Dir. Eli Roth, US, 2007, 93 mins
Cast: Lauren German, Roger Bart, Heather Matarazzo, Bijou Phillips, Richard Burgi
Review by Matthew Rodgers
Eli Roth has become synonymous with the recent trend of exploitation horror, also splattered with the “torture porn” moniker by some extremists, to the extent that he has been the answer to crossword questions in The New York Times, and rejuvenated the box office for the genre (Hostel opened at #1 in the US with a $20million plus weekend gross). This has led to his recent appearance in the yet to be seen and soon to be butchered Quentin Tarantino’s Grindhouse (to be released as two separate features after the $80m flick failed for find a US audience) and the opportunity to direct his own spoof trailer for the film. Entitled Thanksgiving his segment is creative, effectively gory whilst firmly keeping its tongue in cheek and indicative of his reputation for being a visually inventive filmmaker. Despite flashes of genius with the camera the same cannot be said for Hostel: Part II; it is torture, but for all the wrong reasons.
De-mystifying the mechanisms behind the running of the sordid hostel hunting organisation promised much intrigue beyond the effective linear nature of the first offering. So instead of just following the holiday makers, this time three woman – Headstrong Beth (Lauren German, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), frivolous Whitney (Bijou Phillips, Almost Famous) and shy Lorna (Heather Matarazzo) – we are given the narrative threads of two clients, the Mr. Big behind the operation, and more of the creepy desk clerk from the first instalment.
The problem is that Roth’s penchant to get to the gore means that these plot threads are never more than skin deep when you really want them to make your skin crawl. Who really wants to see that the shadowy figure will creep down a dark set of stairs marked “Do Not Enter!” to make sure that…..hold your breath…..the victim’s passports are scanned? Explaining the unknown behind some of the most effective films of the genre has become a staple of modern horror; The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning being the most recent example of providing an explanation when it was a lot scarier being kept in the dark. The fact that Roth’s take on his own macabre world is never fleshed out is both a waste and an example of this unnecessary trend.
Jay Hernandez returns as Paxton for a brief “Scream-like” set-up that is ridiculously executed and has an effect that will remove much of the satisfaction experienced from watching part one. On the subject of acting, it has never been at the forefront of the genre and this won’t convince otherwise; all of the major players have their irritating qualities so to see their lacklustre fates unfold never elicits any tension, even the shock value is missing from most of the extreme sequences.
That said there are inspired moments that can be ripped from the films dismembered structure; a morbidly dark game of football to close the film, the 180* camera rotation of a hanging victim and the hilarious pay-off for a central character that will have the entire male audience wincing worse than the Casino Royale chair torture scene.
Eli Roth must be slightly praised but highly castigated for Hostel: Part II because the ambition to sink the hook deeper is dropped in favour of an immature schlocker from a young director who may be starting to believe his own hype.
|
