Three backpackers head to a Slovak city that promises to meet their hedonistic expectations, with no idea of the hell that awaits them.Three backpackers head to a Slovak city that promises to meet their hedonistic expectations, with no idea of the hell that awaits them.Three backpackers head to a Slovak city that promises to meet their hedonistic expectations, with no idea of the hell that awaits them.
- Awards
- 6 wins & 14 nominations total
Lubomír Bukový
- Alex
- (as Lubomir Bukovy)
Patrik Zigo
- Bubble Gum Gang Leader
- (as Zigo Patrik)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
This movie is a clear step above most horror movies. It helps raise the bar for all horror movies by simply having a nice mix of movie elements that work well together.
Basically, the movie is about three American college guys who venture out of Amsterdam and into a region of Slovakia looking for more extreme female interaction. Once they arrive, they begin to suspect that everything may not be as good as it seems when one by one they start disappearing.
Although this seems like a typical horror plot, the movie is well-done and believable. The European scenery, interesting characters, decent dialog and fast-moving pace of the movie completely separate it from the typical "waste of time" horror movies.
I also give the director high marks for not making this a gore-fest and overfocusing on nothing but blood and guts. The result is that he has created a real movie - and a good one.
This is a pretty decent horror flick. If you're in the mood for this kind of movie and don't want a mindless slasher-fest, this will do nicely.
Basically, the movie is about three American college guys who venture out of Amsterdam and into a region of Slovakia looking for more extreme female interaction. Once they arrive, they begin to suspect that everything may not be as good as it seems when one by one they start disappearing.
Although this seems like a typical horror plot, the movie is well-done and believable. The European scenery, interesting characters, decent dialog and fast-moving pace of the movie completely separate it from the typical "waste of time" horror movies.
I also give the director high marks for not making this a gore-fest and overfocusing on nothing but blood and guts. The result is that he has created a real movie - and a good one.
This is a pretty decent horror flick. If you're in the mood for this kind of movie and don't want a mindless slasher-fest, this will do nicely.
Expected much better movie after i saw Tarantinos name on it but its just boring and disgusting IMHO. First half is long nothing about nothing. Seems like not even single scene was shot in Slovakia so why do they take name of this country to their mouth MM but hey its made by Americans so its all clear. Spend more and i mean much more time in library (place to find that Europe isn't country or Australia isn't in Canada or Germany isn't in Nevada (as i was told by some u.s. guys in one online game)) than in McDonald's!!:)) and BTW we got no children gangs ,no sluts sell able for dollar and those cars there he he whats that?:))
peace out
peace out
Just watched Hostel for the second time and thoroughly enjoyed it again though it meanders towards the end and doesn't deliver the catharsis that the degree of vengeance could. I think this is intentional though as we aren't supposed to identify with the characters in a good way, but recognise that their ignorance and chauvinism could be our own. The feeling achieved at the end is liberating in a different sense as in we are still free to heed the main message of the film, and tuck that money back in our wallet before we spend it on an immoral enterprise, such as sleeping with prostitutes who were forced into it, despite the carefree dogma of the age. Barbara Nedeljakova and Prague both look great as well. I liked the nod to the Wickerman, and the more sinister reference of the big ovens (the other thing i got was the feeling of getting more than you bargain for when you delve into a country's history and dig up some nasty stuff. This is particularly true when travelling.)
One final important point is that I think although many viewers will be able to identify to a degree with the blokes in this film, they aren't supposed to be entirely sympathetic characters.
One final important point is that I think although many viewers will be able to identify to a degree with the blokes in this film, they aren't supposed to be entirely sympathetic characters.
This movie really could have been so much more. The idea would have been much better off with someone who actually wanted to make a decent movie, instead of a porno gorefest. The first half of the movie consists almost entirely of sex, talk of sex, drugs, and talk of drugs. Instead of, hey, maybe develop the characters a little so the audience might care about them and make their plights a little more tense, the filmmakers decided to have a lot of party scenes and annoying main characters acting like idiots until, uh oh, we didn't plan on being tortured, oops! The sad thing is, there are hints of something more intelligent beneath the surface, but the surface is piled so high with garbage that it's lost. For example, while at a sex club (wow, original!) one of the characters mentions something along the lines of "paying to do anything you want to a person," of course he means sexually, but we know the basic plot of the movie involves the same concept with death and torture instead of sex. One of the characters is supposed to seem like a nice guy, but still never really develops enough for us to care. The main character has absolutely no depth other than a childhood story and his shallow interaction with his friend. The last half or so of the movie actually starts to gain momentum, and the first half not been an entire waste of film, I could have walked away with more than a feeling that I'd just watched 15 minutes of an okay movie, and an hour and fifteen minutes of porn and senseless gore. Sadly enough, the idea of this movie was put into the wrong hands. A little less than halfway through, my friend turned to me and said, "Maybe I picked up the wrong movie..." to which I replied, "Yeah, I think you got Eurotrip by accident." I am baffled as to why they decided to write the first half like they did. I guess I was hoping for something deeper. Don't watch this expecting anything special, be ready for lots of nudity and lots of incredibly disturbing gore mixed randomly, the two not even seeming to fit like they would in a slasher flick.
Recently I picked up Hostel at my local movie store and decided to give it a try. I finished watching it and had very mixed feelings. First off, this film is not nearly as gory and disgusting as advertised. It is although, very graphic, and NOT for the squeamish, I just expected more out of it. The pop-up scares aren't effective and the first half of the movie is all soft-core porn. So what makes this movie a decent horror movie? The physiological scares. That is what got to me. The overwhelming feeling of being tied and up and tortured to death. Having no escape. For that was very effective and stomach curdling. The sex and nudity was all not needed, but for people looking for that kind of stuff, it's all here. The acting was pretty good. No bad performances. Hostel is a kind of movie where you'll either love it or hate it. But overall, an OK horror film. Not my favorite, but not terrible.
Did you know
- Trivia(at around 1h 5 mins) The porn film the guard at the factory watches on the DVD player is Sex Fever (2003), the X-rated parody of Roth's first film Cabin Fever (2002).
- Goofs(at around 1h 1 min) 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.
- Crazy creditsAt the very end of the credits, the character of Natalya is heard to say, "I get a lot of money for you... and that make you my bitch". This is a piece of audio lifted from an earlier scene in the film.
- Alternate versionsThe unrated DVD contains three additions that weren't in the theatrical version:
- 1. A close-up of the German Surgeon's severed leg after it's cut off by the chainsaw.
- 2. A slightly extended take of Kana's eye being cut off and the subsequent pus.
- 3. A close-up of the train crushing Kana's head during her suicide.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Dark Side of Porn: Does Snuff Exist? (2006)
- SoundtracksThe Surgeon
Written by Eli Roth
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Hostal
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $4,800,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $47,326,473
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $19,556,099
- Jan 8, 2006
- Gross worldwide
- $81,979,826
- Runtime1 hour 34 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content