage of the opportunity? It seems like the important characters were spared so we can have a scene of the ominous village.
Also, the plot gets predictable as the movie goes on. The movie starts so well, but the supposed scary parts fall flat because you’ll already know what’s coming. Even the ending goes for the safest choice possible. Happy endings do not always mean that it’s a satisfying conclusion.
Turistas (2006) has a lot of wasted potential. It could’ve been the next big horror movie of that year, but the movie went in the wrong direction. Still, it is worth a watch. If you’re looking for a good adventure/suspense movie with a mini gore-fest, give it a try.
Because of the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives Turistas (2006) two graves out of five graves.
Do you agree with our review? Comment below.
agree! love this