Hostel Review

Bottom-Line: In a nutshell Hostel was a bit of a bore; the movie promised way more than it delivered.

I have never been a big Quentin Tarantino fan; I have always felt as though his movies have been over-rated.  Hostel wherein Tarantino produces is no exception.  While the trailer consisted of little more than images of anonymous victims screaming in pain, toes and fingers being chopped off, and creepy men clad in blood splattered butcher's aprons and surgical masks playing with sharp knives, the movie itself is a bit of a bore.  Fully an hour into the film, the bloodletting had yet to take place and in a horror film that is the kiss of death-no pun intended.

Not to worry Hostel, which is staffed by a bunch of young viral unknowns is dripping with nudity and sex; you know the appetizer before the main entry.  The premise is this: two American college friends Paxton (Jay Hernandez) and Josh (Derek Richardson) take a break before each pursue graduate degrees and trek across Europe in search of woman, wine and reefer.  During their trek they befriend a fellow party cruiser from Iceland named Oli (Eythor Gudjonsson).  After a night of boozing the three return to their Hostel in Amsterdam to find themselves locked out, at which point they encounter a local who tells them about a legendary hostel in a small Slovakian town that's filled with gorgeous women eager to please travelers with fat wallets. 

The hostel is really a front for a rather ghoulish private club where members pay large dollars to mutilate, torture, and eventually dispatch complete strangers.  After a night of wanton pleasure with three women, the boys start disappearing.

In a nutshell Hostel was a bit of a bore.  None of the actual gore was especially frightening just disgusting to look at.  I guess for me the age of the horror flick is gone; they have by and large lost their ability to shock me.  Ultimately Hostel promised way more than it delivered.