Hey folks, Harry here... See... See! This is exactly the film I thought would come out of the script for HOSTEL - and looky look... Eli did it! This is the sort of horror film that if you dare the audience into attendence... invite them into the theater with something to vomit in. Telling the audience that they've seen horror films they thought were rough, then tell them they haven't seen anything yet. The script was a big step up for Eli - glad to see that it looks like he met the challenge of what he wrote. This was screened at The Bridge theater in L.A. last night.
For the last few years, the Japanese have been schooling us gaijins on pushing extreme cinema to its absolute limits. Well it looks like we finally have an American filmmaker who's learned from them. Eli Roth's "Hostel" is probably the roughest time I've had at the movies since "Audition." And I'm totally psyched to put myself through the experience again.
I wasn't a big "Cabin Fever" fan -- although I loved certain sequences in it (the fingering scene and the deer-killing were particular highlights), I felt that for the most part, the comedy overshadowed and detracted from the horror. Well, I'm glad to report that Roth learned from his mistakes. In "Hostel," the comedy works perfectly -- you're laughing your ass off through the first third of the movie, so that when it gets nasty, you're completely taken off-guard. And man does it get nasty. The woman who introduced the movie said it would be NC-17, and I hope that the studio has the balls to release it that way (alas, I fear that she meant only that this cut would be NC-17 were it to receive a rating). I haven't squirmed in my seat this much since Mr. Blonde tuned the radio to K-Billy. Effectively disturbing.
But lest you think that the movie is little more than unrepentant sadism, rest assured that it's actually a very smart piece of filmmaking. The story unfolds in such a way that, while you're easily able to follow it, it's not until 20 minutes before the end that you fully get what's going on. It doesn't fall into predictable Hollywood cliches (I can't explain that one without ruining some of the movie's surprises -- sorry). It's exceptionally well-acted. And the ending rocks. It doesn't go the obvious route (which it easily could have); rather, it goes for a completely satisfying, yet moderately ambiguous close, which will keep you talking about it long after you leave the theater. In the current age of cookie-cutter formula studio movies ("Cinderella Man," anyone?), it's nice to see that somebody's giving us something different.
On more of a low-brow note, this flick has probably the best on-screen nudity in a mainstream film since Paul Verhoeven suggested that Sharon Stone uncross her legs. If you were pleasantly surprised by all the breast-bearing in "Wedding Crashers" (and who wasn't?), wait'll you see this thing. Let's just say Roth's got an eye for talent.
Are American audiences ready for a movie like "Hostel"? Not likely. With mediocre crap like "The Devil's Rejects" being proclaimed balls-out horror, I don't think American audiences are going to know what hit them when they see "Hostel." I spied at least four people who walked out of the theater during some of the rougher sequences, and I assume there were a few more whom I didn't catch. And to them, all I can say is, Too bad. You pussys missed out on one kick-ass flick.
----Will
