Hostel: Part II (2007)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Eli Roth

Writers (WGA):

Eli Roth (written by)
Eli Roth (characters)

Release Date:

8 June 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Plot:

Three American college students studying abroad are lured to a Slovakian hostel, and discover the grim reality behind it.

Plot Keywords:

Hostel | Slovakia | American | Torture | Murder

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Lauren German	...	Beth
Roger Bart	...	Stuart
Heather Matarazzo	...	Lorna
Bijou Phillips	...	Whitney
Richard Burgi	...	Todd
Vera Jordanova	...	Axelle
Jay Hernandez	...	Paxton
Jordan Ladd	...	Stephanie
Milan Knazko	...	Sasha
Edwige Fenech	...	Art Class Professor
Stanislav Ianevski	...	Miroslav
Patrik Zigo	...	Bubblegum Gang Leader
Zuzana Geislerová	...	Inya
Ivan Furak	...	Big Guard
Monika Malacova	...	Mrs. Bathory

MPAA:

Rated R for sadistic scenes of torture and bloody violence, terror, nudity, sexual content, language and some drug content.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Slovak | Italian | Czech

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS | Dolby

Certification:

USA:R | Brazil:18 | Australia:R | Malaysia:(Banned) | Argentina:18 | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Sweden:15 | Netherlands:16 | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Iceland:18 | Ireland:18 | UK:18 | Singapore:R21 (cut) | Italy:VM18 | France:-16 (with warning) | Portugal:M/18 | Finland:K-18 (self applied) | Japan:R-18 | New Zealand:(Banned) (uncut version) | New Zealand:R18 (cut) | South Korea:18 | Germany:18 (heavily cut version) | Germany:(Banned) (uncut version) | Germany:Not Rated (slightly cut) | Canada:R (Manitoba) (director's cut)

Filming Locations:

Barrandov Studios, Krizeneckeho namesti, Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

Lionsgate

Trivia:

Luc Merenda also came out of retirement to play The Detective. Roth is a huge fan of Merenda's 1970s Italian films such as I corpi presentano tracce di violenza carnale (1973) and La città sconvolta: caccia spietata ai rapitori (1975), and asked him to play the role. Merenda called Edwige Fenech and asked her how she enjoyed working with Roth, and her response was so overwhelmingly enthusiastic that Merenda agreed to do it. Now a successful top dealer, Luc Merenda last was seen on the 1992 television show "L'edera" (1992), starring Susanna Bequer, who plays The Translator in the scene with Merenda in Hostel: Part II (2007).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: While Lorna is suspended upside down her feet are clearly being held by thick cuffs designed for suspending a person in this way, however when a close up of her feet is shown she is supposed to be bound by some thin rough looking rope. This obviously would not have been possible to film with the actress actually hanging by such a thin rope as the weight of the human body hung by the ankles in this way would have caused injury to the actress.

Quotes:

[after Axelle drops her robe to pose nude for the art class]
Art Class Professor: Hands on your pencils, boys!

Movie Connections:

References Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

Soundtrack:

Zala Travu

What It Doesn't Borrow It Steals

Apparently, Director Eli Roth has a fetish for "snuff." If fact, in a documentary I watched on the subject recently, Roth is interviewed and becomes visibly "giddy" when he comments on the realism of "Cannibal Holocaust." It is no small wonder that he developed the idea for, and directed the two Hostel films. I don't see that as an admirable quality, but then... I am old school and still believe the best horror isn't in-your-face-gore. I realize I am in the minority these days.

The first "Hostel" was not a great film. It was, in fact, not very good, but what it did have was an intriguing premise: a club whose wealthy members pay to torture and murder abducted people. What worked was that such an idea was not entirely inconceivable. I would argue that such clubs, just like "snuff" films, currently exist, and that was what made the film interestingly creepy for me.

Hostel Part 2, however, offers nothing original. Instead, it robs from various horror films of old. For example, the opening scene mirrors that of Friday The 13th Part 2. In another scene, as I watched a female club-member bathing in the blood of her "purchase", I couldn't decide which vampire film the scene reminded me of most, there are so many. It was at the ending that I actually let a laugh slip. The foiled attempt at irony was followed by a scene reminiscent of "Blood Sucking Freaks". "Hostel" provided solid potential for a redeeming sequel, but instead, "Hostel Part 2" ended up being nothing more than a compilation of already tried and over used gimmicks.