Hostel
Country: USA
Year:2005
Director: Eli Roth
Stars: Jay Hernandez (Paxton), Derek Richardson (Josh)
Hostel
Three guys get more than they bargained for while looking for loose women in eastern Europe.
Look, I just don't get torture porn. I love horror films and I like being scared with the odd moment of cringeworthy stomach churning. But the idea of just watching someone getting the bejesus getting kicked/slit/chainsawed etc out of them just for the sake of making the watcher uncomfortable just doesn't do it for me. There's nothing really going on in Hostel except that there's some [really] nice scenery going on in Eastern Europe and some crazy people paying to mutilate Americans. End of story! If you're happy watching people getting cut up for no reason with no plot points at all then go for it. Generally it's just an excuse for watching suffering methinks. Even the characters seem to be annoying enough to 'merit' what's coming to them but in a pantomime manner - the director seems to want you to dislike the characters enough to you can 'enjoy' the torture that is about to happen. It seems a little twisted to me. And not in a good way.
If you want to watch annoying individuals experience extreme pain for a laugh then this may be the film for you. Personally I think the horror genre should embrace so much more than just making its viewers queasy. I just can't see the appeal of torture porn unless you've got that sado-masochistic, somewhat sociopathic thing generally going on. It's not scary, it's just kinda bleargh. And there are better ways to spend your viewing time...
Reviewer - @helen_of_horror
Movie Spoiler - If you want to know the ending of the film.
