Hostel

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan

Too many people wrote this film off as "torture porn." I think this has far more value than that though. It examines the perverted thrill seeking fetishes of young guys and then flips it on them and takes it to an extreme. It starts off with drug taking and porn, then moves up to some more extreme fetishes and fantasies then gets very dark as it throw is all back in their faces, and the audiences. It's makes you reprehensible for enjoying it. Genius.

It's also very funny.

What I love about it is the way it doesn't start out how you would think, and doesn't develop how you might think either. It takes its time and sets up these horrible American characters. The kind of douchbags you want to see taken out. Then it very slowly starts to humanise them. They pull a nice little Hitchcock bait and switch ala Psycho too, which throws a lot of people and gives the film an air of unpredictability. They play it more of a strange dream like mystery.

The physical sequences in the latter half are great. They aren't that grotesque people, they show just enough to get the point across. The only time it lingers is in the unrated cut with the the infamous eyegasm, which is just so over the top it's hilarious.

The film is filled with great set-ups and pay-offs. This film got the most vocal and energetic response from a crowd in the cinema that I've ever seen in my life. I've never seen anything like it. Which was a huge reason why it into my top 10 of 2006.

And Takashi Miike cameo! :) He obviously had a big Influence on Eli Roth.

A far better film than most give it credit for. And the sequel is even better!