Hostel -- 2005 -- R

Well, that was interesting. once you get into the actual plot of the movie, it turns out to be pretty...well, interesting isn't exactly the right word...maybe engaging is better. The movie kicks off with an absolutely idiotic premise: three guys are backpacking through Europe and staying at a variety of hostels in order to get laid. Yup, that's it. That's why they ended up at the hostel in question.

Once there, we learn that this particular hostel is not just some place to get some rest and get laid. No, this one has sinister motives behind it. People get hacked up in this one. Right up Quentin Tarantino's alley, I'd say, though he was just an executive producer and the guy who gets his name above the title.

Once we get past the sex and the basic hack-n-slash, we get into a very intriguing, yet incredibly disturbing, plot that unfolds little by little as the film does. We are rightly left as in the dark as the single surviving character to unravel this puzzle as he struggles to survive. I think the premise could have been a lot better, and I was downright bored once I hit the end of act one. Once the plot finally kicked in, it got better, though a lot more disturbing.

I think it was an ok film, and for the grehounds, I'm sure they ate it up. I do have several dislikes about this film, but I can't really go into them without spoiling the plot. So, if you like bunches of gore and screaming, you might enjoy this. If you're into a bizarre, nearly conspiratorial idea, you might enjoy this once we get far enough into it. I love a good plot, and this one worked well enough, at least, to catch the sequel when it is released...yup, there is one planned.