“How far will someone go to fulfill their twisted fetish….and at what cost?”

At the turn of the century, a new wave of horror reared its ugly head.  Filmmakers would push the boundaries and try to find new and creative ways to shock and disgust audiences. Some call it gore, or splatter.  Eventually it would come to be known as “torture porn”.  When this term is brought up, one film definitely comes to mind…none other than 2005’s shocking torture film, Hostel.  Brought to us by infamous writer and director, Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, The Green Inferno), it is considered by some to be one of the most shocking and disturbing films to sit through.

THE PLOT

Two American backpackers Paxton (Jay Hernandez) and Josh (Derek Richardson), along with their new Icelandic friend Oli (Eythor Gudjonsson) looking to fulfill their sinful desires are making their way through Europe living it up with no hesitation to try anything “fun”.  While in Amsterdam, they meet a stranger who informs them that if they really want to fulfill their sexual desires then they need to head to the Slovak city of Bratislava.  Here is where the women LOVE American men, and are willing to do anything they wish.  Sounding too good to be true, the three young men board the next train to Slovakia in hopes of “scoring” big!  After checking into a local Hostel, they soon meet up with two beautiful local women, who encourage them to spend the day and night with them.  It seems like their dreams have come true and nothing could possibly go wrong….big mistake!

The next morning, Paxton and Josh awaken with little memory of what happened the night before, and can’t seem to find or contact Oli anywhere.  Thinking that he will show up eventually, the two decide to keep living it up and spend another night partying with the two lovely, but suspicious, ladies.  After succumbing to heavy intoxication, the guys become separated with Paxton passed out in a disco storage room.  Josh, on the other hand, awakens handcuffed to a chair in the middle of some sort of dungeon like room surrounded by countless torture-like instruments.  Little does he know the hell that awaits him!  With time running out and no clues to the disappearance of his two friends, Paxton quickly discovers that the two ladies had a motive all along, and are hiding a dark and deadly secret that seems impossible for anyone to survive!  Now Paxton must place himself into a nightmare that he could never have imagined in order to try to save his friends….and himself!

SHOULD YOU SEE IT?

I’ll never forget going to see this film when it opened in theaters.  It was a huge “word of mouth” film, and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  My wife and I thought it was great, but my friend and his wife didn’t like it at all.  It seems that this film is just that kind of movie.  You’ll either love it, or hate it.  What makes it so effective is most of the violence is off screen, so the horror is mostly left up to your own imagination.  Don’t get me wrong, it definitely has a fair share of shocking and violent scenes.  It’s not something I would recommend to the easily offended or squeamish, but if you have a tough stomach and love these types of film, it can’t be missed.  It’s not just a shock and gore flick.  The acting and story are well done, and Eli Roth does a great job at slow burning the tension with a great payoff!