The even nastier, even more gruesome, and maybe even better sequel to the big torture flick. Get your barf bag out. This one gets deeper into exactly how the Slovakian torture business works. It deals with the victim-scouting process, the bidding process, the contract, the rules of the house, and what happens when a torturer chickens out. The story follows two parallel sets of characters: three college-age future victims (all girls this time) on a European vacation and two American businessmen who won the bidding war to kill them for fun. As with the first film, writer/director Eli Roth cleverly flies against your expectations for the characters. There’s also a lot of humor here. Roth’s a real horror fan. And one sick puppy. I like him.
Gross-out highlights: A buzz saw to the face, scissors to the genitals, a nose bitten off, a guy devoured by dogs, and an Elizabeth Bathory-inspired scene with Heather Matarazzo (yes, Dawn Wiener from Welcome to the Dollhouse) hanging naked upside down while getting slashed with a scythe.
Look for the brief appearance by Ruggero Deodato, the Italian director of Cannibal Holocaust (Roth’s favorite movie), as, of course, a cannibal.
The first Hostel was a major hit, making almost twenty times its small budget. This one didn’t go over so well. Eli Roth blames internet piracy.