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Movies / On DVD / Hostel
Hostel

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Hostel (2006)

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Reviews Counted:16

Fresh:6

Rotten:10

Average Rating:5.6/10

Consensus: Featuring lots of guts and gore, Hostel is a wildly entertaining corpse-filled journey -- assuming one is entertained by corpses, guts, and gore, that is.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for brutal scenes of torture and violence, strong sexual content, language and drug use.

Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Theatrical Release:Jan 6, 2006 Wide

Box Office: $47,277,326

Synopsis: The hallowed tradition of the post-college European backpacking trip turns into an unimaginable nightmare for two unsuspecting American 20-somethings in Eli Roth's (CABIN FEVER) sensational second... The hallowed tradition of the post-college European backpacking trip turns into an unimaginable nightmare for two unsuspecting American 20-somethings in Eli Roth's (CABIN FEVER) sensational second outing. Paxton (Jay Hernandez) and Josh (Derek Richardson) have embarked upon a hedonistic tour of the continent, and somewhere along the way they picked up an Icelandic lunk named Oli (Eythor Gudjonsson). In Amsterdam the trio partakes of the pastimes most dear to frat boys everywhere: weed, prostitutes, and nightclubs. But when a fellow traveler tells these thrill-seekers about the decadent scene that awaits them in Bratislava, they find themselves unable to resist its lures; enticed by the promise of a hostel full of beautiful girls who love Americans, they set out for the remote areas of Eastern Europe. There, the sex farce to which the film's first half is devoted slowly turns ominous, as the boys hook up immediately with the gorgeous Natalya (Barbara Nedeljakova) and Svetlana (Jana Kaderabkova), whose eagerness masks more sinister intentions. Soon, the disagreeable backpackers find themselves on the other side of the flesh trade, sold by the girls into an exclusive human trafficking operation that gives its customers the opportunity to torture and kill a helpless victim. Much of what follows consists of the squirm-inducing surgical horrors that characterize precursors such as SAW, with the implications regarding the capitalist system and the human soul becoming ever darker. Produced by Quentin Tarantino, the film amps up the gore factor as much as it can get away with, and, in the tradition of the best horror films, offers a satirical socially conscious commentary. [More]

Starring: Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, Lenka Vlasakova, Shane Daly

Starring: Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, Lenka Vlasakova, Shane Daly, Jan Vlasak, Eythor Gudjonsson

Director: Eli Roth

Director: Eli Roth
Composer: Nathan Barr
Studio: Lions Gate Films

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Release:

Oct 23, 2007

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Reviews for Hostel

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1 - 16 (sorted by date)
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Whether or not this kind of horror movie is your cup of tea, you have to at least admire Roth for the daring and creativity with which he illustrates that concept.

Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
12/29/06
Christy Lemire
Christy Lemire
Associated Press
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All this in a 94-minute movie that takes 45 minutes getting started!

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
01/14/06
Jack Mathews
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News
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Although I spent much of the second half staring into my lap while listening to a cacophony of screams and shop tools, I processed enough of the first to appreciate Roth's sinister evocation of a Slovakian provincial town.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
01/13/06
Jan Stuart
Jan Stuart
Newsday
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The film is too casually misanthropic and enamored of its expulsive prosthetic virtuosity to be politically relevant, and it's not clear what response -- shame? outrage? titillation? -- Roth is after.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
01/10/06
Mark Holcomb
Mark Holcomb
Village Voice
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The tone is too schizophrenic for the movie to be great, but writer/director Eli Roth is showing serious potential.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
01/09/06
Peter Hartlaub
Peter Hartlaub
San Francisco Chronicle
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Let's hope 2006's first horror film isn't an indication of where the genre is going this year.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/06/06
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
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Roth doesn't know when to leave well enough alone. Piling the gore on without benefit of artful tension, the film ends up approaching parody.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
01/06/06
Tony Wong
Tony Wong
Toronto Star
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It's a clip reel of sicko tableaus. The torture scenes are inventively disgusting, but the narrative linking one murder to the next is sketchy.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
01/06/06
Lisa Rose
Lisa Rose
Newark Star-Ledger
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Hostel is a screaming good time, marred only by a lazy ending.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
01/06/06
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post
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The thing is just a clunky and tasteless and dumb scare picture, isn't it? Clunky, yes. Tasteless, for sure. But not so dumb I fear.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
01/06/06
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
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[The film] willfully takes us someplace cruel -- and deeply unfunny. Just because that's Roth's intention doesn't mean his movie is any good.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
01/06/06
Lisa Kennedy
Lisa Kennedy
Denver Post
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Even after an outré punch line is revealed, the film is neither shocking nor adequately terrifying.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
01/06/06
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
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Eli Roth turns to modern-day Asian fright filmmakers as inspiration for his latest blood-soaked effort while demonstrating an intriguing, original voice of his own.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
01/05/06
Michael Rechtshaffen
Michael Rechtshaffen
Hollywood Reporter
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The calculated outrages of Eli Roth's brutal exploitation film prove less shocking that its relentless bigotry.

comment Comment
01/05/06
Nathan Lee
Nathan Lee
New York Times
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Portrayed the way Transylvania was in a 1930s vampire film, with lascivious beauties intent on seducing and drugging their unwitting American dates so they can be fed into the machinery of recreational death.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
01/05/06
John Anderson
John Anderson
Variety
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Roth, by presenting his characters as victims of the same world of flesh-for-fantasy they were grooving on in the first place, digs deep into the nightmare of a society ruled by the profit of illicit desire.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
01/04/06
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
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1 - 16 (sorted by date)
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Latest News for Hostel

June 30, 2008: A Writer/Director for Hostel III? Opens in new window
It looks like Scott Spiegel will be taking over for Eli Roth where Hostel III is concerned -- and it also looks like the sequel will be heading straight to video. More...

June 24, 2008: Eli Roth Won't Write, Direct Hostel III Opens in new window
Looks like a third Hostel movie is officially on the way -- and it'll arrive without Eli Roth writing or directing. More...

April 24, 2008: Eli Roth Going "Big-Budget, PG-13" Opens in new window
For his next film, Hostel director Eli Roth is trading in horror for a sci-fi action project said to be inspired by Cloverfield and Transformers. More...

January 22, 2008: I Know Who Killed Me, Norbit, Daddy Day Camp Lead Razzie Noms
No awards season -- even a strike-tainted one -- would be complete without the Razzies, right? Of course not. And that's why we've thoughtfully assembled all of this year's... More...

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