I’ve thought long and hard about what I thought of Eli Roth’s followup to his original bloodbath (you can read my review here) and to be honest it has grown on me a little. I do not love the film like some of its hardcore fans (them AICN folk went rabid for this thing) but I’m not about to string Eli Roth up in the rafters for crimes against humanity either (like far too many critics seem to want to do, their pitchforks and lighted torches raised up high).
One thing I will not take part in is personally attacking Eli Roth. Personally attacking an artist for his work can be a tricky business. I do not believe Roth promotes hate or the killing or torture of innocents so I have no beef with him and some of hateful things that have been said about the guy because of this movie is downright embarassing.
I believe Roth is a good filmmaker. Like I said in my review of part one, I’m not a huge horror fan because I think so many of them are crapfests directed by a bunch of hacks. I thought the original Hostel was of a higher standard. Roth exhibited has a strong sense of narrative, atmosphere, character, inventive reveals and crowd-pleasing beats. He also made a film that felt timely. More than ever, Americans are concerned as to how the rest of the world views us. Hostel played into that and I thought it was pretty wicked stuff. Roth simply has a taste for the Grand Guignol. So have a lot of great artists.
Some spoilers: The violence here is more over-the-top and therefore more tongue-in-cheek. Roth is basically saying, “Now I’m really going to screw with you!” as he shows you bloodbaths, cannibalism on live victims, circular saws running into skulls and, of course, castration. But those are just the deaths that take place in the warehouse. An eight-year-old kid is shot in the head (done off-screen, thankfully) and a woman is decapitated for kids to play soccer with before the credits roll. End spoilers.
No, my problem with the movie is the suspense is not as sharp. The method of escape is a little too convenient. And the crowd-pleasing beats don’t hit home as hard because the film is not as engaging at the original.
Not to say the film doesn’t completely work. One angle I really loved about Hostel: Part 2 is that it focuses more on the killers this time around; the behind the scenes aspect of how the hostel works. There’s a subplot that follows two American men who – after successfully bidding on our three female protagonists on the hostel’s eBay-like system – travel to Slovakia to take part in their first good old fashioned death-torture. It’s here where we get the most out of Roth’s decent gift for character development. One of the Americans is very gung-ho, can’t wait to murder him some pretty American girl. The other is more gun-shy, unsure of himself. You see him at home with his family back in America. He’s completely emasculated, the house is clearly run by his wife and his feelings of insecurity may or may not give way to sicker, darker feelings that would drive him to kill. You’re never quite sure what he’s going to do. But it is clear that both men, even his gung-ho friend, have serious issues stemming from their inability to “get the girl” when they were younger.
Still, I can’t say I would recommend this film unless you’re a die-hard gore lover. More than anything, I’d like to see Roth move on to other material. The guy’s a talent and it’s time for him to mix it up. But I will say I will probably watch this one again when it comes to DVD, something I wasn’t so sure of when I first left the theatre. I’d watch it over another Saw movie any day of the week.
