Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with a ton of reviews from the HOSTEL screening at Toronto's Midnight Madness... Now, I am posting each and every one of the reviews we've gotten. Out of all those below only one doesn't completely flip for the movie and that one still goes crazy over what he loved in the movie. I know the conspiracy nuts won't believe that we haven't gotten any negative reviews, but it's the truth. If we get any further reviews, negative or positive, we'll definitely run 'em. Until then, enjoy this big honkin' batch of reviews!
Hi Harry,
I thought I do an informal review of the midnight Madness screening of HOSTEL that happened tonight. Eli Roth and all of the actors were there, as Eli Roth spent about 15 minutes to introduce his film and get the audience psyched up for what they are about to see. He mentioned the decline of American horror films with specific references to (House of Wax, Exorcism of Emily Rose) and how American horror films are not ON PAR with the Japanese and South Korean horror films. Eli said tonight that he wanted to change American horror films and finally put America back on the map to compete against the South Koreans and Japanese horror film market.
The midnight madness screening of HOSTEL played to a sold out crowd as every single seat in the Varsity 413 seat cinema was filled. There was lots of excitement and buzz in the air as the programmer and Eli Roth both introduced the film. There was a half an hour Q&A session at the end of the film, where my friend called Eli Roth "a sick motherf***cker to his face" to which Eli Roth thanked him and began to answer his question. Eli was swearing almost every second word, as he seemed like he could not constrain his excitement about his own work.
On to the review:
Hostel is without a doubt ground breaking in the horror American film genre. This is no PG-13 horror (as what Eli said) but definitely will get an NC-17 rating from the MPAA. This film is on par with some of the South Korean horror (Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengence) and also some of Takeshi Miike's films (Audition, Ichi the Killer). Takeshi Miike makes a small cameo in this movie which was treated with applause from the audience.
The first 20 minutes of Hostel is actually pretty slow as it tries to set-up the tone and the mood of the film. The film starts off in Amsterdam and slowly reaches its way to Bratislav , Prague. The first 20 minutes is very tame in comparison as compared to what will happen later in the film. Lots of breasts, and lots of nudity comprise the first 20 minutes, which was all handled very skillfully my the director.
After the first 20 minutes, be prepared to be disgusted, surprised, and be sweating in your seats. This is no kids film , nor is it for teenagers as well. The rest of the movie (which comprises of 2 fairly long torture scenes that I had to close my eyes) is very bloody, very violent and very very tense. ****SPOILER***There were 2 scenes in the movie (just before the torture in the chairs) where the audience just sees a black screen but can hear heavy breathing, heavy panting as the incumbant is tied up in the chair just waiting for his executioner. The other scene comprises of a person just waking up from a coma, however, the camera is pointed in the point of view of the person about to be executed. Therefore, you only see glimpses of the tools that are about to used in his execution. Excellent technique used by Eli Roth as both of these scene created tension within the movie****SPOILER FINISHED****
The film is beautiful to look at, as the scenery (around Bratislav) is almost breathtaking. The main bulk of the film happens in almost like a basement / dungeon-like setting. Eli presents his surroundings in a very scary way. So scary, that after the film, I was even scared walking down a flight of stairs or taking an elevator to the lower basement of a building (where I parked my car) not knowing what I'll find.
There's not much else I can say about the film without spoiling any other parts. This is a major step forward for filmmaker Eli Roth, as most of the light hearted humor portions of Cabin Fever are taken out in replacement for very tense, gory action / torture / horror sequences. Mind you, this is not a tongue in cheek film and also not a "pussified" PG-13 rated horror film. This is defintely a hard R or NC-17 rated film aimed at adults ranging from 23-35. Most women would be disgusted or horrified by the amount of violence portrayed in this film. After I watched this film, all I could think about was watching some kind of Disney crap (Ice Princess, Lion King, Aladdin) to get this film out of my head. It was that disturbing!!
During the Q&A session, one audience member asked about the MPAA rating for this film. Eli responded by saying "He feels like the person in the torture chair at the moment as the film has already been submitted to the MPAA and he's just waiting to hear back with their answer" Eli also mentioned that we (the audience) should comment and write on this website to protect the director's cut version of the film and make sure that the version of HOSTEL we see in theatres will be the directors cut with either a Hard R rating or an NC-17 rating. Eli also said that Harry gave him the idea to make this movie based on a website that Harry provided Eli. Lots of mention of Aint-it-cool-news from Eli during the Q&A session and also in the introduction of the film.
Therefore, I will close this exciting experience with the following message to :
MPAA - DO NOT CUT or TOUCH ELI ROTH's VERSION OF THIS FILM. IT WOULD JEAPORDIZE NOT ONLY THE STORY BUT ALSO THE EFFECT THAT THIS FILM WILL HAVE ON ITS AUDIENCES. WE (the audience) LIKE BEING SCARED, and finally, ELI ROTH HAS MADE A FILM TO SCARE OUR AUDIENCES and put AMERICAN HORROR FILMS on PAR WITH THE JAPANESE AND S.KOREAN FILMS. ANY EDITING TO THIS FILM WILL TAKE AWAY THAT EFFECT ON THE AUDIENCES, AS THE VIOLENCE JUSTIFIES THE STORY , THE TENSION and THE OVERALL SCARE FACTOR OF THE FILM. ANY FORM OF EDITING TO THIS FILM WILL ALSO DECREASE THE FILM'S POTENTIAL AND WILL DECREASE AMERICAN HORROR FILMS IN THE INTERNATIONAL MARKETPLACE. PLEASE DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN.
Harry, if you decide to post this on your website, please call me Nemesis.
And here's another!
Harry... AICN fans... check this shit out!!
Alright so months and months and months ago Im checking out Aint It Cool News and I see some stills from this movie called "Hostel". It looks fairly promising until I notice one other small detail, it's directed by the same guy who did "Cabin Fever". I thought "Fuck, someone let that guy do another movie? Whats this world coming too?". So I move on and think nothing of it. Then the line up for the Toronto Film Fest is announced and I see "Hostel" is going to be playing at Midnight Madness, meh what the fuck, Ill go check it out.
JESUS FUCKING JOSEPH AND MARY WITH A 12LB TUB OF CHERRY SCENTED ANAL LUBE!!!!!!!!!! This movie blew my fucking mind!
I was a little sceptical going in seeing as how "Cabin Fever" was the worst movie I had seen in quite sometime, but let me tell you, Eli Roth is a god damned genious. From beginning to end this movie was solid! I am literally bouncing in my seat right now as I type this because Im remembering everything I loved about this movie. I was going to write an intellegent review for "Hostel" but as soon as I sat down I started remembering how mind blowingly amazing this movie was. SO FUCK THE STANDARD REVIEW!!!
Alright the plot.... fuck the plot, you want to read a synopsis of the flick read someone elses review.
I have never seen a movie this well paced in my entire life! Every scene, every sequence was brilliantly timed for maximum effectivness. Eli would taunt you with something cool, hold it for just that extra few seconds and then BOOM he knocks your fucking socks off. The gore in this movie wasnt just realistic looking, it actually made you squirm in your seat. ACHILLES TENDON ANYONE?!?!?!? You literally find yourself cheering outloud during this movie, I caught msyelf doing it more than once. When the main charactor fucks one of the bad guys up, your really with him the whole way. You see whats about to happen and you tense up, then BAMMM some dude is getting his fucking fingers chopped off and you cant help but cheer with delight!
Titties, my god the titties. Fun bags galore throught the first half of the movie, always a good thing. Then the second half your little weiner gets erect for a different reason, pure, unadulterated VIOLENCE, oh wait... my psychiatrist told me I shouldnt tell anyone about that.
GOD DAMNED IM FUCKED!!! SEE WHAT THIS MOVIE DID TO ME!!!
Hell I dont even care if this gets posted, infact Im prety damned sure it wont. But you know what, this movie put me in this state of mind and thats the best fucking review a movie can get.
- Magoo
And another!
Hey Aintitcool, I love the site.
Ok, I just got back from seeing the screening of Hostel at the TO festival, and I have to say...
...ELI ROTH IS THE MAN!
He hit all the right notes in all the right places. I wasn't a big fan of Cabin Fever, as a matter of fact I very much disliked it. I came into this movie thinking it would be a gory throwaway film to end an enjoyable festival...
...BUT FUCK THAT SHIT! THIS WAS THE BEST AMERICAN HORROR MOVIE MADE IN A LONG TIME!
Not only did it have the gore and the suspense, and more importantly the horror! but it had the payoff! OH LORD DID IT EVER HAVE THE PAYOFF! I literally got out of my seat and screamed like a banshy when a few of the baddies got their dues.
Oh, and everbody thought Dali was the the shit with his whole eyeball cutting gig. BUT FUCK DALI MAN! Cause Eli Roth just made me watch the most excrutiating scene involving a popped out eyeball and a pair of scissors I have ever scene. I screamed man. I screamed in my chair. I had to let my sudden burst of emotion out in the open. And I have not done that in a long time during an american made horror movie!
Good Job Eli, good fucking job. Now let's just hope the rating board doesn't mess up you're wicked pacing. We need to keep the eyeball scene! WE NEED TO KEEP THE EYEBALL SCENE!
You have proved yourself as a director Eli. Keep it up, cause you are gonna make some wicked movies in the future.
Old Mikey J
Caledon, Ontario
This one goes more into the set-up!
I saw Hostel yesterday and it was freaking awesome!! It’s the story of three backpackers who meet this other kid who convinces them to go to Slovakia for some Euro-pussy at a secret Hostel. I have to say that the first half of the movie is kind of a bore. There isn’t a lot of visual style and all the actors are trying way to hard to “have fun” on their trip. A lot of guys should be able to wait this out simply because of all the breasts that show up. Then somewhere in the middle of this retarded road trip movie that’s trying to be funny, it awkwardly transitions into the sickest movie I’ve seen all year! At this point it gains all that it didn’t have in the first half. The visuals kick up, the acting gets good, the conflict is amazing. SEE THIS FILM! Just be prepared to wait out the aweful first half of it.
Eli announced that Quentin Tarantino is “presenting” the movie. Then he did a really funny impersonation of Tarantino telling Eli he had to make this movie. One other thing that was nice was two of the stars were up there with Eli. And after seeing the one girl naked on screen it’s cool to see the real person in the theatre with you.
The movie we saw was not the final thing. There were some comped in effects and the score hadn’t been recorded yet. There was some talk about some song from the Wicker Man and how they’re waiting to see if they can afford to use it in the final version. There were also no credits which was funny because no one knew when to applaud (but we all did! 'Cause the movie rocked!)
While I don’t think that Eli has the visual poetry of Miike he did a great job. I’ve been waiting for these kind of movies to hit in the American market and am very interested to see how it performs at the box office.
One last thing. I have no idea how this film is going to get rated! I don’t think the board is prepared for a film like this. For us guys that have watched a lot of Takeshi Miike movies it’s no big deal. Nah, screw that. I was still messed up after this movie! It was the last day of an exhausting festival and this movie almost made me vomit (which actually did happen later at the Closing Gala).
This was a great film! I forgive the awkward first half entirely because it just kicks up so much in the second half. SEE THIS FREAKIN’ MOVIE!!!
If you use this call me VanDammit!!
Here's the last one, even more jizztastic than the rest!
Hey Quint and Harry,
I also saw Hostel at yesterday afternoon's pre-Midnight Madness screening--and I've got to say, while I enjoyed Cabin Fever in a goofy enough way, I sure wasn't expecting the extremely brutal and genuinely frightening balls-out horror movie Eli Roth has made as his follow-up film. I was uneasy at the jokey beginning, which threatened to turn into Cabin Fever: European Road Trip, but it quickly revealed itself to be a nasty, shocking, serious and surprisingly complex horror thriller, where you gradually realize that the nightmarish scenario that's unfolding is just one small fragment of what's really going on. If you haven't read any spoilers -- DON'T. This is definitely one of those movies where it pays to know as little as possible about the film when you settle into your seat. For those who keep count of such things: babes, breasts, blood, brothels, body parts, barfing, buckets of blood, a 'bubblegum gang' and a ball gag. Whatever your think of Eli Roth and Cabin Fever, think again: the man has truly arrived. Even at an 'R' rating (I have no idea how he's going to swing that!), this is probably the best American horror movie in the last five years, and very likely longer.
Call me,
Flying Monkey
And another!
Hi Harry and everyone.
It’s been one day since I saw Hostel and still can’t get over it. It is one of those horror movies that are so screwed up to the bone that you can’t stop thinking about them long after watching them. Actually, so far there has been only one film that goes as far as Eli Roth’s recent blood fest. I think this director might have actually opened a door to a new genre of horror, because for the first time in my life I was actually terrified by a horror movie. But before I begin describing the masterpiece, let me explain why exactly I’m writing this review.
It was the early screening in 12:45 pm. After everyone was seated, director Eli Roth came up to the stage to introduce his movie and some of the cast. He explained that this version is not finished, and called it - a director’s cut version. The movie still has some unfinished visual and sound effects, but to me it was almost unnoticeable. He also mentioned we were the first audience to see the movie with its new ending. When the movie was finished, Eli said a few interesting things. He explained that the ending was replaced because the audience mostly hated the old one, because it was just too much of a stretch to the plot. So to clarify – the current ending, and the movie itself are perfect, so further changes to the movie probably won’t be made. But to release the movie in wide release would be a problem, the director explained. They would probably cut half of the gore, but he still doesn’t know just how much. But fortunately, he also promised that a director’s cut DVD will be released which will include EVERYTHING, including the 3 (!!!) alternate endings. (I’m almost sure he said 3, if not 4).
After introducing a couple of the cast members and answering a few of the questions from the audience he told us about how Quentin Tarantino persuaded Eli to make the movie the most “fucked up shit” he can make, which was really funny. He does a good Quentin impression. Anyway, the main thing I found interesting in his speech was that he asked the audience to spread the word about the movie, in case they liked it. He even mentioned ‘ain’t it cool news’ as a website to write reviews to and said that if people start doing that more then maybe in Hollywood they would start making good movies, and stop with the shit. He also mentioned that he knows for a fact that those studios actually read people’s reviews, although it might not seem like it. The producers and such know what people think, and apparently it matters to them. That’s why I decided to take this time and write my first review ever, a thing which I wanted to do for the past month, since I started reading ‘ain’t it cool news’.
So now, a few words about the movie itself. I’m not a fan of spoilers or in fact, any kind of plot revealing, so I won’t discuss this here. What I will discuss is how the movie felt. It felt like a punch in the stomach, to say the least. I have seen a lot of horror movies, but not one really left me shocked and terrified like this one. And it doesn’t have any creepy music in it, no supernatural bullshit and not even any slowly built up. You just see everything like it is, right in your face, which makes the whole thing shockingly realistic. The gore is nearly unwatchable, and the audience was going oooooooh and aaaaaah throughout those scenes. The director also mentioned that the idea for the plot was based on real rumors and events, a fact which makes the whole thing even more fucked up. You will understand when you see it.
When the show was over, me and my friend went up to Mr. Roth to get autographs and tell him what we thought about the movie. My friend said that he loved the ending (which has a revenge twist to it – but I won’t say more), and commented about how good and disgusted he felt at the same time. And while Eli Roth was writing my autograph I made a pretty bold statement and said – this is definitely the best horror movie I’ve ever seen. Eli looked at me in surprise, though shook my hand and said thanks. I know it was very cheesy of me to say, but I’m being completely honest. I’ve summed up what I thought about the film. I’ve seen A LOT of horror movies and this is by far the most fucked up shit I’ve ever seen. It just goes far beyond other fucked up shit, and even manages to change your point of view regarding the world we live in today. At least to me that’s what it was and I hope people will think the same.
If you post this, you can use DeadStar as the nick. Thanks.
