Siva on June 06, 2006 7:33 PM commented on my last post:

Aiyo, what's the point in watching a scary movie and then running away at the scary parts? Sort of like buying a cheese cake and then taking away the cheese cos it is unhealthy, no? I suggest you stick to comedies.

HOSTEL is not just any scary movie ok. it's a major gastromindf**k masquerading as intense physical horror flick. we are big horror fans, and i'm not talking about your average teen horror flicks like i know what u did last summer and scream (which were excellent in their own right), but stuff like saw and cult films like romero's deads and even really bad b-grade films like creep. but hostel took it to a whole different level of pure revulsion. here's what happened during what we saw of the movie, just so you'll understand, mister siva. spoilers ahead.

it began innucuously enough. these guys go on vacation in eastern europe and hook up with an icelander. they hear about a hostel in slovakia where the women are wild for american men, so they go. and during the first part of the movie, u see them having fun, popping pills, hooking up with women, boobies all. cut to scene where one guy walks into a room with a dominatrix and i said to my husband... wah... the show quite sexy hor? where got scarey?

and truth be told, its not that original a plot what. guys go on holiday and wanna get it on and end up getting in trouble slasher-style. but wait, wait, wait. here the slasher-style takes on a life of its own. if you couldn't bear the length of the rape scene in Irréversible, then this one sure u cannot tahan. the first serious torture scene focused not so much on the slashing, but on the reaction of the victim. it's one unbearable looong shot of him screaming and writhing against restrains in excruciating pain and just when u think the scene is going to cut to a different frame, it doesn't. it just goes on and on, this awful prolonged neaseating horror, leaving ample room for your imagination to go on over-drive until you feel that something in your head is about to snap but it still goes on. and then when it stops, the torturor tells him he's free to go, unties him, and the guy gets off the chair and falls to the ground. i stopped watching here but i imagine his achilles heels were sliced quite nicely.

right after the scene, i ran to the toilet and heaved. my husband had to lie down. we never finished it and he has threatened to throw the dvd away.

another review i'm inclined to agree with can be found here. as for omen, i haven't watch yet so i can't say, but sometimes, the fun is in wanting to hide.