Hostel (DVD)

My first memorable cinematic brush with the hallowed tradition of the post-college European backpacking trip was in 1981's An American Werewolf In London. Both Werewolf and Hostel movies mix sex and comedy with horror, but unlike its elderly uncle Hostel has been described by other reviewers as nihilistic, sadistic, and misogynistic. (And there's no "eye-gasm" in Werewolf!)

After a creepy, foreshadowing opening credits sequence, the story opens on three freewheeling buddies — two Americans, Paxton (Jay Hernandez) and Josh (Derek Richardson); and an Icelandic wanderer, Oli (Eythor Gudjonsson) — having a good old time in Amsterdam, sampling the herbal attractions and seedy nightlife. The nightlife lures them for a little too long, and when they miss the curfew, they're locked out of their hostel.

This leads to the trio's fateful meeting with Alex (Lubomir Bukovy), a fellow traveler and hedonist who tells them a story — with pictures! — about an almost mythical hostel in Bratislava. Not only is the place like a palace with a spa and all the amenities of a four-star hotel, but it's stocked with hot babes who will "fuck any American." That's all adventurous Paxton, curious Josh, and horny Oli (figuring he's American by osmosis) need to hear: They're soon on the next train headed for Bratislava, a Soviet Bloc-era town nestled in fields of green.

They arrive, and find Alex true to his word. Oli woos the desk-clerk, while Paxton and Josh hook up with the gorgeous brunet Natalya (Barbara Nedeljakova) and her friend, Svetlana (Jana Kaderabkova), a leggy blonde. They don't think for a moment that when something seems too good to be true… It probably is. Let's put it this way: It's a hostel to die for!

I first saw Hostel in the theater, and figured that it took about halfway through the movie to get to the gore. It's interesting how languidly seductive that false sense of security really is, because according to the countdown on my DVD player it's only about 30 minutes into the film before the entrails hit the fan. Once the hearse takes a turn, it puts the pedal to the metal and doesn't let up until the end credits roll.

There's quite a bit of gore and gush in the Unrated DVD, but you'll have to see it for yourself — assuming you have both eyes. What I can tell you is that seeing it the second time around only enhances the viewing experience. The gallows humor and political subtext hold up, as does the above-par acting and visual design. Hostel is simply a damn good horror movie.

But is it a damn good DVD? Of course, my horse!

If you're a fan of Hostel, the Unrated Widescreen Edition is the one to buy. The gore is slightly more, but what you'll really appreciate is the cinematography — pan and scan is really no-no for a grand guignol movie like this, where everything that's in the shot is there for a reason.

DVD Features:

Subtitles: English, French (why no Icelandic?)

Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Commentary Tracks with Multiple Speakers:

1)      Director Eli Roth and executive producers Quentin Tarantino, Boaz Yakin and Scott Spiegel

2)      Director Eli Roth with producer Chris Briggs and documentarian Gabriel Roth

3)      Director Eli Roth with actors Eythor Gudjonsson and Barbara Nedeljakova, editor George Folsey, Jr., and online critic Harry Knowles

I only listened to the first commentary track, but I'll bet the other two are just as good (and someday, in all my spare time, I'd actually like to hear them; as well as Roth's solo speak). Spiegel and Yakin hold their own, but it's really the riffing with Roth and Tarantino you'll want. It's free flowing and easygoing, but there are also some truly interesting and informative technical tidbits and edifying morsels on horror movie history. (It's also quite fun to listen to Tarantino mercilessly tease Roth about… well, you'll just have to hear it fur, um, for yourself.)

"Hostel Dissected" - Behind the scenes featurette: This is the most informative, in-depth, and interesting making-of featurettes I've seen since the one on The Devil's Rejects DVD (also Lions Gate). It's really first-rate, and often irreverent (like Roth talking about the toilets in Europe, or him teaching the youngest child actors on the set how to say dirty words in Icelandic).

"Kill the Car!" - Multi-angle interactive feature: More of those child actors, who probably didn't need any pushing into the dark side, having way too much fun being destructive.

= = =

Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson

This isn't part of the DVD, but I thought it was worth including — check out the "keywords" for Hostel, from the IMDb!

Achilles

Adultery

Backpacker

Bathroom Scene

Beaten To Death

Blind In One Eye

Blood

Blood Splatter

Blowtorch

Breasts

Brutality

Chainsaw

Character's Point Of View Camera Shot

Chase Scene

Conspiracy

Corrupt Police

Cover Up

Cut Into Pieces

Darkness

Death

Disturbing

Drill In The Head

Drugs

Eye Gouging

Eye Skewering

Female Frontal Nudity

Female Nudity

Finger Cut Off

Gay Slur

Gore

Hammer

Handgun

Hit By Car

Hit By Train

Homage

Hostel

Icelandic People

Independent Film

Male Nudity

Murder

Mutilation

Obscene Finger Gesture

Pain

Pistol

Police

Pot Smoking

Premarital Sex

Pulp Fiction

Revenge

Scalpel

Scissors

Severed Hand

Severed Head

Severed Leg

Severed Toe

Sex

Shot In The Back

Shot In The Chest

Shot In The Forehead

Shot In The Head

Slit Throat

Strangulation

Suicide

Surgery

Surprise After End Credits

Throat Slitting

Torture

Train Station

Travel

Violence

Vomit Scene

Wow… If that doesn't convince you to see it, I don't know what will!