Hostel (2005)

Director:

Eli Roth

Writer (WGA):

Eli Roth (written by)

Release Date:

6 January 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Welcome To Your Worst Nightmare

Plot:

Three backpackers head to a Slovakian city that promises to meet their hedonistic expectations, with no idea of the hell that awaits them.

Plot Keywords:

Psychopath | Gory | Dominatrix | Perverse | Foreigner

Awards:

4 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Jay Hernandez	...	Paxton
Derek Richardson	...	Josh
Eythor Gudjonsson	...	Oli
Barbara Nedeljakova	...	Natalya
Jan Vlasák	...	The Dutch Businessman
Jana Kaderabkova	...	Svetlana
Jennifer Lim	...	Kana
Keiko Seiko	...	Yuki
Lubomir Bukovy	...	Alex
Jana Havlickova	...	Vala
Rick Hoffman	...	The American Client
Petr Janis	...	The German Surgeon
Takashi Miike	...	Miike Takashi
Patrik Zigo	...	Bubble Gum Gang Leader (as Zigo Patrik)
Milda Jedi Havlas	...	Desk Clerk Jedi

Runtime:

94 min | Philippines:93 min (cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Czech | German | Dutch | Slovak | Japanese | Icelandic | Russian | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Belgium:KNT | Mexico:D | UK:18 | Malaysia:18SG (unrated DVD version) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | USA:R (certificate #42205) | Hong Kong:III | South Africa:16 | Australia:R | Brazil:18 | France:-16 (with warning) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Germany:Not Rated (SPIO/JK) (extended version) | Sweden:15 | Italy:VM14 | Netherlands:16 | Japan:R-18 | Argentina:16 | Hungary:18 | Iceland:16 | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Singapore:R21 (cut) | Philippines:R-18 (MTRCB) | Portugal:M/18 | Germany:18 (nf) | New Zealand:R18 | Malaysia:(Banned) (theatrical) | Norway:18 (self applied) (with warning) | South Korea:18 (re-rating) (cut) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-18 | South Korea:Limited (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

Company:

Hostel LLC

Trivia:

"The American Businessman" (Rick Hoffman) almost gave himself a concussion and bruised his head with the butt of his gun while filming the scene where he decides how to murder his victim.

Goofs:

Continuity: The clock at the train station, where the suicide of the girl takes place, jumps between 1pm and 5pm.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Paxton: Amsterdam, motherfucker!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Cuenta atrás: Antiguo matadero de Navalafuente, 15:35 horas (#1.11)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Treti Galaxie

State of the art in intense horror

As a rule, I find horror films a little tiresome, but Hostel starts with a great premise and slowly builds up to some outrageous horror. The film tips its hat to some of the classics, and there's even a delightful cameo of Pulp Fiction playing in the background. It's not good that the premise of the movie is revealed in the IMDb listing as you don't learn the truth until near the end of the movie and it all starts to make a lot more sense. One thing about horror films which has always bugged me is that the bad guys never seem real to me, as if they are some kind of limitless satanic evil or whatever. In Hostel, by contrast, we really believe that the scenario is very plausible and for that, all the more frightening. I wouldn't be surprised at all if this kind of thing goes on in certain parts of the world. As far as maximum creep value, I saw it in a packed house at a screening in Beverly Hills last night, and many in the audience couldn't take it and ran out -- one guy was retching in the bathroom and was too scared to leave! The organizer had to talk him down and call one of his friends to take him home. The director was there for a Q&A which will be on the Creative Screen writing Magazine podcast, and he said that at one test screening they had to call a ambulances for two different people. It appears that the explicit sex, torture and violence will not be toned down for the theatrical release and it will still have an R rating instead of NC-17 which most of us thought it deserved. The trick, is that there is no sex during the violent scenes, and no violence in the sex scenes, which makes the MPAA more comfortable. By the way, this was shot near Prague, and is amazingly beautiful to look at -- I was there a month ago and the place is like something out of a fairy tale (unlike most historic European areas, there isn't a McDonalds every hundred feet). The ending is very, very satisfying yet believable and unforced. The audience was screaming, gasping, cheering, and hiding their faces at all the right moments. Eli's interview was a hoot, also, so check out the podcast once they post it on itunes. It's worth it for no other reason than to hear his anti-Union rant!