I wouldn't necessarily find the need to compare him to a skin rash or fungus, but I have to admit that Eli Roth (as a horror director) is growing on me. It seems as if I'm one of the few who didn't take to his 2002 effort Cabin Fever. I didn't appreciate the comedy aspect (I certainly don't buy that the film was intended to be 'American Pie goes horror,' and if it was, it just didn't work for me) and I didn't feel the film was successful as an homage piece to the 80's splatter flick either. I wanted to like it, but just couldn't bring myself to it. What I did appreciate about Cabin Fever (as shallow as this may sound) was the gore and nudity. There's no denying, if there's one thing missing from US horror films of late, it's the 'Hard R' factor, and I'm thankful that Roth is (at the very least) trying to bring that back. We miss it. And while not all horror films need to have that 'Hard R' edge - I'm tired of the current batch of PG-13 horror masquerading as if they were something more. In general, these films tend to be tame, glossed over rehashes that are made for one reason and one reason only...profit. And I'm not saying that it's wrong for a studio or filmmaker to want to profit, this is a business after all. But when there's little to no artistic integrity involved, no soul, no spirit, and no love for the craft - then it's just wrong. And I'm tired of seeing my beloved genre constantly being raped simply for monetary gain.

Which brings us to Hostel. And where would we be in this day and age if every would be horror director wunderkind wasn't making films with reputations that preceded them? We wouldn't be talking about Eli Roth, that's for sure. One of the sticking points that detracted from my enjoyment of Cabin Fever (aside from the fact that it's not a great film in my opinion) was its mis-marketing. I went in expecting one thing and was given something completely different. With Hostel, I didn't know what to expect, but given the little information I had on the film, I still had some preconceived notions playing tug of war with my feelings. But in the end, upon reflection...I'm impressed with what Roth has done here and am pleased to see the overall direction he's headed in.

Sick and sadistic in the best way possible, the premise to Hostel is quite simple. Three young, sexed-up male backpackers are traipsing around Europe, namely Paxton (Jay Hernandez), Josh (Derek Richardson) and a local European they have apparently met up with along the way named Oli (Eythor Gudjonsson). When we're first introduced to the trio (as the film begins), they are knee deep in their vacation, partying it up in Amsterdam. Through chance(?) they meet up with a young man who tells the tale of a Slovakian city with gorgeous young women who will do absolutely anything for men...particularly American men. Flashing a few risqué pictures from his camera, it's enough to convince the backpackers that it's worth a train ride to this unknown land.

Upon their arrival, they're introduced to a scene of pure decadence. Drugs, drinking and as promised, beautiful young women who are willing to do just about anything. They tag along with two sexed up hotties in particular, (whom they wind up sharing a room with) Natalya (Barbara Nedeljakova) and Svetlana (Jana Kaderabkova)...pure ecstacy, but not without a price. Local corrupt youth and sleazy businessmen are concerns, but the least of them as the young men begin to disappear, one by one, until only Josh is left...and he's next. It all ties together to a bizarre kidnapping ring, in which men and women of varying cultures and ethnicities are sold off only to be tortured and killed by a bizarre club of wealthy businessmen.

First and foremost, Hostel has secured its position as a 'Hard R' horror flick. Hostel is by no means perfect, but credit must be given where credit is due and in this sense Roth did a lot of things right here. He didn't load up his film with big name actors, so you don't feel as if you are looking at a cover of People magazine for 90-minutes. Roth did however load up his film with exploitation elements that will satisfy his key demographic, namely in the form of nudity and violence. More so than that he pushed the boundaries of these exploitation elements and what the typical 'R Rating' allows...in laymen's terms, there's a lot of nudity and violence here. It's graphic, and at times quite gritty and disgusting. Shallow, but true...and still fairly entertaining. Finally, he's got a solid story (more interesting than many horror films I've seen of late), solid performances and while there is some major suspension of disbelief needed here, he doesn't rely on a twist ending or completely unbelievable (I mean they're pretty unbelievable, but not completely) scenarios for his climax.

That being said, the first act is a bit long for a 90-minute film, although in retrospect, I did appreciate the build up. And while Roth doesn't fall into some of the homage inspired pitfalls I saw him fall into with Cabin Fever, his influences are still pretty obvious, perhaps still too obvious. Much like Rob Zombie, I'd rather see Roth make his own film with his own unique style, something I don't think either has done quite yet. Rather than seeing Roth emulate the films that he obviously holds so dear, I'd really like to see his own unique vision kick in. Some of the films moments seem a bit forced; see Takashi Miike's cameo for a prime example.

While still a flawed exercise, I do appreciate what Eli Roth is trying to do and he's obviously a fan of the genre. Hostel really does have some heart-pounding moments that at times, makes for a truly frightening experience with a bizarre mix of black comedy thrown in for good measure - alot of style, but very little substance. Worth a look see.

I also want to note that Roth was on hand for the screening along with actress Barbara Nedeljakova. While this has little to nothing to actually do with the screening itself, it's worth noting how accessible Roth is to fans and how enthusiastic he is about the horror genre and filmmaking in general. I've met Roth once before, when I interviewed him upon the DVD release of Cabin Fever (interview here). He's a nice guy, who's nice to his fans and that's gotta be worth something in this day and age.