Hostel (2005)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Eli Roth

Writer (WGA):

Eli Roth (written by)

Release Date:

6 January 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Welcome To Your Worst Nightmare

Plot:

Three backpackers head to a Slovakian city that promises to meet their hedonistic expectations, with no idea of the hell that awaits them.

Plot Keywords:

Hostel | Europe | Backpacker | Bratislava | Friend

Awards:

4 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Jay Hernandez	...	Paxton
Derek Richardson	...	Josh
Eythor Gudjonsson	...	Oli
Barbara Nedeljakova	...	Natalya
Jan Vlasák	...	The Dutch Businessman
Jana Kaderabkova	...	Svetlana
Jennifer Lim	...	Kana
Keiko Seiko	...	Yuki
Lubomir Bukovy	...	Alex
Jana Havlickova	...	Vala
Rick Hoffman	...	The American Client
Petr Janis	...	The German Surgeon
Takashi Miike	...	Miike Takashi
Patrik Zigo	...	Bubble Gum Gang Leader (as Zigo Patrik)
Milda Jedi Havlas	...	Desk Clerk Jedi

Also Known As:

Hostel: Part I (Australia) (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated R for brutal scenes of torture and violence, strong sexual content, language and drug use.

Runtime:

94 min | Philippines:93 min (cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Czech | German | Dutch | Slovak | Japanese | Icelandic | Russian | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | UK:18 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Germany:18 (nf) | Australia:R | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Singapore:R21 (cut) | Sweden:15 | Mexico:D | Argentina:16 | Portugal:M/18 | Brazil:18 | South Africa:16 | Philippines:R-18 (MTRCB) | Belgium:KNT | Hungary:18 | Finland:K-18 | South Korea:18 (re-rating) (cut) | South Korea:Limited (original rating) | USA:R (certificate #42205) | Italy:VM14 | Germany:Not Rated (SPIO/JK) (extended version) | France:-16 (with warning) | Norway:18 (self applied) (with warning) | Malaysia:18SG (unrated DVD version) | Malaysia:(Banned) (theatrical) | Hong Kong:III | Japan:R-18 | Italy:VM18 (re-rating)

Filming Locations:

Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

Company:

Hostel LLC

Trivia:

In the Unrated DVD version of the film, the word "fuck" is spoken 128 times.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the one street kid throws a stone onto the man's head from the window you can see blood on his head before the stone hits him.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Paxton: Amsterdam, motherfucker!

Movie Connections:

References The Shining (1980)

Soundtrack:

We Ain't Fuckin' wit Y'All

Good idea...turned to generic garbage.

This movie really could have been so much more. The idea would have been much better off with someone who actually wanted to make a decent movie, instead of a porno gorefest. The first half of the movie consists almost entirely of sex, talk of sex, drugs, and talk of drugs. Instead of, hey, maybe develop the characters a little so the audience might care about them and make their plights a little more tense, the filmmakers decided to have a lot of party scenes and annoying main characters acting like idiots until, uh oh, we didn't plan on being tortured, oops! The sad thing is, there are hints of something more intelligent beneath the surface, but the surface is piled so high with garbage that it's lost. For example, while at a sex club (wow, original!) one of the characters mentions something along the lines of "paying to do anything you want to a person," of course he means sexually, but we know the basic plot of the movie involves the same concept with death and torture instead of sex. One of the characters is supposed to seem like a nice guy, but still never really develops enough for us to care. The main character has absolutely no depth other than a childhood story and his shallow interaction with his friend. The last half or so of the movie actually starts to gain momentum, and the first half not been an entire waste of film, I could have walked away with more than a feeling that I'd just watched 15 minutes of an okay movie, and an hour and fifteen minutes of porn and senseless gore. Sadly enough, the idea of this movie was put into the wrong hands. A little less than halfway through, my friend turned to me and said, "Maybe I picked up the wrong movie..." to which I replied, "Yeah, I think you got Eurotrip by accident." I am baffled as to why they decided to write the first half like they did. I guess I was hoping for something deeper. Don't watch this expecting anything special, be ready for lots of nudity and lots of incredibly disturbing gore mixed randomly, the two not even seeming to fit like they would in a slasher flick.