Eli Roth was hailed by some as Horror’s Savior for Cabin Fever, which I personally thought was a victim of hype, a schizophrenic kitchen sink collection of influences. Roth obviously has plenty of skill with the camera and possesses a keen grasp of horror film history and atmosphere, but I wanted to see him focus on originality rather than simply regurgitating his inspirations.
Will his new film Hostel be the one to win me over? Our own Russ Fischer caught the flick in Toronto and called it “pedestrian and surprisingly shock free”, which I doubt will get a blurb on the poster (read his full review HERE), but I’m still willing to give Roth the benefit of the doubt, simply because we desperately need some maverick horror filmmakers right now.
The movie (supposedly inspired by true events) follows some attractive young tourists backpacking through Europe, where they visit a town that initially seems like heaven but turns out to be the sort of hell where they strap you to a toilet and torture you (it’s a very specific hell). The trailer offers some glimpses of weirdness and body mutilation in the vein of Takashi Miike, who happens to make an appearance in the flick.