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“Monsters do exist; in us and among us. They walk in our shadow. They can prey on us more as we fear them less. We should know. We created them.” --- George A. Romero

Horrorphile - June 2007

Hostel: Part II

June 5th 2007 03:12
Hostel: Part II movie poster
In a rare Hollywood moment a sequel turns out to be way better than the original. Hostel: Part II written and directed by Eli Roth is one of the darker and more explicit horrors to come out of Tinseltown. I applaud Mr. Roth for having the guts to go the distance.

I’m not a fan of either of Roth’s first two movies, Cabin Fever (2002) and Hostel (2006). I’d heard good things about Cabin Fever, but when I got round to watching it I found it to be a bland-tasting cheeseburger of a horror movie. Hostel had way too much hype, and when I watched that I was very disappointed. It wasn't scary. And the gore was unconvincing (despite being designed by Howard Berger of KNB EFX Group). I decided I didn’t like Eli Roth movies.

I went to the preview screening of Hostel: Part II with reservations set in place. And then a strange thing happened. I found myself enjoying the movie, but in ways I had not anticipated. That’s always a pleasant discovery, expecting to not like a movie and then finding yourself relinquishing your doubts.
Vera Jordanova, Heather Matarazzo, Bijou Phillips, Lauren German
Who will survive? And what will be left of them?
The movie unfolds steadily, but the first horror set-piece doesn’t happen for close to an hour, similar to Wolf Creek (2005) in that respect. Whereas Hostel had obnoxious young men as the protagonists, Hostel: Part II has three young women; the serious one Beth (Lauren German), the party girl Whitney (Bijou Phillips), and the nerd Lorna (Heather Matarazzo). It’s ladies night … and the feelings right.
Roger Bart and Richard Burgi in Hostel: Part II
Dressed to kill
The movie picks up pretty much straight after the first one where Paxton (Jay Hernandez)had survived and escaped the Elite Hunting factory. He’s recovering in hospital, minus a few fingers. That thread of narrative is dealt with relatively quickly and then we’re introduced to our three new hapless travelers who are based in Rome, but are befriended by the gorgeous, statuesque Axelle (Vera Jordanova) who lures them to a remote part of Slovakia where all Hell springs eternal.
Milan Knazko in Hostel: Part II
Elite Hunting's head honcho, Sasha
Director Roth has fashioned a curious horror. For the most part it operates more like a giallo murder mystery with an emphasis on character and atmosphere, each scene loaded with a subtle tension. There’s a Tarantino-esque feel to the movie, the attention to detail and mood. A dangerous sensuality permeates the entire film. And then when the horror set-pieces arrive they slap you into the middle of next week! There’s the dual narrative which follows the travelers, and the plight of two American Elite Hunting clients, Todd (Richard Burgi) and Stuart (Roger Bart), desperate house-husbands eager to take excitement to the next level.

Heather Matarazzo and Monika Malacova in Hostel: Part II
Mrs Bathory, an Elite Hunting client and her victim
Hats off to special effects executioners Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger, they’ve gone to town on this movie. There is stuff that really impressed me, a hardened gorehound. How the MPAA gave this movie an R is intriguing. A hard R nevertheless, but boy, anyone who is squeamish be wary! Mind you, there’s a dark, dark sense of humour at play here as well, which off-sets some of the potential to truly disturb. Still, if you’re prone to nightmares, some of the scenes of torture and mutilation in Hostel: Part II will put you off veal schnitzel for a while. And if you’ve seen Hard Candy (2005) … yeah, well, you’ll see what I mean.

Richard Burgi in Hostel: Part II
Nine feet tall and bulletproof
Performances are uniformly much stronger from this cast than of the first Hostel. In fact the entire production is much slicker (a much bigger budget for a start) and although the whole premise and many of the movie’s turns of events are far-fetched, it still entertains in a sick and twisted way. Roth even casts notorious Italian director Ruggero Deodato, of Cannibal Holocaust (1980) infamy as; you guessed it, a wealthy cannibal relishing a most gruesome scene of consumption.

Hostel: Part II alternate movie poster
Although this is Part II you could quite easily not have seen the first movie to still enjoy this sequel. It’s up there in that very small pantheon of horror sequels, like Hellraiser II: Hellbound (1988), which out-dark-shines the original. In my books Roth has finally proven his horror mettle. I now look forward to seeing his adaptation of Stephen King’s Cell which is currently in pre-production.

Here's a trailer (not very work safe ...):

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews
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10 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Damo

June 5th 2007 03:52


For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
It looks like a bit of late night fun to watch.
As long as we reasonably like some of the cast it should be reasonably scarey.

Comment by charliesgirl_992000

June 5th 2007 03:53


Histeries, Mysteries and what not
Lifes little slices
Mystical Creativity
i didn't like Cabin Fever or Hostel part 1 either. There was sooo much hipe about Cabin Fever, that i actualy bought it before wathing it. Bad idea. it sucked. it was sooo gross with all the needless blood. just too much blood.
i can't wiat to see Hostel 2. it does look better.
i'm getting ready to watch "Black X-Mas" hope it's good. it's a netflix. i won't buy easily before i watch again.
Tammy

Comment by Bryn

June 5th 2007 04:05


Horrorphile
Damo, you do care more for the young women, much more so than the victims in the first film, and Hostel: Part II is more of a character driven film ... so when the shit finally hits the fan, it's damn messy and affecting.

charliesgirl, I'm with you there ... However be warned when the blood does start to flow in Hostel: Part II it flows freely .... I haven't seen the Black Christmas remake yet, hasn't been released down under ... Have you seen the original (1974)? Or is that the one you're talking about ...?

Comment by Adrian

June 5th 2007 04:13


Philosophy Blog
Hey Bryn, even your review for this was pretty disturbing.

Will treat this movie like an operation, and not eat anything beforehand.

Comment by Bryn

June 5th 2007 04:17


Horrorphile
Adrian ... haha ... good idea mate! I'm sure some more sensitive viewers may well lose their lunch over this flick!

Comment by KylieW

June 5th 2007 04:21


Celebrity Obsession
Bryn,

Oooohhhhh, sounds good! I haven't seen Cabin Fever, cos I was a bit disappointed with Hostel. I didn't mind it, but didn't think it was as great as everyone said. But I think I'll definitely go see this one. It's been a long time since I've been to a gorefest at the cinema....I usually save that for dvd's at home where i can be a girl and hide under the doona while I'm curled on the couch watching the movie.

Kylie

Comment by Bryn

June 5th 2007 06:22


Horrorphile
Kylie, I think you'll like Hostel: Part II ... It's not so much a scarefest, although there are a few good shocks, and there is a pervasive mood of dread ... and then there are the torture/murder set-pieces which rival all other Hollywood modern horrors of late ... Funny to see two of the male actors from Desperate Housewives playing such fucked-up sickos. There's also a much more sophisticated look and feel to the movie than Roth's first two movies. And there's also a wicked sense of humour too, which I know you'd dig.

Comment by JohnDoe

June 5th 2007 07:26


Film & TV on DVD
Great review buddy,

I was a big fan of Cabin Fever probably because I got see it before the hype wave hit.
I was massively dissappointed in the first Hostel. Where was the gore, suspense, horror and story?

The way you've talked about the sequel though I just might check it out....besides I think Eli Roth has some skills that we have yet to see.

Comment by Bryn

June 5th 2007 08:40


Horrorphile
JD,
cheers mate ... yeah, I feel with Hostel: Part II we are starting to see a level of maturity and sophistication notably absent from his first two flicks ... There are images and a mise-en-scene with this flick that bely the genre, thus making it an intriguing giallo-cum-horror-cum-drama ... kinda, sorta ... I hope I'm not hypin it up too much for you ... It seems to have resonated strongly with me since seeing it.

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