Hostel: Special Edition (2005) (2 Discs)

Hostel ranks as quite probably the worst film I have ever seen. I doubt anyone will be able to top it. The major problem with it is Eli Roth's complete lack of understanding of what a horror movie is supposed to do.

It is SUPPOSED to scare you! Alas, the wholly untalented writer/director instead seems to think it involves oodles of sex and hyper-gratuitous violence with nothing to scare at all.

When a movie is hyped based on it being basically a gore-fest, it should send off warning signals. The script is poorly written and the characters are completely uninteresting, which means you don't actually care about them as they are tortured to death, thereby rendering the movie pretty pointless as you watch any escapes they may (or may not) make.

The acting is actually pretty good, and the gore - though pointless - is very well done. A technical achievement for Roth, then, but an abject failure in the entertainment stakes.

Avoid.

Firstly, this film didn't appeal to me when it was on at the flicks, so I basically watched it tonight on SKY movies as there was nothing else on. I heard it was incredibly sick, blood, guts, torture and painful scenes, so I was expecting the worst.

The first part of the film was going quite nicely - usual childish American boy behaviour - getting stoned, looking for a European girl to sleep with and not understanding the European culture. I could accept and quite enjoy this part of the film. As mentioned in other comments, you could label this film 'soft porn', certainly not a movie you watch with your parents.

Then came the blood - the hostel scenes were clearly made to shock. Most people will use humour to block out the sickness and gore, and if you laugh through the 'sick' scenes, you'll be ok. However, my point is, why are films made like this which although, can boast good special effects, lacks plot and thought from the writer? All I can think of is that the film companies believe the audiences like this sort of thing. For me, this isn't my type of horror film. The best modern day horror, in my opinion, is Wolf Creek. Although there are 'shocking' scenes in Wolf Creek, it has a stronger plot than Hostel, with physicological horror making it a better film.

So, leaving to one side my opinion of what makes a good horror, and looking at reviewing Hostel as a reviewer, I'd give the film a 3 star. You can't really say you can enjoy a film like this and it doesn't do the Eastern European countries tourist board any good. Do the Americans now think you have to watch out for groups of kids when going on holiday to Bratislava in case they held you up for ransom and demand bubble gum. Do Americans now advise you don't book into a hostel? Are there notices on American's fraternity walls saying, "if you go to Europe on your vacation this year, don't chat up gorgeous Italian/Russian girls" ???

All in all, watch Hostel if you want an entertaining movie and there's nothing else on, or if you want to be sickened, or aren't quite mentally stable!

what a brutal film this is.
i loved this film and so did my brother.
it didn't scare me but left me sweating and my heart beating fast.
with some truly gruesome and bloody scenes i recomend hostel to all fans of slasher movies.

A real breath of fresh air.
Horror is so often diluted for the younger audiences these days so to see something this gruesome was a real treat. Depending of course on your definition of treat. Definitely worth seeing if you're a big horror fan.

Although I must admit, it wasn't really as gorey and gruesome as I'd expected. Still *very* nasty but not as bad as everyone makes out.

This film was just full of gratuitous violence. Yeah, blood and guts and hanging out eyeballs are all well and good, but there was something a bit 80's B movie about it.
To me it was a little seedy and sick and is only a short step away from a snuff movie.
If you want a cross between a porno, a film full of sicko's who get their rocks off burning people with blow torches, and no storyline at all apart from the old teenage backpackers gone astray and mutilated this one is for you.