Hostel (2005)

Director:

Eli Roth

Writer (WGA):

Eli Roth (written by)

Release Date:

6 January 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Welcome To Your Worst Nightmare

Plot:

Three backpackers head to a Slovakian city that promises to meet their hedonistic expectations, with no idea of the hell that awaits them.

Plot Keywords:

Head In Toilet | Mysterious Man | Dead Body | Female Frontal Nudity | Cut

Awards:

4 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Jay Hernandez	...	Paxton
Derek Richardson	...	Josh
Eythor Gudjonsson	...	Oli
Barbara Nedeljakova	...	Natalya
Jan Vlasák	...	The Dutch Businessman
Jana Kaderabkova	...	Svetlana
Jennifer Lim	...	Kana
Keiko Seiko	...	Yuki
Lubomir Bukovy	...	Alex
Jana Havlickova	...	Vala
Rick Hoffman	...	The American Client
Petr Janis	...	The German Surgeon
Takashi Miike	...	Miike Takashi
Patrik Zigo	...	Bubble Gum Gang Leader (as Zigo Patrik)
Milda Jedi Havlas	...	Desk Clerk Jedi

MPAA:

Rated R for brutal scenes of torture and violence, strong sexual content, language and drug use.

Runtime:

94 min | Philippines:93 min (cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Czech | German | Dutch | Slovak | Japanese | Icelandic | Russian | Spanish

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Belgium:KNT | Mexico:D | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:(Banned) (theatrical) | Finland:K-18 | South Korea:Limited (original rating) | Brazil:18 | Malaysia:18SG (unrated DVD version) | South Africa:16 | UK:18 | Norway:18 (self applied) (with warning) | Germany:Not Rated (SPIO/JK) (extended version) | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Australia:R | USA:R (certificate #42205) | New Zealand:R18 | Germany:18 (nf) | Netherlands:16 | Hong Kong:III | Japan:R-18 | France:-16 (with warning) | Hungary:18 | South Korea:18 (re-rating) (cut) | Singapore:R21 (cut) | Philippines:R-18 (MTRCB) | Argentina:16 | Portugal:M/18 | Italy:VM14

Filming Locations:

Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

Company:

Hostel LLC

Trivia:

The movie was written, produced, directed and released theatrically all in a twelve month period, which is three times faster than the average Hollywood film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Paxton is handcuffed to the chair and his torturer grabs the three-pronged metal pole, Paxton is shown with bloody hole marks on his shirt. Then it shows the guy holding the rod, then hitting Paxton twice, then the shot goes back to Paxton and the bloody holes are there. The holes were added and filmed before the torturer hit him.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Paxton: Amsterdam, motherfucker!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Dark Side of Porn: Does Snuff Exist? (#2.4)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

The Surgeon

'Global Terror' at its finest.

This film is about human commodification and Darwinian economics. The Americans depicted want more than a painting or a statue from their trip to Europe -- they want stories of subjugating natives. But their fraternal lust is outstripped by the international business community (all First World players) who want to experience murder first-hand. Sex is just foreplay for what turns into an erotically charged bloodbath. This film functions at so many levels -- first as an aggressive, homo-social "buddy picture", then as a first-rate slasher, and finally as a great indictment of unbridled capitalism. I can't believe this film got tepid reviews from anyone (at least have the courage to hate it outright). Strongly recommended.

A number of comments seem to concern themselves with the notion that is in some way an attack on European values. National Socialism was about the banality of evil -- everyday people doing what they thought was expected of them. Here we have both Americans and Europeans performing social stereotypes that have been culturally determined for centuries: hunting and fu*king and buying immunity. If you can't handle that, or find it ugly, then maybe you don't want to watch "horror" movies. The horror in this film is all human, emanating from within -- there's no supercosmos or grand inquisitor. It's about people who have forgotten that they are human (hyper-alienated), and at least Roth has the good grace to take this on in a loving and spirited manner. I say again, this film is way more subversive (and technically beautiful) than it's being given credit for.