Sunday, January 15, 2006

Hostel

Eli Roth's Hostel is a boring movie. The entire plot hinges on an absurd reasoning for the protagonist to go to eastern Europe and eventually be tortured by some sick bastard. Its sole selling points seem to be gratuitous violence and nudity, of which there is an ample supply of both. The film offered little more than Wolf Creek (2005) as far as getting three unsuspecting passer-bys into a situation were a sadist can live out the most disturbing of fantasies.

In truth, I couldn't even glean what the point of the exercise in film was except to be essentially exploitative. At best, I could come up with the reaction of the protagonist to the realization of what is happening. The final act is so dependent on this reaction and at one point made me laugh audibly in the theater at the absurdity of what was happening on the screen. I didn't particularly find the movie scary, nor did I feel there was a particularly interesting human truth revealed. This movie is ultimately pointless.

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