This is the new Horror movie produced by Quentin Tarantino.
First off, this movie is more gruesome than Saw, but lacks Saw's clever (relatively speaking) plot and twists. What "Hostel" lacks in creativity, it more than makes up for in reality factor, entertainment factor, and believeability.
The movie starts off with 3 friends journeying to Amsterdam for a week of decadence--i.e., weed and pussy. What they find instead will have you squirming in your seat. Well, that's if you're as squeamish as I've become lately. The pacing of this movie is reminscent of "From Dusk Til Dawn"--also made by Tarantino--in that, it starts off as a "normal" movie then suddenly morphs into a horror movie.
This movie is saturated with T & A. If you have high sensibilities, I wouldn't recommend this flick. From the abundant sex, to the depraved and often unbearable torture scenes, "Hostel" is sure to entertain even the most jaded horror fan.
I really enjoyed this movie once it kicked into another gear. At one point, I remembered thinking, "Wow, I can't believe there's no hero in this movie." You know, the person we all like to cheer for in horror flicks? Well, rest assured, there IS A HERO in this movie and one that'll likely leave you satisfied. I thought the writers/director of this movie did a great job of developing the characters early on so that you actually feel "sorry" for them once the killing starts. And often made mistake in horror pictures is the overuse of killing to "scare" people when the audience generally doesn't care about the people getting hacked up.
In conclusion, "Hostel" is an entertaining--i.e., gruesome--picture that'll leave you satisfied if you can just hold out until the end. It's not creative. It's not clever. But, gosh darn it, it's NASTY!
Rating: 2 1/2 stars out of 4
Worth a look: YES
