Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7110 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-10-22
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The inevitable sequel to one of the decade’s most intriguing and well-made horror films, Hostel Part II, as the title implies, picks up pretty much where the last film left off. And it doesn’t take too long for the sequel to find the same groove that earned its predecessor so much attention.

The setting is once again an underground club, where people bid for the right to torture residents at the hostel of the title. Hostel Part II, however, lets us see events from the other perspective too, as we meet the wealthy businessmen who are availing themselves of the club’s services. It’s a logical dynamic for the movie, and it does bring a fresh perspective to a film that does eventually settle down to a cavalcade of gore and shock.

As a director, Eli Roth has clearly improved since last time around, even if this time he too often succumbs to the temptation to show rather than imply, and Hostel Part II as a result feels a little less fresh and more uncomfortable than its predecessor. Yet it’s most certainly an unsettling piece of cinema, and one likely to find favour with Roth’s increasing fanbase.

A word of warning, though. Hostel Part II isn’t shy about pulling its punches, and it very much justifies its 18 certificate. It’s also a cut above many of its modern day contemporaries in the genre, even though it fails to measure up to part one. --Jon Foster

Synopsis
With only one film under his belt and the endorsement of Quentin Tarantino, Eli Roth became a virtual horror brand with HOSTEL (2005), a yarn about a group of thrill-seeking American college dudes backpacking through Europe, only to be seduced into a Slovakian money-for-torture ring where they became the prey. The sequel begins right where that film left off, filling us in on the whereabouts of lone survivor Paxton (Jay Hernandez)---but before long, we see that gender roles are reversed and we are traveling with sensible Beth (Lauren German), hedonistic Whitney (Bijou Phillips), and virginal Lorna (Heather Matarazzo). After tussling with a gaggle of shifty men on a train, they meet Axelle (Vera Jordanova), a gorgeous woman who persuades them to follow her to a rejuvenating spa in Slovakia. As the trio checks into the same infamous hostel, Roth shows us the inner workings of the previously mysterious torture club. Once the girls are put up on the auction block, online bidding begins among the clubs members---who are revealed to be prominent international businesspeople. After Beth and Whitney are won by type-A American corporate jerk Todd (Richard Burgi), who believes that killing someone will give him power, and his reluctant associate, Stuart (Roger Bart), the film shifts to the preparations for their inaugural slayings within the bloody walls of the warehouse. For those who embraced HOSTEL's abrupt tonal shifts and very realistic gore, Roth serves up amplified doses of both in his follow-up. Astute horror fans will find a few amusing in-jokes among the carnage, but beware---things get incredibly strong, and Roth's charnel house chic intends to offend.

Customer Reviews

Lazy sequel that adds zero to the original except even more sadistic nastiness.****Contains spoilers****
What made Hostel work for me was the subtext. Instead of just being an exercise in sheer porn violence with some normal porn thrown in for good measure it had allegories - rather crude ones it must be said but there none the less - about American imperialism and rapacious capitalism. That and it was very well put together.
Hostel II "presented by Quentin Tarantino (What like he comes round your house and introduces the film? He didn't with my viewing for which I'm eternally grateful) picks up where the last one ended, narratively speaking because in terms of quality Hostel II is very much a case of diminishing returns. There is a brief prologue in which the hero from the first film (Jay Hernandez) gets his come uppance - a warning shot across the bows that this film will be devoid of hope.
Three art students are working in Rome and decide to head off to Prague. This time around they are not annoying jocks but dissimilar girls .Lorna (Heather Matarazzo) is nerdy and spacey but good natured; Beth (Lauren German) is a rich, smart brunette; and Whitney (Bijou Phillips) is a loud flirtatious temperamental blonde. After meeting Axelle( Vera Jordanova) on the train( A set up as it transpires- the lengths the torture syndicate go to snare victims is truly remarkable) she talks them into visiting the Hostel in Slovakia. Here in the middle of the towns version of Mardi Gras-the "Harvest Fare"-the girls are abducted one by one -each to end up in a torture chamber.
Where this film really differs from the original is not only does it give the viewer an insight into the syndicates - "Bloodhound"- methods but also introduces us to two wealthy American businessmen torturers who have won bids on two of the girls. Todd( Richard Burgi) is a loud crass ball of testosterone fury while Stuart( Roger Bart) is far meeker and clearly has doubts about what they are doing.
Eli Roth clearly has talent has a film -maker .There are a couple of truly memorable scenes in Hostel II- Lorna's demise is superbly orchestrated and unsettling to watch aided by some great acting by Heather Matarazzo. Here though Roth falls into one of the many pitfalls he readily stumbles into. Lorna was so obviously going to be the first victim it would have been nice if Roth had given her more to do than have her as a token victim which brings me to the decisions these characters make. Lorna wanders off with a guy she's just met who couldn't look more suspicious if he wore a weasel mask . Daft plotting like this plus no real surprises and a general deficit of suspense means the film can only really work as an exercise in sadism .A scene where the head of the syndicate kills a small child in cold blood reinforces this ....he was little sod but come on.
Roth attempts to pull off a coup with Todd and Stuart reversing roles but this seems absurd more than anything especially with Stuart and when Todd is offed by the torture ring for breaking the rules it then raises questions about how far this enterprise could go on killing anyone it fancied before serious suspicions would be aroused elsewhere.The only thing that worked for me is Beth buying her way out(After all the hostel is a business first and foremost) of her predicament but her sudden switch to cold hearted bitch killer is hard to swallow .
Hostel II is that worst of things- a completely unnecessary and lazy sequel that adds zero to the original. Roth could get away with claims of exploitation and torture porn with the first film as it was making salient allegorical points. Hostel II isn't doing that - its just Roth revelling in it all -which sort of puts him on a footing with the rich torturers if you think about it which then rather undermines the precepts of the first film. The penis severing scene only confirms this and his snickering cameos for the likes of Ruggero Deodato-the director Of "Cannibal Holocaust" playing a cannibal just rubs salt into those open wounds.

Gratuitous Bilge
Hostel was effective because of the idea, not the violence. The hopelessness of being prisoner in the Eastern European wilderness and suggestion that fellow human beings would pay to dismember innocent backpackers was engrossing to audiences. Hostel II just uses the exact same idea and raises the bar for unpleasant violence.

The problem with Hostel II is Roth's juvenile fascination with mutilating naked women isn't hidden behind a good idea anymore. Filmgoers are no longer shocked by the concept so Roth just tries to shock them with sickening violence. I understand that this is the ethos of the Grindhouse/exploitation movie but that doesn't mean you have to sacrifice good dialogue and story. With a mentor like Quentin Tarantino and the resources of Takashi Miike you'd think Roth would have been embarrassed to release this rubbish and I'm very surprised Tarantino would allow his name to be associated with the film. While Roth undoubtedly shares Tarantino's vast knowledge of movies he just can't seem to implement their ideas in an original way and his films tend to disintegrate into mindless violence. There are some good scenes, the online auction to see which visiting sicko gets to torture which girl is inventive and the blood bath is visually well shot but apart from that Hostel II is a nasty vacuous movie with no substance.

Like this? Try: Wrong Turn

This one made me feel dirty
Let's face it, most people like to be scared from time to time. It's exciting, it gets the adrenaline pumping, and we can usually laugh about it afterwards. That's why we ride rollercoasters, drive fast cars and watch horror films.

The secret of a good horror film is the ability to walk that fine line between drama and laughter. Too many laughs and the tension they depend on evaporates; too much drama and they just become depressing and uncomfortable. Hostel 2 falls neatly into the latter category.

I could write a detailed plot synopsis like I usually do in my reviews, but what it boils down to is this - three young American women travel to Prague, get abducted and tortured to death in a variety of gory ways by men who have paid for the pleasure. That's it, really. There are no subtle plot twists, no symbolism, no allegory, nothing. It's just people getting various bits of themselves chopped off, all shown in loving detail. There's no such thing as implied violence here - it's shown in all its gory glory. You can almost imagine director Eli Roth jerking off during the literal blood bath scene.

I'm not really a fan of this brand of horror (I have similar feelings towards the later Saw movies) so I suppose this one was never going to get high marks from me. It's not because I'm particularly squemish (I think gore and nudity have a place in any good horror film) but honestly, I just don't find anything entertaining about this movie. It's pure torture porn, plain and simple. It's depressing, unrelentingly grim and mean spirited.

I was counting down the minutes until this one ended. It's only 90 minutes long, but man, even this short run time stretched my patience. Do yourself a favour and avoid it.