Hostel (2005)

Directed by: Eli Roth | 95 minutes | horror | Actors: Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, Eythor Gudjonsson, Barbara Nedeljakova, Jan Vlasák, Jana Kaderabkova, Jennifer Lim, Lubomir Bukovy, Jana Havlickova, Rick Hoffman, Petr Janis, Takashi Miike, Patrik ZIgo, Milda Jedi Havlas, Martin Kubacáklas , Paula Wild, Vladimir Silhavecky, Barbora Oboznenkova, Daniel S. Frisch, Radomil Uhlir, Philip Waley, Mark Taylor, Nick Roe, Natali Tothova, Petra Kubesova, Christopher Allen Nelson, Josef Bradna, Lubomir Silhavecky

Do you like fairy tales? You know: those fun sermons in which wolves, goats, little girls and piglets claim the leading role. If you enjoy such stories, then ‘Hostel’ is definitely for you. You can best compare this horror film with the old school fairy tales as they were recorded hundreds of years ago. Over the years, the Little Red Riding Hoods, Hansel and Gretel and Snow Whites have been extensively planed (read: censored) to make them suitable for the delicate soul of children. ‘Hostel’ restores the original horror of fables by not looking at a liter of blood more or less. To justify the violence, there is also a moral to this story.

‘Hostel’ introduces three friends, Paxton (Hernandez), Josh (Richardson) and Oli (Gudjonsson). The trio is mainly concerned with smoking weed, partying and picking up willing girls. The latter is not so easy. Even in Amsterdam, the Walhalla for horny twenty-somethings, the search for sex does not go as desired. The rude behavior of our heroes does not go down well with everyone. Fortunately, the girls in Slovakia are a bit more willing. At least that’s what they’re told. Pax, Josh and Oli don’t waste a second and leave for the so-called sex paradise. Our testosterone bombs are a hit, because beautiful female specimens are walking around in the youth hostel where they stay. When the first romances begin, so do the first disappearances. What is going on?

You can think of ‘Hostel’ as said as a fairy tale for grown-ups. All events, characters and sets are larger than life and not to be taken seriously. The film starts in Amsterdam (the scenes that supposedly take place in our capital, however, were shot in Prague) where everyone speaks German and smokes dope. It is also very striking that the hip city is populated by poorly dressed people with Eastern Bloc heads. Furthermore, every street is blessed with a brightly lit whorehouse. When the film later moves to Slovakia, things don’t get much better. In that country there are only fashion models walking around who like to listen to bad 80s rock. ‘Hostel’ is by no means politically correct.

For the first 45 minutes, director Eli Roth presents you with busty ladies, horny heroes and caricatural places before moving on to brutal horror scenes. If you are purely into violent passages, you will probably quickly grab the remote control, because there is not much action in the first half of the film. That would be a shame, because the structure of ‘Hostel’ is ingeniously constructed. The film has a very fat moral in the form of the saying: ‘Treat everyone else as you would like to be treated’. Our heroes’ rude ways turn against them in a way no one saw coming. Roth spends the first half hour staging his main characters. The cheerful trio consists of annoying men who surrender to their animal instincts. Everything has to give way to their selfish interests, that is, sex. In their journey they respect nothing or nobody and they behave like clumsy tourists. When the group finally reaches Slovakia, the situation changes. The population is not pleased with their behavior and the group soon feels isolated. Finally, the final consists of a pure slaughter. The way in which the atmosphere gradually changes is one of the strongest points of this gory fairy tale.

The acting contributes well to the atmosphere. Admittedly, there’s no sign of brilliant acting in this film, but the cast performs adequately. Hernandez, in particular, has got the right tone as an arrogant American who is horribly put through the wringer. Richardson also does a decent job. The best part, however, is for Gudjonsson, who portrays the Icelandic Oli in a very catchy way (read: as a fat caricature). The Icelandic tourist is funny in his superficiality and Gudjonsson’s fun eyes and enthusiasm are fun to watch. The Slovak ladies who seduced the two Americans also deserve a special mention. The dark-haired Barbara Nedeljakova in particular impresses as a vamp with a macabre character. Not Oscar material, but sufficient for a film like this.

‘Hostel’ is very enjoyable for horror freaks, because Roth is not stingy with violence. The fact that you have to be patient before you can witness the first massacres is typical of fairy tales. Admit it: didn’t you think it took long before the hunter came to cut open the wolf’s belly? But in the end the end of the story sticks with you and in that respect ‘Hostel’ is more than successful.