Review of Hostel (2011) by Darren C — 21 May 2012

Three backpackers head to a Slovakian city that promises to meet their hedonistic expectations, with no idea of the hell that awaits them. The common mistake that horror movies usually make today is using too much blood and guts and relying on grossing out people instead of scaring them, Hostel is one of them. The story was decent and the thought of the story alone is quite a scary one. The acting was mediocre, there wasn't really anyone who stood out. The main three characters are the stereotypical teenagers you normally see in horror movies: the weed-smoking, sex-obsessed teenagers who don't care for nothing as long as they get laid, they hardly had any personality throughout the entire movie which brought the movie down a little.

The scenes, however, were well executed and the violent torture scenes were scarily realistic. The direction from Eli Roth is great and it makes you think what went on in the twisted minds of the creators while making Hostel. Even though the movie is quite a good movie, I felt like it relied too much on grossing people out with the torturous scenes in the movie. I didn't get scared throughout watching the movie but the idea and the thought of it is quite frightening.

I think it could have been a very memorable movie for the story but, because it focused more on grossing out, it will remain memorable for the blood and gore which is a shame. However, if you like being grossed out, then there's no doubt you'll probably like this too but if you want a movie that focuses entirely on the story and gives you a good scare, don't see it. I liked the movie even though I felt like it was used to gross people out instead of scare them. Eli Roth has done a good job on this.