Film Only Review

~Hostel Part 1~

Released : 2005
Running time : 94 mins
Director : Eli Roth
Rating : 18

Whilst backpacking in Amsterdam, Paxton, Josh and Oli are locked out of their hostel. They become acquainted with another man who informs them of a hostel in eastern Europe where the women have a particular taste for American men. Of course, this hostel turns out too good to be true. Lured in by the idea of sex with these women, the backpackers make their way to Bratislava but didn't bet on becoming targets of the Elite Hunting who pay to perform saddistic things to travellers. Americans are worth the most at this hostel.

*Paxton - Jay Hernandez
*Josh - Dereke Richardson
*Oli - Eythor Gudjonsson
*Natayla - Barbara Nedeljakova
*Svetlana - Jana Kaderabkova

Hostel Part 1 is available on Amazon priced at £2.48. A triple boxset is available for £8.25.

~My Thoughts~

It is fair to say that I am a big fan of this type of film. I currently own the Hostel boxset and would say that Part 1 is by far the best film of all three. It is classed as a 'torture porn' film and it definitely lives up to this title. It is fair to say that this film takes a while to get to the real torture. We learn a little about the three backpackers before they are encouraged to head to Bratislava. It is easy to see how a group of young, sex on the brain guys would be lured by Natalya and Svetlana but it is also clear to see that they are far from being innocent.

Aside from the actor who plays Paxton, the other characters are unknown to me but the acting is really good and each character plays their role well. The other characters do fit in well in this film but do not make such an impact. The setting for Hostel is perfect for the plot in my opinion. It is good to see a brilliant horror film set outside of the USA and Bratislava was the a great choice. The quiet, rather cold atmosphere does add a sense of eerieness to the film and this builds up through the film.

As the film progresses, the backpackers start to wonder if there is something strange going on. Paxton rakes the lead role in his stride. He starts off as a cocky, sex driven American but soon realises that nothing is as it seems and he has to grow up and man up quite quickly. I found myself feeling incredibly sorry for him (and the others) as the film went on. There are a few torture scenes in the first half of the film but they are mainly snippets and to me, tasters of what is come further on. They held my attention and made me more interested in finding out what happens regardless of how depraved it may be.

The main event is near the end of the film and the first time I watched Hostel, I found it very difficult to watch. I still do find it difficult to watch despite having seen it many times. There is a lot of blood and violence. It is all very realistic. I found it difficult to understand why anyone would pay to torture someone but this aspect was carried out extremely well. There was a lot of tension and I found the implements of torture and ways of torturing to be extremely brutal and hard hitting. This film makes me cringe and on the verge of being sick which is something that rarely happens when I watch a film. Some horrific scenes had me traumatised as they were so sick. The film relies heavily on screaming as you would expect. Pain has no limits!

You really need a strong stomach to watch this film in my opinion. Whilst it isn't gorey all the way through, it certainly doesn't hold back nearer the end of the film. I found the end of the film to be really good if a little unrealistic. I could understand the fate of one character though - I would have done the same in their situation. The ending of the film is fast paced and had me wondering what the outcome would be. It also shows how easy it is to bribe deprived children into commiting crime and that no one can be trusted! It paves way to a second installment of Hostel.

~Conclusion~

The 18 rating for Hostel Part 1 is very much warranted. This film features drug taking, a lot of nudity and sexual scenes and general sickness! I wouldn't say this is the nastiest film I have ever watched. It is high up there but in a way, I do feel that it would benefit from more torture and less time spent on the sexual scenes.

This graphic, nasty film is definitely one to watch. I often watch it with my sister or fiance for some well directed torture porn. It isn't my favourite film but I do enjoy watching it if I am looking for something in this sort of genre and it is just the right length to keep me interested and emerged in it.

Thanks for reading :)