Hostel: Part II (2007)

When Hostel first came out, I avoided it in theaters. I figured it was a sorry excuse to exploit the bread and butter of the horror genre, the blood and nudity. After it came out on DVD, I still waited a few months before tepidly picking it up. When I finally watched it, I was blown away by its smarts, its clever foreshadowing and its commentary on the world we live in today without sacrificing its extremely brutal entertainment. Suffice to say, I couldn’t wait to see what Eli Roth would do with its sequel. I am happy to report that Hostel: Part II returns with an even bloodier, more brutal and fun film that is more a continuation of the story than a sequel that is sure to please fans!

It begins right where the first film left off, with Paxton (Jay Hernandez) having escaped and hiding out at his girlfriend’s family’s farm. He’s having nightmares about the Elite Hunting Agency and hasn’t even told his friend Josh’s mother that her son is dead. It doesn’t take long for heads to roll and we meet a new group of American tourists in Rome. These three girls, Beth (Lauren German), Lorna (Heather Matarazzo) and Whitney (Bijou Phillips), are heading to Prague, but our convinced by new friend Axelle (Vera Jordanova) to go with her to Slovakia for the therapeutic hot springs. When the girls arrive at the now infamous hostel, bids are immediately placed on the girls’ lives from wealthy people around the world via cellphone, PDA and laptops. The winning bidders quickly arrive in Slovakia for their chance to kill a human being. Among the arrivals is an American businessman (Richard Burgi), who has bought two of the girls, one for him and one for his friend Stuart (Roger Bart). As the three girls get separated, we also learn more about the actual hunting agency and get a peek “behind the scenes.” The Bubblegum Gang also makes a few more appearances. Everything leads up to the blood-gushing finale, which has a few surprises up its sleeve.

With Hostel: Part II, Eli Roth has hit it out of the ballpark. This sequel to Hostel is everything a fan could ask for! It’s well-constructed, it doesn’t insult the audience, it’s smart, it’s entertaining and it delivers the blood-soaked goods!

I was definitely looking forward to Hostel: Part II, but I was also a little anxious to see how it turned out. I was hoping that Roth didn’t just make another Hostel only this time with women as the victims. Luckily, the movie isn’t just a repeat of Hostel, but adds to the story and tells us more about the powerful Elite Hunting Agency. It also brings back several characters from the first film, including the creepy hostel desk clerk and the Bubblegum Gang, to name two, which were a delight to see. Instead of a sequel, it’s more a continuation of the first film, which definitely works in its favor.

Unlike the first film, Hostel: Part II dives right into the grue and resurfaces just long enough to take a breath before plunging back into the crimson. Scythes, power tools, scissors and numerous other instruments of pain release the flow of blood while we are privy to decapitations, shootings, a throat slitting and various methods of torture. My favorite scene of torture, and perhaps the most cringe-worthy scene for men, occurs toward the end and involves a man’s testicles being menaced by a pair of scissors. In fact, I think I scared my boyfriend a little with my maniacal laughter throughout this scene. Another scene, involving a tub, a candlelit atmosphere and the well-known promotional image of a naked girl hanging upside down is the most bloody in the film and another of my favorites.

Hostel: Part II, like the first film, takes its time to develop the characters and show us different hardships they go through when traveling in Europe. The girls don’t all get along and they are not all likable. Whitney, the party girl, and Lorna, the sensitive, getting-in-touch-with-her-feelings type, clash, while Beth is daddy’s little rich girl. Yet, when they face pushy, abusive guys on the train and are abducted from the hostel, you really do feel for them. Very much like the first film, while the characters might not all be likable you still empathize with their pain.

I was pretty impressed with the acting. I really wasn’t expecting too much from the leads, but they definitely delivered. Lauren German was the standout actress in the film, portraying Beth as strong, smart and self-reliant. Vera Jordanova also impressed me with her performance as the shady Axelle. For her first feature film, she did an excellent job going from friendly and helpful to creepy and cruel. Roger Bart also gave a multi-layered performance as the meek and conflicted Stuart. Heather Matarazzo and Bijou Phillips also gave spot-on performances as unlikable characters that we actually ended up feeling for as they are tortured. It was a joy to see the still gorgeous Edwige Fenech in a small cameo, as well as Cannibal Holocaust director Ruggero Deodato in a cameo as a cannibal within the hunting agency.

Hostel: Part II is everything Eli Roth promised. He has truly made a film (and a sequel at that!) for the fans that delivers all the horror we demand. Hostel: Part II just may very well be even better than Hostel and had me leaving the theater with a huge grin plastered on my face!

Get it on Amazon!

Fangoria Weekend of Horrors Report

Yesterday, for the first time, I ventured to the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors! After waking up early and making the drive to Los Angeles, I found myself at the Burbank Airport Marriott surrounded by like-minded people…all horror-loving freaks!

 Eli Roth Hostel II panel

My first order of business was to pop into the Hostel II panel with director Eli Roth and stars Bijou Phillips and Vera Jordanova. I was a bit early, so I got to catch the last part of Heather Langenkamp’s (the star of Nightmare on Elm Street) Q & A. She was very personable, friendly and open and still looked fantastic! Next was the Hostel II panel. Out came two buff, hulking men wearing leather aprons. One carried a wicked hammer and the other a long strand of chain. Both had surgical masks over their faces and both looked very menacing…and they are two of the torturers from the film! Eli Roth and his two leading ladies soon took their seats on stage and began answering questions from the audience. All three of them seemed very excited about the movie and happy to be at the convention. Roth encouraged all young filmmakers in the audience to never give up their dreams and not to let anything get in their way. He also told a funny story about sneaking into the Fangoria convention when he was still a struggling filmmaker and did hilarious, spot-on impressions of Quentin Tarantino and David Lynch. A sneak peek at Hostel II was also shown, which, along with Roth’s excitement, only made me more anxious to see Hostel II.

Me, Danny of Horror Fanatics and Michelle Fatale

After that I had time to traipse around, look at all the pretty merch, stop in to say hi to our friends at Mangled Angels and the Living Dead Girlz and have some lunch. After that it was to the bar to meet up with Heidi Martinuzzi of Pretty/Scary and Shannon Lark of Living Dead Girlz and the Viscera Film Festival. Then it was back to wandering the booths and picking up some cool souvenirs and freebies. There were lots of famous faces wandering about – gothic minstrel/author Voltaire, horror darling Debbie Rochon, Doug Bradley (Pinhead from Hellraiser fame), Rider Strong (of the upcoming Borderland), Tony Todd (of the upcoming Hatchet, of Candyman and The Devil’s Rejects fame), the cast of Rob Zombie’s Halloween including Danielle Harris, Giuseppe Andrews (from Cabin Fever), director Ryan Schifrin of Abominable  and tons more!

 Me and director Ryan Shifrin

After wandering a bit, I made my way to the next couple of panels, including a Horror Composers panel, a Hatchet panel and sneak peek and the Rob Zombie/Halloween panel. The Hatchet panel was by far the most entertaining, with writer/director Adam Green getting the audience pumped with his enthusiasm. The movie itself, set to be released September 7th, 2007, looks wicked awesome! The sneak peak shown to the audience was met with a roar of approval from the crowd and was a fantastically gruesome and bloody clip! Stars Kane Hodder, Tony Todd, Joel David Moore, Tamara Feldman and special FX creator John Carl Buechler joined Green on stage. This is one movie that I am wholeheartedly looking forward to and I hope it gets a great response from horror fans, because it looks like it aims to please!

 Me, WiL and Molly from Horror Yearbook

The Halloween panel was a bit of a let down, as Rob Zombie wasn’t as enthusiastic or responsive to the audience’s questions as Roth or Green were. Still, it was a thrill to see Zombie on stage along with cast members (left to right in photo below) Kristina Klebe, Hanna Hall, Danielle Harris, Scout Taylor-Compton, Sherri Moon Zombie and cutie Daeg Faerch (Rob Zombie on far right of photo). I think Faerch was the most excited to be there and definitely gave the best answers to fans’ questions.

 Rob Zombie's Halloween panel

After the remaining panels I headed back to the bar for some mingling…Met a fine bunch of people including Danny from Horror-Fanatics.com, the lovely Michelle Fatale, the director of Guardian of the Realm, Ted Smith, the director and writer for Closet Space, Mel House and Jason Stewart, Jolene from the Flesh Farm the wonderful Molly Celaschi and WiL from HorrorYearbook.com, the Dread Central guys and so many more! There are so many people I missed seeing and didn’t get a chance to talk to, like the Icons of Fright crew, who came all the way from the East Coast, “Flick Chick Staci” (or Staci Wilson) whom I spotted running around and lots of other familiar looking folks whom I didn’t have a chance to talk to. I’m glad I got to spend some quality time with the folks I did meet, though! And to anyone I missed, there’s always next year!

I ended the night knowing I had made some great new friends, I had attending my very first horror convention and I had spread the word just a little bit more about Fatally-Yours.com and our love for horror. It was a fun time and restored my faith that yes, there are horror fans out there just like me (they seem hard to come by where I live). This Weekend of Horrors was truly memorable and was an amazing and overwhelming experience, one that I look forward to repeating next year!

Hostel (2005)

I had avoided Hostel it in theaters because it was touted as a torture flick, which seemed so boring to me! After a few people recommended it, though, I decided to Netflix it.

It begins with two Americans, Paxton (Jay Hernandez) and Josh (Derek Richardson) backpacking through Europe with their newfound Icelandic friend Oli (Eythor Gudjonsson). At the start of the movie they are in Amsterdam, enjoying the primo weed and trying to get laid. Josh is the more responsible one, while Paxton and Oli are all about letting loose. The boys treat Europe like their own personal playground, where the right amount of money can buy them anything. They visit a brothel in the red light district where for the right amount of money, they can pay to do anything to a prostitute in a locked room. Hmmm...foreshadowing much? In this instance they are much like their torturers, paying for flesh to use to their own devices.

After a night of debauchery, they find themselves locked out of their hostel, having not made curfew. The locals lambast these "stupid Americans" and start hurling bottles at them. A kindly local named Alex lets them into his apartment, but the boys are a little shocked to find Alex's roommate having sex with his girlfriend in plain view. Alex says not to mind them, as they are too high to notice anything else. This inclusion of the couple reinforces the boys idea that "anything goes" in Europe. Josh and Paxton soon relax, barely noticing the couple (they are desensitized and embrace the idea of "anything goes") while Oli enjoys watching the couple. After hearing the boys are looking for girls, Alex tells them of a hostel in Slovakia that boasts the most gorgeous women that are just waiting for a piece of American tail. At first, the boys aren't really interested, but Alex shows them some pictures from his last trip there and they are soon sold on the idea.

They take the train where they meet a strange Dutch businessman who enjoys the visceral feeling of eating food without utensils. He makes a move on Josh who freaks out while Oli and Paxton laugh at him. Josh is the more cautious, sensitive, and likable character. He is trying to get over a girl back home, and Paxton seems to think lots and lots of sex with European women will cure his melancholy. Paxton is just trying to have as much fun as possible before he enters med school and Josh begins his Master's program.

They finally arrive in picturesque Bratislava, Slovakia and head to their hostel. Unlike most hostels, the one in Bratislava is like a nice hotel. The boys still have to share a room with other roommates, but they perk up when they find out their roommates are two gorgeous women. They join them in the spa (which is an added luxury at a hostel) where all manner of flesh is displayed. This naked body smorgasbord gets you thinking about what will happen to all that flesh once the torture begins.

Later that night, they join their roommates Natalya (Barbara Nedeljakova) and Svetlana (Jana Kaderabkova) to party at a local bar. Oli shows up with the hostel's front desk girl and they all dance and drink the night away. Josh has an encounter with the local child gang, who demand some kind of payment from him. The kids, all holding pipes or some other kind of weapon, are surprisingly creepy and threatening. Back at the hostel, Josh hooks up with Natalya while Paxton hooks up with Svetlana. Since they all share a room at the hostel, we see the girls giving each other knowing looks during sex with the boys...we know now that they are up to no good.

What follows is a grisly and gruesome cautionary tale...

This movie was pretty good. I enjoyed the set-up, the plot, the characterization and the social commentary employed by this movie. It wasn't the gore-fest many people touted it to be, but I was okay with that...it still had its moments. The tension in the movie was terrific; it really had me on the edge of my seat! It's terrifying to think that horrible things can happen to you while you're so far from home.

I believe that Eli Roth, the director, was commenting on the ugliness of the world with this movie. Specifically that we live in a world where if you have enough money, you can do anything. At the beginning of the film, when the protagonists visit the brothel, they comment on how if they pay enough money, they can do anything they want to a prostitute. This idea grows within the movie to if someone has enough money, they can pay to kill or torture someone. Roth points out that money comes first and human beings come second. Also, Roth tackles how we are desensitized to many experiences. One of the torturers speaks to Paxton and explains that he's been all over the world, done everything (and everyone), and that basically this is the only thing left that will give him a thrill. The nudity and brutality of the movie are there to test the audience, to see how much is too much. Are we as desensitized as the torturers in the film? Are we looking to put money before humanity? Roth cleverly weaves these questions and commentaries into the narrative.

First and foremost, though, this is a horror movie...it wants to entertain you. Oh and will you be entertained! Just don't expect excessive amounts of torture (even with the uncut version - I think all they added was more boobs). Either as a social commentary or as a blood 'n' guts movie (or a mix of the two!) this film is very well done.

Order it on Amazon!