DVD: Hostel Part II

Eli Roth’s hype of the Hostel movies is counterproductive. Emphasising torture might make you uneasy about watching the first film but when you finally do, you’ll realise it is not nearly as grotesque as he’d lead you to expect.

Hostel II is not just 90 minutes of vile torture. That is the overriding theme of the film but makes up only a slight portion of the running time. The Hostel films are foremost thrillers. Here Roth swaps the trio of male victims from the original film for female ones, fraternal humour disgarded in favour of a closer look at the workings of the exclusive torture club.

We meet the winners of the auction for the company of Lauren German and Bijou Philips. Richard Bergi plays a sociopathic businessman, while Roger Bart plays his not quite as enthusiastic friend. The question mark hanging over the whole narrative is whether he’ll have the nerve to go through with such a sadistic act. There is a hint of In The Company Of Men to this aspect of the plot but it’s not nearly as insightful as Neil LaBute’s script.

Does Roth shock us? Well there’s an over the top scene where a nude woman bathes in blood, a child is coldly executed and a graphic castration but otherwise this is straight and sinister. There are almost none of the cartoon elements of Roth’s previous works. It shows how he’s matured as a filmmaker.

Where Hostel showed how Roth can create a stylish film on a limited budget, Part II shows he can keep a dark, even tone. At least until the final scenes where he simply can’t resist going for macabre jokes.

A twisted but unsatisfactorily swift conclusion apart, Hostel Part II is well worth a look. Those left feeling short-changed after recent rip-off Paradise Lost (Turistas) will find this slick and slightly sick thriller more than above average.
Richard Hawes

Buy Hostel 2 here.