HOSTEL: PART II

"Please don't hurt me..."

Studying in Europe, Beth (German), Whitney (Phillips) and Lorna (Matarazzo), decide to head for Prague but when they meet Axelle (Jordanova) she convinces them to travel to Slovakia where she says they have the best spas in the world. Rich businessman Todd (Burgi) has convinced his friend Stuart (Bart) has his latest contract will change his life forever. As the pair head to a picturesque Slovakian village, Beth, Whitney and Lorna check into the local Hostel.

Hailed as Hollywood's new master of horror, Eli Roth returns to the Slovakia to continue the story that gave him that title but is the honour justified?

After gaining the attention with 'Cabin Fever' in 2002, writer/director Eli Roth was hailed as the saviour of horror for Hollywood and became the toast of Tinsel Town. Hailed as the next Sam Raimi or Wes Craven, Roth's next project was produced by none other than Quentin Tarantino. That movie was 'Hostel' and the story of rich people paying to torture and brutally murder backpackers kidnapped from a Slovakian hostel showed that he had a passion for gore and a slight gift for the macabre. The problem was while the low budget horror made money, it was the controversial subject matter that intrigued the audience and not the actual quality of the movie.

'Hostel' had a basic storyline, awful dialogue, bad acting and death scenes that were not as gruesome as you might have thought. Most of the torture and murder scenes were not as graphic as its hype suggested, cutting away and using sound and suggestion to imply pain and hurt until the final escape and confrontation. The second movie picks up after the events of the first, concluding the story of Paxton and moving onto the next trio of backpackers to be tricking into visiting Slovakia.

Eli Roth tries to change the structure of the second part of story by having a point of view of a pair of American clients, played by Richard Burgi and Roger Bart. Here we see their characters Todd and Stewart prepare to their visit to the factory, with both of them coming to terms, in their own way, as to what they are going to do. The trio of backpackers change from male to female and are again persuaded to head to Slovakia but instead of the promise of cheap booze and girls, they are drawn to the country by the quality of its spas. Lauren German, Bijou Phillips and Heather Matarazzo are this times intended victims but of course they scream all the louder and look more vulnerable. The rest of the story is essentially the same, with victims meeting grizzly deaths and the clients having fun at their expense.

'Hostel: Part II' is worse than the appalling original and you would have thought that would be impossible. A movie made just to shock and repulse, with no real attempt at character or plot development, Eli Roth proves again that he is not the future of horror. If Hollywood are relying on him then they are incredibly desperate and the genre will become even worst that it actually is.

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Hostel

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2007