So why all the hate for Hostel?

[Kemal]

I thought it was OK - nasty and creative. But some of the old threads here seem to have a lot of people saying they didn't like it.

Maybe I'm just not hardcore like you guys.

[Phalanx]

I don't hate it...haven't yet seen it in order to judge.
My only thing is, it doesn't seem like the kind of "horror" that I really like watching...the concept I've heard about never really held any appeal.
Maybe in future, I dunno...

[_____V_____]

I dont hate it either. I thought it was a fun movie...good and nice pace. I enjoyed it. Looking forward to the sequel too.

[Spec7ral]

Hostel was ovely hyped, the acting was poor, the plot was paper thin and the gore light. i think it was a missed opportunity. that being said i don't dislike it so much as to bash it or the director, i just didnt think there was much to it for a movie that was touted as hardcore.

[vanlutz]

Personally I hated it because it was hyped up the ass and then didn't deliver anything original.

As much as I can't stand the first Saw (it makes me dizzy watching the camera movement) Hostel stole it's atmosphere and gore style from Saw.

[urgeok]

Hostel was ovely hyped, the acting was poor, the plot was paper thin and the gore light. i think it was a missed opportunity. that being said i don't dislike it so much as to bash it or the director, i just didnt think there was much to it for a movie that was touted as hardcore.

who was doing the touting ? probably the mainstream critics and audiences.

you have to take this in context - for the mainstream it was extreme.

for those folks (a lot of people here) who are into horror in a much deeper way then the casual movie goer - this movie may be tame by comparrison but for a theatrical wide release - it is the return of grindhouse - something that never saw wide release before.

if you're going to judge by hype - you should filter it accordingly.

[The Flayed One]

I didn't hate Hostel. I was disappointed with my first viewing, but I haven't had the chance to give it a second watch.

It is a loving throwback to grindhouse films, as urge said. A time I'm a bit too young to remember getting to live through, but a time I consider special none the less.

There are a lot of reasons why people don't really care for Hostel. First, it's been one of the first recent movies that really went overboard in touting itself as a complete gorefest in quite some time. However, a lot of the youger generation, having already been exposed to such fabled cinema as the Guinea Pig series, August Underground & the like found it extremely underwhelming. IT IS more gore and torture than the mainstream cinema goer would ever normally see in a horror movie (although it pales in comparison to certain war movies & The Passion) It was, IMHO, advertised more towards the hardcore crowd, promising gore and debuachery beyond what they've ever seen. Needless to say, for most it seemed to fail miserably on that part.

Then there's the gratuitous T&A. I'm not going into that here, though, as if I remember correctly there were about 20 threads dedicated to that subject within a month after its release.

[paws the great]

Hostel is a GREAT,FUN,AWESOME,SUPER,GLORIOUS and FANTASTIC flick.


No hate from me.:D

[XtRaVa]

Anyone seen H6?

[paws the great]

I have H6 on dvd,and it is nothing like Hostel.

[noctuary]

Once again, I'll explain the reason that I hated it so much. In order for a movie (especially a horror movie, it can be argued) to make a personal connection with the audience, we must be able to empathize with the characters. This was impossible with the repellent Ugly American stereotypes Hostel presented us with. Before the halfway point, I wanted all of those fuckers to die. If this was actually Roth's intention, I'd say he pulled it off admirably. Somehow though, I don't think it was.

[alkytrio666]

Once again, I'll explain the reason that I hated it so much. In order for a movie (especially a horror movie, it can be argued) to make a personal connection with the audience, we must be able to empathize with the characters. This was impossible with the repellent Ugly American stereotypes Hostel presented us with. Before the halfway point, I wanted all of those fuckers to die. If this was actually Roth's intention, I'd say he pulled it off admirably. Somehow though, I don't think it was.
Bingo.


I hated Hostel. Not only did it fail miserably to deliver the goods it promised, it failed to bring any recognizable emotion forward in me. I, like noc said, hated the main characters. Let them die, I don't give a shit! To be honest, **SPOILER** when the kid got his revenge at the end I was sorely dissapointed. **UNSPOILER**

I cared about the independent women, the loving wives and caring mothers, in The Descent. I was horrified to see two nieve and innocent young girls tortured, raped, and killed in Last House on the Left. I was devistated to see a woman who was finally getting control of her life, her love, and herself get mutilated in Psycho.

But when I saw two perverted, careless, dumb teenagers fall into the trap of a group of sickos, I simply laughed.

I laughed.

[newb]

I liked it. Started as a frat boy party movie and then took a nasty turn. Boobs & blood...nothing wrong with that.

[X¤MurderDoll¤X]

All I have to say is that the torture was supposed to be on-screen.

[Elvis_Christ]

All I have to say is that the torture was supposed to be on-screen.

The Guinea Pig eyeball homage was cool. After how annoying the characters were to the audience (well over here anyways) they deserved the satisfaction of them having no escape :D

But I enjoyed the jock rich kid saving the day a$$hole ruintune anyways and it saved the flick.

But the motherfucker must have the money (go indie?) in his pocket to make the splatterfest he talks about in his interviews or else we're gonna see the clever teaser poster for the next flick and be whatever n' cheat the kids again (turd strike).

Maybe he'll do the graticious shit when he flops kinda deal and do his best work but fuck I'd rather see a Fulci rip than a Sean S. Cunningham one.

I do see talent in the dude anyways compared to a lot of directors that just do the horror thing right off because they think no one takes it seriously and can cut corners (not denying Roth has but definatley in a different way).

One of his flicks should be as dope as Blood and Lace at least or a few of the offbeat AIP flicks of the 70s.

http://trashfiend.bizland.com/nightmaretheatre/FilmBloodAndLaceLC.jpg

[slayer666]

It was not scary, and the characters did not elicit sympathy. Because of these two flaws (not that there weren't plenty of others), I found it incredibly boring.

[Vodstok]

I understood the "Ugly American" theme in it, but it really didnt do it for me. The beginning was frustrating, and it turned out to be another "you can only be in danger if you are this stupid"... Basically why i dont care for a lot of other horror movies...

I prefer movies where the main characters stumble upon the horror, not through being stupid, but because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. The Hills Have eyes, Wrong turn, Alien, George Rmoero's Dead movies, Se7en, so on... the characters are thrust into horrific situations because they are either unlucky, or they were lied to.

In Hostel, the victims were just dumb. To me, its not horror if you think the characters got what was coming to them.

[Burning in Hell]

Once again, I'll explain the reason that I hated it so much. In order for a movie (especially a horror movie, it can be argued) to make a personal connection with the audience, we must be able to empathize with the characters. This was impossible with the repellent Ugly American stereotypes Hostel presented us with. Before the halfway point, I wanted all of those fuckers to die. If this was actually Roth's intention, I'd say he pulled it off admirably. Somehow though, I don't think it was.

You see, to me it was exactly what Roth was aiming for, and in that aspect he succeeded very well. Sure, the boys are rude, obnoxious and impossible to root for, but that is how many people abroad are picturing americans in general, whether that reputation is deserved or not. Perhaps some people in the US have problems understanding how bad the reputation of american tourists is abroad, but its really there, so for me the way the boys acted and the europeans reacted was dead on accurate. Hell, even in Canada, which is probably the country that is closest to the US, most people are not overly fond on Americans. And I know some people working in the Hotel industry in Montréal that cringe when you mention american tourists.

So to me, Hostel was a big metaphor on how the world sees the US : as a society where debauchery runs rampant (hence the T&A scenes) and where people think they are the center of the world and should be put in their place. Remember when the businessman says in the dressing room that people pay more to torture americans? I can garantee you that if such things exist, it probably truly is the case...

[Kreech]

What I remember best about Hostel is a guy strapped to a chair vomiting with fear. I thought that was pretty neat.

Other than that part, I don't think I really want to watch this again.

[noctuary]

Perhaps some people in the US have problems understanding how bad the reputation of american tourists is abroad, but its really there, so for me the way the boys acted and the europeans reacted was dead on accurate.

I understand it very well, but that doesn't mean that I support that portrayal.

[urgeok]

actually british tourists (sorry zwoti :p ) are getting a pretty bad rep as tourists these days .. as bad as americans.

canadians are still as beloved as always :D

[Leavetheclassicsalone]

I thought the movie was ok, but i didn't care enough about the victims to make it horrifying to me, i was glad to see them die.

Maybe it was just me.The acting in the film was soooooo annoying.:)

[XtRaVa]

actually british tourists (sorry zwoti :p ) are getting a pretty bad rep as tourists these days .. as bad as americans.



I think thats a bit of a stereotype related to football fans that love a good fight in other european countries. They all love it, they all hate each other.

However thats a very small proportion of british tourists. Most people from england etc that can afford to go to far away countries, usually means they arent chav scum from the lower classes (football hooligans) and therefore are very nice and well behaved.

Chav scum usually go to spain and europe because thats all they can afford. My advice is dont take a holiday to spain during summer because you'll come across a lot of drunk hooligan type tourists out for the cheap beer, all night raves, and sex with chlamydia infected bleach blonde slappers.

[urgeok]

I think thats a bit of a stereotype related to football fans that love a good fight in other european countries. They all love it, they all hate each other.

However thats a very small proportion of british tourists. Most people from england etc that can afford to go to far away countries, usually means they arent chav scum from the lower classes (football hooligans) and therefore are very nice and well behaved.

Chav scum usually go to spain and europe because thats all they can afford. My advice is dont take a holiday to spain during summer because you'll come across a lot of drunk hooligan type tourists out for the cheap beer, all night raves, and sex with chlamydia infected bleach blonde slappers.



thats one of the things i heard ... UK tourists fucking up Spain..

one thing i witnessed 1st hand in a couple of different families - its the UK relatives that come for a visit that lasts 2 months - they dont bring any money and expect to be shown every sight ... thats a bad reputation not widely known though :)

[XtRaVa]

Hmm. Well in England the hosts do everything, and pay for everything for guests/friends etc. So maybe they expected that back?

Not too sure what you mean though, as me and everyone I know in England is the complete opposite to scrounging off people...we always pay for each other or ourselves, and always try to be the one that pays for everything when out with friends but at the same time knowing if we didnt have much money someone will pay for that person. A very gentlemenly thing :)

However, maybe chavs and working class (ironic name for them...in ye olden days they used to work hard) people are the opposite. They sit around all day getting an allowance from the government for not having a job (being lazy and sitting in a pub all day).

[Cryptkeeper]

I was not crazy over Hostel either. I liked it okay, but I have seen better.

[Kemal]

I had no idea that so many people believed that annoying tourists should be kidnapped, tortured and murdered! I'm going to burn my passport and weld my doors shut. I also find it kind of odd that anyone who doesn't mind seeing graphic violence would object to a little gratuitous sexuality.

[paws the great]

I had no idea that so many people believed that annoying tourists should be kidnapped, tortured and murdered! I'm going to burn my passport and weld my doors shut. I also find it kind of odd that anyone who doesn't mind seeing graphic violence would object to a little gratuitous sexuality.


You are 100% right.

Hostel is just good fun,nothing more.:)

[gracie]

I didn't mind hostel as a fun, check your brain in at the door, blood and one of the hottest girls to jump into a horror film ever movies.
It's no classic but was ok.

[alkytrio666]

I had no idea that so many people believed that annoying tourists should be kidnapped, tortured and murdered! I'm going to burn my passport and weld my doors shut. I also find it kind of odd that anyone who doesn't mind seeing graphic violence would object to a little gratuitous sexuality.
It isn't that I object to gratuitous nudity in general. I like it as much as the nest guy.

It's that it didn't fit the movie at all. It was done for the sake of nudity, not because it fit. It was like they made the seconf haf first and said "Oh, shit. It's only a half hour's worth of footage. How can we fill space?" "Nudity! Dudes like naked chicks, right?"

It was sketchy.

[The_Return]

I like it as much as the nest guy

http://www.comictreadmill.com/images/nest.jpg

[alkytrio666]

Haha, you bastard!