Hostel

Die Darstellung der Slowakei hat mich nicht gestört, im Gegenteil, ich habe mich köstlich amüsiert. Ich war aber ziemlich überrascht, was für ein Dreck hinter der Kampagne mit super Postern, dem Slogan "Quentin Tarantino Presents" und dem US-Opening-Einspielergebnis von 20 Millionen steckt. Hostel in der gleichen Qualität würde ein durchschnittlicher slowakischer Regisseur mit einem Zehntel des Budgets drehen. Die Verknüpfung von manchen Szenen wirkt eher wie eine Improvisation ohne Drehbuch. Der Film hat keine Stimmung, die Steigerung wird durch die doofe Vorhersehbarkeit kaputtgemacht. Auf die grausamen Szenen, von denen es übrigens weniger als versprochen gibt, muss man unerträglich lange warten. Solche Filme wurden in den 80er Jahren wie am Fließband produziert und heute interessieren sie keinen mehr. History repeats. Hostel hebt die Qualität der Regie und des Drehbuchs von Filmen wie Saw hervor. Das ist sein einziger Beitrag, den er geleistet hat. (28.01.2006)

One of the biggest injustices on Filmbooster. Hostel is not a turning-point in modern horror, and if it wanted to be among the best of the genre, it would have to offer a lot more. That said, it is a slightly above-average film that has the misfortune of having been watched by people who shouldn’t watch this kind of stuff. If you expect being afraid or scared by an exploitation film, the problem is yours and not the film’s. (14.08.2007)

As a ten-minute amateur movie, it would have worked, but as a feature-length movie it barely works at all. Nothing whatsoever happens for an hour; then there are a few minutes of decent fun (at least for the Czechoslovaks among us - the locations) and then again total boredom until the end credits. There is only one good scene in the whole movie, which is not enough... The characters are utterly bland, as are the actors, as is the directing. The only good moment is Miike’s cameo. (13.02.2007)

There is no doubt that we are in the realm of dumbfounded trash here. When I read these derogatory comments, where stinging remarks abound, I say to myself, how everything is relative, because the same users can effortlessly give a similar, and I dare say even worse film, five stars and a comment from which one feels the concept of a "guilty pleasure." Also worth mentioning is that Hostel by Eli Roth is a cult film overseas. On internet forums, teenagers who are horror fans drool over Hostel in delight. The distorted realities of Slovakia are of no concern to them, so while we get angry about obvious stupidity, we Central Europeans are willing to believe in cannibals in Texas or mutants in the deserts of the Midwest. Overall impression: 10%. (30.05.2011)

The depiction of Slovakia as a backwater can still be somewhat endured in peace, but I didn't quite understand what Eli Roth was playing at here. The overall meaning of this creation also didn't click with me. Was it meant to entertain? Shock? Maybe both, but it failed at either, as it is, in every aspect, among the worst things that have been produced in the past few years. The screenplay is nonexistent, the actors are wooden, and even the torture scenes weren't cool. There was plenty of blood, but hardly any fear or disgust. It's a mystery to me how Quentin Tarantino could have had a hand in this. Maybe drugs, maybe money, who knows. In any case, this poorly made, inconsistent, and stupidly directed travesty certainly doesn't deserve any good rating in any way. (11.08.2006)

Boring as hell, which, despite a huge advertising campaign and American-European audience ambitions, only declares the sad fact that Eli Roth is unable to tell stories or create an atmosphere only with the formal appearance of his films. Hostel has mediocre actors, a shoddy Central European production design, an interesting, genre-defying setting, and an appealing plot, but Roth dissects it into an extremely unlikeable and vulgar teenage trip, where the most important thing is not the main motif surrounding the death merchants, but apparently the crew's egotistical need to show Slovakia as a dirty, backward country far below the ethical United States. Only the final half hour deserves praise, where the untalented filmmaker finally stops playing the sociophile and gives us the horror entertainment we've been waiting for all along, even though the level of brutality isn't actually that great. I don't hate Hostel, if only because I found the depiction of our neighbours (and the use of our locations) quite amusing, but with a similar premise, your average East Asian director would have made the heart of a devoted genre fan happier. (08.01.2013)