Hostel

[Dan]

Really good movie. I wouldn't say I was actually "scared" per se, but I was definitely creeped out through most of it. And, unlike Saw II, it actually tries to explore what torture does to humans, both the torturer and torturee.

The reviews make it out to be much gorier than it is. Which isn't to say it's not gory, I actually got sick to my stomach twice watching it. But, like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the extreme tension and overall dark atmosphere make it seem gorier than it actually is.

But, you can tell that Eli Roth is a good filmmaker who will probably one day be a great one. This is one of the more original and actually creepy and intense horror movies I've seen in a long time.

At the theater I saw it at, they ID'ed very strictly at the door, then they had a cop checking IDs in front of the theater, and I can't say I blame them, there is no way that kids should see this movie. The first half hour or so is basically nothing but fairly graphic sex and lots and lots of drug use. Then once the torture starts, it's certainly no more family-friendly. Even if you can handle the average horror movie, I'd think twice about seeing this if you get grossed out easily, there is some HARDCORE stuff in here.

 

[Dan]

The use of Tarantino's name may have increased box office receipts but it did little to increase my opinion of the money grabbers who use such scams too frequently, and everytime Tarantino allows his name to be used this way causes me to reevaluate my opinion of the man.

Well, to be fair, Tarantino used his star power to get this movie made, and there were a lot of rumors that he had a LOT to do with the writing, too. So his name deserved to be on there.

I agree about the hype, though. Movies shouldn't bill themselves as 'the SCARIEST thing you've ever seen!' or stuff like that, because it will never be true.

 

[Dan]

OK, I didn't even realize you were in the UK. Yeah, it sounds like they were using some misleading techniques. They sort of did that here, Tarantino's name was all over the previews and they never really mentioned Eli Roth.

And, I'm surprised they billed it as sexually explicit in your country. I didn't think it was any more explicit than the majority of teen comedies coming out these days. Of course, I'm not surprised that the MPAA wouldn't let them bill a movie as sexually explicit in this country. The ads were ga-ga over the violence, though.

 

[Dan]

The violence was a bit more extreme than the average movie in America. I'm not sure about England's ratings system, do they edit movies at all over there? Anyway, lately, movies have been getting more violent, mainly due to the success of Saw, in my opinion. But, yeah, sexuality is still a big no-no. Rob Zombie said that with all the twisted stuff in The Devil's Rejects, the one scene that initially got an NC-17 was the one where things started to get sexual.

 

[Dan]

Just out of curiosity, what version of Kill Bill did you guys get? In America, when she fights the Crazy 88 at the end, it cuts to washed-out black and white so that the blood & gore is softened a little, but I know in some countries that sequence is shown in color with some extra blood & gore. Which did you guys have (if you've even seen it, that is).