The demented genius of Eli Roth is back on the big screen this weekend but sadly, Hostel: Part II isn’t as scary or as gory as the original.
This rather choppy sequel follows events after Paxton’s escape in the first film before following the literal journey of three young girls Beth, Whitney and Lorna who are all studying art in Rome and decide to head to Prague for the weekend. After a run in with some randy Italians on their train, the girls are persuaded by new acquaintance Axelle to switch trains to accompany her to lush Hot Springs in Slovakia. At the same time as the girls arrive, American businessmen Stuart and Todd win a bidding frenzy and head to Slovakia intent on killing the girls.
The film starts out well (but leaves Jordan Ladd at a bit of a loose end) and the three female leads are all appealing, so the first hour of the film is enjoyable. The final half hour feels rushed however, and the conclusion is ultimately weak.
Heather Mattarazzo is awesome as Lorna, managing to be sweet, kind, innocent and fun all at the same time as well as incredibly vulnerable, which is ultimately her own downfall and you cannot help but feel sad for her in her big moment. Bijou Phillips is fun as always but is cheated out of a great death. Lauren German is excellent as rich girl Beth and the finale does wonders for her career.
The supporting cast all do well but some of them were a little over the top in places (Richard Burgi), although it seemed as though Roth was asking them to be deliberately hammy to fit in with his warped idea of humour.
Despite their best efforts however, the film amiably fights a losing battle, as we now know how things work at the Hostel (more or less) and therefore we are not surprised or even that suspicious of anyone the girls come into contact with, as we know that a lot of people are after them. One thing that did work well however, was the inclusion of Stanislav Ianevski as Miroslav to counter this argument. The subplot involving Todd and Stuart is a clever idea but watching their journey doesn’t make up for the lacking mystery and suspense present in the first film.
In the end, the only thing which really paid off here was THAT ending. Roth promised us an ending like no other this summer, and he certainly delivers on that front.
OVERALL SUMMARY
Hostel: Part II is a glossy, well made, enjoyable film but I personally didn’t enjoy it as much as the original.
