Hostel

Comment pls.

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Fluffy Bunny Squad 4 Lyfe!

Haven't seen this one yet. Though I would like to. I think Munich is first on the list for my wife and I

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I finally saw this tonight.
And I must say, I'm pretty confused.
Not by the film, oh no. It was pretty damn good. Some flaws, but overall it was good eatin'.
What I'm really confused about? The reactions to this film.
Of course we all heard about Bill O'Useless calling films like Hostel "gore pornos" or "gornos" because apparently only sadistic people like them. I stated before that Bill is an unoriginal hack regurgitating nonsense that started in the 20's and 30's from films back then, and well, it's true. To be honest, this movie is NOT that gory. Even in the unrated cut, there is probably about ten minutes total of "torture scenes." That's it. There is other gore, but only about ten minutes of actual torture.
Why the big fuss? In a day and age when all we get is watered down PG-13 teenie bopper spooky uh-oh spaghetti-oh nonsense, Hostel stands out as something that is balls to the wall terror. In reality, it's nothing compared to most films from the 70's when it comes to gore and blood and body count, but in today's society, one where everyone is safeguarded against as much as we can be to protect us, Hostel sticks out like a bloody, spurting stump of a thumb. Which brings me to the point of the movie.
The point? You mean Hostel actually tries to say something??? Yes indeedy it does! First, I'd like to admit my chagrin at noticing that only one other person on the entire planet caught some of this, and I seemed to notice it when I read the synopsis.
Most people's complaints were of this nature:
"OMG it was nothing but sex and boobs for the first half and then just gore for the last half wtf"
Ok. Without going into spoilers, the basic premise is two friends go to Europe for some fun before they finish up college and start new lives. Their idea of "fun" is to try and get laid. They meet up with an extremely enthusiastic Icelander named Oli and the three of them set out to get some babes. After hearing about a crazy brothel/hostel in Slovakia, they head out there to take part in the action. It is there they fall prey to the human trafficking ring, one where rich businessmen (MEN, this is important) pay money to torture helpless victims.
What most people seem to miss for some reason is that the first "half" with them trying to get tail and the second "half" are equal parts. The main character Paxton just wants to get laid, as does Oli...Josh is reluctant because mainly he is depressed over getting dumped by his girlfriend recently, but finally participates. When they are captured, guess what? They are the meat now. Their flesh is now something to be "won," they are being used just like all the women they use earlier in the movie. It's more or less a "just desserts" for them, in a way. The bottom line is that every human in this tends to look at the other ones merely as meat. There are even a few shots that point this out, like when they meet a cute receptionist at the hostel. The camera pans up and down when she turns around to get their key, checking out her body; the viewpoint is from the boys' POV. Later, the same kind of thing happens when we see the boys chained up in their chairs being tortured. Meat is meat.
Need more? Oh yeah, ONE CHARACTER EVEN SAYS IT IN THE DAMN MOVIE. Do people watch movies anymore? Does anyone pay attention, or do they sit there and grumble the whole time because they are offended? One of the "torturers" talks about "pussy is pussy, but this...this you'll remember." How hard is it to grasp that theme when it's sitting right there? I swear people don't view movies anymore, they just sit there and drool.
Another complaint is the movie is xenophobic and homophobic. The main reason the homophobic comment comes up is because the two main characters say "this is gay" and "you're so gay" etc. What's that? Oh yeah, college kids nowadays talk like that. Oh well, there goes that argument. There's more? Well, how about this: Paxton says at one point while watching a movie in Slovakia, "How are we supposed to understand it without subtitles? That's so gay!" Could there be a point here? Does it talk about how Americans view the rest of the world through their ethnocentric eyes and expect the world to pander to them, even when they go overseas? Does their homophobic language accentuate this point by using it whenever something doesn't go completely their way because of a foreign custom or a foreign movie? No, it's obviously just homophobic because Eli Roth is an ass. No sense into looking deeper into things.
So yeah, the movie does have flaws, some people pointed out geographical stuff and language issues, but even those could be attributed to the way Americans are portrayed in the film. Cripes, the torturers even pay more money for Americans, "top dollar." If that doesn't tell you the point of the movie I don't know what does.
All these people just whining about how awful and violent it was. You know what? Good. I'm glad you're offended. I'm glad movies like this and other "gore porno" films are out there offending the hell out of people again. For at least the past ten, fifteen years the horror fans have had to put up with watered down tiptoe through the tulips garbage, and I for one am glad that some films out there aren't willing to back down. The name "horror" is there for a reason. It's supposed to be confrontational, it's supposed to offend, shock and terrify. If it doesn't, there is no reason for the genre to exist. Filmmakers like Roth and Rob Zombie, while not perfect, are at least attempting to bring back the old horror that actually meant you weren't safe in your seat at the theater. You don't know what to expect and you might actually learn something about yourself in the meantime.
P.S. Dear Movie-Goers (Included are the Oh So Intelligent Film Critics That are Supposed to be Knowledable of the Themes I Just Discussed):
Please watch the films you paid to see from now on instead of talking with your friends or playing on your cell phone. It's obvious to me now after seeing Hostel that not many people out there actually watched the goddamn thing, they just sat and looked at the ceiling or something. If you can't understand a movie like this, what ultimately amounts to a simple comment on American culture and the relationship between sex and violence when it comes to the carnality of the flesh, you are in trouble.
And if you are offended, good. Go home and sit in your room and try not to think too hard.

Fox

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My DVD List at DVD Aficionado

Fluffy Bunny Squad 4 Lyfe!

such a long review Shocked

gosh!! some1 is really unhappy abt the movie.. Razz

I thought the movie was just fine!!

Probably SAW was much better!

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