Paxton (Jay Hernandez) and Josh (Derek Richardson) are two young Americans who are touring Europe, looking for easy adventures. On their way they make the acquaintance of Oli (Eythor Gudjonsson), an Englishman they met on their wanderings.Persuaded by the idea that the young local girls are as beautiful as they are available, the boys arrive at a strange hostel in a remote old Slovak resort...
In reality, local beauties are at the service of an organization that, by means of Internet bidding, procures victims: sold at an affordable price and ready to be subjected to torture, until death...
Eli Roth (Cabin Fever) returns to direct a film.
This time, influenced by some "illicit" websites (there is no certainty as to whether the story is true or-instead-the result of a promotional campaign), the young director finds support in Quentin Tarantino who urges him to bring to the screens a dark and frightening affair, vaguely (for some sequences) reminiscent of Saw- The Riddler.
Hostel, features some characters (killers) acting with an eerie mask modeled on the likeness of a horned and frightening animal (and reminiscent of the killer in Motel Hell).
The quality of the operation is guaranteed, in addition to a plot of certain interest, by the special effects by Greg Nicotero's KNB Group (it will suffice to recall the results, in terms of special effects, achieved in the incredible The Land of the Dead-Living) and by the co-production of Scott Spiegel creator of the good remake -updated to our times- entitled 2001 Maniacs.
It is known that some cuts were made to nude scenes (which abound in the first part of the film) and that they will be reinstated in the DVD version of the film, along with an -alternative- cruel ending, which Tarantino and Scott Spiegel (co-producer friend of Raimi's and former director of Intruder) themselves opted to sidestep.
Short cameo by Takashi Miike, for a film that has raised several controversies due to some "racist" content and a heavy dose of violence, which prompted the distribution to opt for two types of distribution: including one aimed at lowering its ban on under-14s and full of cuts...
Review by Undying1
