Three backpackers head to a Slovak city that promises to meet their hedonistic expectations, with no idea of the hell that awaits them.Three backpackers head to a Slovak city that promises to meet their hedonistic expectations, with no idea of the hell that awaits them.Three backpackers head to a Slovak city that promises to meet their hedonistic expectations, with no idea of the hell that awaits them.
- Awards
- 6 wins & 14 nominations
Lubomír Bukový
- Alex
- (as Lubomir Bukovy)
Patrik Zigo
- Bubble Gum Gang Leader
- (as Zigo Patrik)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe interior of the slaughterhouse was filmed at a functioning mental hospital in Prague built in 1910, in a wing that had been closed for over 50 years. Building 10, where many of the scenes were filmed, was where the craziest patients were taken. The basement was so creepy that Eli Roth had a string quartet playing classical music to make it feel cozier while shooting.
- Goofs(at around 1h 1 min) When Paxton is handcuffed to the chair and his torturer grabs the three-pronged metal pole, Paxton is shown with bloody hole marks on his shirt. Then it shows the guy holding the rod, then hitting Paxton twice, then the shot goes back to Paxton and the bloody holes are there. The holes were added and filmed before the torturer hit him.
- Crazy creditsAt the very end of the credits, the character of Natalya is heard to say, "I get a lot of money for you... and that make you my bitch". This is a piece of audio lifted from an earlier scene in the film.
- Alternate versionsThe unrated DVD contains three additions that weren't in the theatrical version:
- 1. A close-up of the German Surgeon's severed leg after it's cut off by the chainsaw.
- 2. A slightly extended take of Kana's eye being cut off and the subsequent pus.
- 3. A close-up of the train crushing Kana's head during her suicide.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Dark Side of Porn: Does Snuff Exist? (2006)
- SoundtracksThe Surgeon
Written by Eli Roth
Featured review
The very nature of slasher films: Paying for watching someone get killed (or tortured).
Eli Roth is a genius, and Hostel is a twisted, sick, depraved masterpiece.
I was one of the few that had high expectations when I went to see Cabin Fever in theaters. Boy, was I disappointed. I still thought back then that Eli Roth was a promising guy even if his first film wasn't that accomplished.
Let's say that for that matter, my expectations were kind of "neutral" when I went to see "Hostel", but I was anxious to see it anyway. During the first 10 or 15 minutes I was thinking "hey! I guess Roth sold himself after all". More wrong couldn't I be.
What I found was one of the sickest, darkest and above all, most intense films I've seen in my life. I found out that Roth didn't want MTVish flashy editing cuts, and after seeing this film a total number of 7 times (5 times at theaters, and 2 times at my home theater, and still going up) I see that is true, and works perfectly for the story. Roth wanted the film to have a classic (and classy for that matter) feeling to it and he succeed in every single aspect of it. The editing is just invisible and discreet, the photography is stunningly gorgeous, and the music score is one of the finest and most memorable I've listened to in a long time; there is no need for filling up the soundtrack with your one-hit-wonder of choice.
Kudos to Roth for making one of the best screenplays in recent years. The dialogues feel so natural and real, with every situation grounded in some logic. His directing skills are brilliant too. There is no a single frame or scene that is a waste. Every single shot, every single frame is as beautiful as it can be. And in a horror film that makes the whole thing more disturbing.
What I found more remarkable about this film, it is the amount of intelligent ideas that float around like subtexts, consciously OR unconsciously. One of the most clever ideas is why we like to see horror films: because we like to see people being tortured, chopped, or beaten to death and that is true. As the Dutch Businessman would say, that is part of human nature. We, horror films fans, PAY for watching someone going through gruesome suffering and we don't pay once, we do it twice, thrice, or more, just to feel that adrenaline rush the American Client talks of.
-Some Spoilers-
It is amazing how we come to "rationalize" the deaths to suit our beliefs, attitudes and fears. We feel bad for Josh, Kana, Oli, and Yuki, but the audience was clapping and cheering when Natalya, Svetlana, and Alex get rolled over by two cars, when the chasers get beaten to death by the Bubble Gum Gang, and when Pax finally gets his revenge at the Dutch Businessman, in the gentlemen restroom.
-End of Some Spoilers-
I guess it is just part of human nature. Revenge is in our genes. See the trashy state of the world for that matter.
***1/2 And #02 of my Top Ten of 2006 (just behind Love Me If You Dare).
Note: Though I'm certain that Roth and Hernandez won't get any Oscars nods (even if they deserved them for their marvelous work behind (Best Director) and in front of camera (Best Actor in a Leading Role), there are other things that need to be taken "For Your Consideration". Editing, by George Folsey, Jr., the beautiful score composed by Nathan Barr, and the gorgeous cinematography by Milan Chadime are such a fine work that deserved some nominations. But they won't get them. Roth's attitude towards American film unions (that could be resume in a big Screw You!) won't let them get the recognition they truly deserve.
8/10
I was one of the few that had high expectations when I went to see Cabin Fever in theaters. Boy, was I disappointed. I still thought back then that Eli Roth was a promising guy even if his first film wasn't that accomplished.
Let's say that for that matter, my expectations were kind of "neutral" when I went to see "Hostel", but I was anxious to see it anyway. During the first 10 or 15 minutes I was thinking "hey! I guess Roth sold himself after all". More wrong couldn't I be.
What I found was one of the sickest, darkest and above all, most intense films I've seen in my life. I found out that Roth didn't want MTVish flashy editing cuts, and after seeing this film a total number of 7 times (5 times at theaters, and 2 times at my home theater, and still going up) I see that is true, and works perfectly for the story. Roth wanted the film to have a classic (and classy for that matter) feeling to it and he succeed in every single aspect of it. The editing is just invisible and discreet, the photography is stunningly gorgeous, and the music score is one of the finest and most memorable I've listened to in a long time; there is no need for filling up the soundtrack with your one-hit-wonder of choice.
Kudos to Roth for making one of the best screenplays in recent years. The dialogues feel so natural and real, with every situation grounded in some logic. His directing skills are brilliant too. There is no a single frame or scene that is a waste. Every single shot, every single frame is as beautiful as it can be. And in a horror film that makes the whole thing more disturbing.
What I found more remarkable about this film, it is the amount of intelligent ideas that float around like subtexts, consciously OR unconsciously. One of the most clever ideas is why we like to see horror films: because we like to see people being tortured, chopped, or beaten to death and that is true. As the Dutch Businessman would say, that is part of human nature. We, horror films fans, PAY for watching someone going through gruesome suffering and we don't pay once, we do it twice, thrice, or more, just to feel that adrenaline rush the American Client talks of.
-Some Spoilers-
It is amazing how we come to "rationalize" the deaths to suit our beliefs, attitudes and fears. We feel bad for Josh, Kana, Oli, and Yuki, but the audience was clapping and cheering when Natalya, Svetlana, and Alex get rolled over by two cars, when the chasers get beaten to death by the Bubble Gum Gang, and when Pax finally gets his revenge at the Dutch Businessman, in the gentlemen restroom.
-End of Some Spoilers-
I guess it is just part of human nature. Revenge is in our genes. See the trashy state of the world for that matter.
***1/2 And #02 of my Top Ten of 2006 (just behind Love Me If You Dare).
Note: Though I'm certain that Roth and Hernandez won't get any Oscars nods (even if they deserved them for their marvelous work behind (Best Director) and in front of camera (Best Actor in a Leading Role), there are other things that need to be taken "For Your Consideration". Editing, by George Folsey, Jr., the beautiful score composed by Nathan Barr, and the gorgeous cinematography by Milan Chadime are such a fine work that deserved some nominations. But they won't get them. Roth's attitude towards American film unions (that could be resume in a big Screw You!) won't let them get the recognition they truly deserve.
8/10
helpful•113
- oso_travis
- Sep 16, 2006
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Lò Mổ
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $4,800,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $47,326,473
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $19,556,099
- Jan 8, 2006
- Gross worldwide
- $81,979,826
- Runtime1 hour 34 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content