buzz 2006: hostel

is it just me, or is this one of the gayest ad campaigns you've seen? i love it!

one of the goriest scary movie that you will see in ages (and #11 in my best films of 2005 list) gets a quiet january release in the US (perhaps banking on the complete lack of fun group-orientated film fare during the oscar season).

but don't let it's graveyard release fool you, hostel takes you by the balls and works on castrating them with serious gross out tactics that i haven't seen in ages. not only that but films' dark and thought out funny tone makes this more than a splatter inducing 90 minutes.

directed by eli roth (cabin fever) and presented by quentin tarantino, hostel follows three backpackers (two from the US and one from sweden) as they head off to a town deep in the czech republic where the babes are not only hot, but extremely easy with backpackers. with sex on their minds, the three end up at the charming town of Bratislavan where they immediately hook up with some model type girls. unfortunately the next morning, one of them disappears inexplicably... so beginning their trip of horror.

i'm not gonna spoil anything, but when the film kicks in, it just pushes everything to levels of japan horror edges (including a cameo by japan horror meister takashi miike) . hostel marks a brave new world for american horror and i'm totally impressed that eli roth is the one to spearhead it.