Hostel [Unrated WS] DVD

Hostel
Cabin Fever director Eli Roth skips the humor of his freshman feature and goes straight for the jugular in this unrelenting scare-fest about a pair of libidinous American backpackers seeking cheap thrills in the European countryside. Their carefree college days close behind and the responsibility of the real world looming ever closer on the horizon, Josh (Derek Richardson) and Paxton (Jay Hernandez) strap on their backpacks and prepare for a stratospheric last hurrah of booze, babes, drugs, and debauchery halfway across the globe. It's during a visit to Amsterdam that the pair meets up with raucous Icelandic backpacker Oli (Eythor Gudjonsson), and after the three globe-trotting thrill seekers catch wind of a Slovakian city whose male population has dwindled as a result of civil strife -- leaving the ladies ready and willing to accept any male companionship that might turn up at the local hostel -- the trio quickly beats a hasty retreat to the out-of-the-way oasis. Upon check-in, the trio is greeted by a bevy of beautiful locals and is quickly convinced that the hedonistic hideaway is indeed the real deal. Hazily awakening the following morning to find no trace of backpacking buddy Oli, Paxton chalks his former traveling companion's disappearance up to capriciousness and prepares for another day of debauchery, despite Josh's rapidly elevating sense of unease. Now trapped defenselessly in a foreign land without any means of escape and no way of anticipating the unimaginable hell that lies ahead, the pair is plunged into a torturous netherworld where the screams of the damned fill the air with dread and the warm rays of the sun are little more than a fading memory. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Cast Jay Hernandez as Paxton Derek Richardson as Josh Eythor Gudjonsson as Oli Jan Vlasák as The Dutch Businessman Barbara Nedeljáková as Natalya Jana Kaderabková as Svetlana Jennifer Lim as Kana Rick Hoffman as The American Client

Crew David Baxa - Art Director Pavel Vencl - Boom Operator Petr Stuchlik - Boom Operator Ivan Vorlicek - Casting Ashton Hinkinson Ltd. - Casting Kelly Martin-Wagner - Casting Sona Tichickovi - Casting Allan Wilson - Conductor Paul Talkington - Conductor Dan Frisch - Co-producer Philip Waley - Co-producer Franco-Giacomo Carbone - Costume Designer Roman Janecka - First Assistant Director Mark Taylor - First Assistant Director Eli Roth - Director Roman Janecka - Second Unit Director George Folsey, Jr. - Editor Boaz Yakin - Executive Producer Scott Spiegel - Executive Producer Quentin Tarantino - Executive Producer Mark Boley - Hair Styles Honza Ondrovcak - Location Manager Nathan Barr - Composer (Music Score) Gerry Cueller - Musical Direction/Supervision Tomas Belohradsky - Musical Direction/Supervision Greg Danylyshyn - Musical Direction/Supervision Jana Dopitova - Makeup Kevin Wasner - Makeup Christopher Nelson - Makeup Gregory Nicotero - Makeup Special Effects K.N.B. EFX Group - Makeup Special Effects Howard Berger - Makeup Special Effects Franco-Giacomo Carbone - Production Designer Milan Chadima - Cinematographer Shane Daly - Cinematographer Pavlina Zipkova - Production Manager Mike Fleiss - Producer Christopher Briggs - Producer Eli Roth - Producer Franco-Giacomo Carbone - Producer Richard Tanne - Research Travis Baker - Research Tomas Belohradsky - Sound Mixer Pavel Myslik - Stunts Marek Motlicek - Stunts Dimo Lipitkovsky - Stunts Jiri Simbersky - Stunts Milos Kulhavy - Stunts Petr Bozdech - Stunts Ales Putikk - Stunts Jiri Firt - Stunts Rene Hajek - Stunts Jindrich Klaus - Stunts Zdenek Dvoracek - Stunts Miroslav Lhotka - Stunts David Mottl - Stunts Zuzana Drdacka - Stunts Petr Kabrt - Stunts Filip Kadlec - Stunts Petr Hnetkovsky - Stunts Kamila Zenkerova - Stunts Klara Slavikova - Stunts Martin Kraus - Stunts Petr Horacek - Stunts Miroslav Navratil - Stunts Blanka Jarosova - Stunts Pavel Vokoun - Stunts Coordinator Martin Pryca - Special Effects Supervisor Philip Waley - Unit Production Manager Eli Roth - Screenwriter Roman Janecka - Second Unit Director Of Photography Marketa Dankova - Production Assistant Milda Havlas - Production Assistant Martin Stepanek - Second Unit Camera Zdenek Mrkvicka - Second Unit Camera Stepan Svoboda - Second Unit Camera Mirek Pavlik - Second Unit Camera Boris Masnik - Visual Effects Supervisor Robert Kurtzman - Visual Effects Supervisor Miro Gal - Visual Effects Supervisor Marketa Boruvkova - Dialogue Coach Charles Kaplan - Associate Editor Brad Wilhite - Associate Editor Radek Skudrna - First Assistant Camera Libor Bruha - First Assistant Camera Zbynek Kunc - First Assistant Camera Filip Majer - First Assistant Camera Marek Snierer - First Assistant Camera Petr Konrad - Gaffer Vladimir Holzknecht - Gaffer Michal Houzvicka - Grip Roman Bartos - Grip Dan Kvarda - Grip Martin Schmarc - Grip Honza Cmoli - Grip Jirka Pospisil - Grip Dan Cmolik - Key Grip Ludek Hynek - Key Grip Brian Richards - Music Editor Vlastimil Hynek - Production Coordinator Mark Bakunas - Production Supervisor Radan Kapinos - Properties Milan Babik - Properties Master Milan Janostik - Properties Master Fred W. III Peck - Re-Recording Mixer Kazi Kopecká - Script Supervisor Vlada Muller - Steadicam Operator Brian T. Best - Supervising Sound Editor Brian Smith - ADR Mixer Howard London - ADR Mixer Peter Petrik - Assistant Location Manager Katherin Zabehlicky - Assistant Production Coordinator Tim Tuch - Assistant Sound Editor Petr Suylc - Best Boy Electric Werner Schelzig - Best Boy Grip Lukas Srajer - Best Boy Grip Jenny Wallace - Buyer Hynek Pantucek - Camera Loader Tamara Jovicova - Casting Assistant Jitka Novotna - Costumes Supervisor Jan Brumlich - Electrician Dalibor Suchy - Electrician Daniel Kafka - Electrician Petr Cejka - Electrician Martin Tichy - Electrician Ales Kohout - Electrician Jan Matejka - Electrician Jiri Rezac - Extra Casting Dasa Rezacova - Extra Casting Michal Snajdr - First Assistant Accountant Pamela Nedd Kahn - Foley Artist Vincent Guisetti - Foley Artist Jitka Fominova - Key Costumer Marketa Prochazkova - Key Costumer Hanka Rambova - Key Costumer Michaela Rouckova - Key Costumer Rini Lemanova - Key Make-up Tawnya Brown - Personal Assistant Pilar Savone - Personal Assistant Jed Strahm - Personal Assistant Jane McLean - Personal Assistant Jacquelyn Dean - Post Production Assistant Petr Vladyka - Second Assistant Camera Philip Lee Seeger - Second Unit Assistant Director Helena Franková - Second Unit Assistant Director Jaroslav Fiala - Set Dresser Jaromir Vaverka - Set Dresser Veronika Brtova - Set Production Assistant Jan Soufek - Set Production Assistant Jakub Eliasek - Set Production Assistant Jan Strasik - Transportation Coordinator Jim O'Hagan - Visual Effects Antonio Torres - Visual Effects Ulysses Argetta - Visual Effects Precinct 13 Entertainment Incorporated - Visual Effects Karel Vanasek - Set Decorator Kami Asgar - ADR Supervisor Stephen Sheridan - Color Timing David Felner - Craft Service/Catering Honza Nemet - Craft Service/Catering Vlado Rick - Craft Service/Catering Pavel Blecha - Craft Service/Catering Petr Velebny - Craft Service/Catering E.D.A. Catering - Craft Service/Catering Eda Raban - Craft Service/Catering Helena Braumbrukrova - Craft Service/Catering Majda Hajkova - Craft Service/Catering Petr Podrouzek - Driver Jiri Ventura - Driver Libor Muller - Driver Tomas Pelc - Driver Honza Vojacek - Driver Zdenek Vávra - Driver Radek Berka - Driver Radek Benda - Driver Pepino Svenek - Driver Kamil Zimmer - Driver Kyle Rochlin - Foley Mixer Rick Downey - Negative Cutter Olina Edney - Production Secretary Eva Dvorakova - Set Medic/First Aid Petra Meisnerova - Third Assistant Director Martin Nahodil - Video Playback Pacific Title - Title Design Martina Ter-Akopowa - Art Department Coordinator Mark Scovil - Assistant Editor Robert Freitas - Mold Department Ben Rittenhouse - Mold Department Derek Krout - Mold Department Grady Holder - Mold Department Christopher Cera - Mold Department James Leonard - Mold Department Lou Kiss - Mold Department David Matherly - Compositor Al Tuskes - Compositor Andrew Sagar - Compositor Frank Purtiman - Compositor Ulysses Argetta - Compositor

Hostel
Cabin Fever director Eli Roth offers a finger-chopping, Achilles heel-slashing, blood-soaked, breast-filled variation on The Most Dangerous Game in this sophomore shocker that shifts the focus from goofy humor to squirmy splatter to nerve-shredding effect. To those familiar with the torture-happy films of Takashi Miike (who makes a humorous cameo as a satisfied customer) or the reprehensible horrors of the infamous Guinea Pig or All Night Long series of films, the sadistic concept that drives Hostel may be familiar and even somewhat passé by now. Casual filmgoers looking for a simple shock are in for quite a surprise, though, when they find out just how far Roth is willing to go in order to bring these Asian atrocities to the cozy, MPAA-policed confines of the American multiplex. Make no mistake, Hostel has a mean streak a mile wide, but horror is relative, and in the end it's the ability or willingness of viewers to endure the visceral terrors of the torture subgenre that will likely make or break the film for them. The fact that Roth's central trio of horny hikers are so instantly unlikable may make their grim fate a bit easier to endure, given that the viewer is hard-pressed to connect with them on any kind of emotional level, but the gut reaction that one gets when witnessing someone handcuffed to a chair and tormented with chain saws and rusty medical instruments just might not be everyone's idea of entertainment, regardless of whether or not one can relate to the characters. In a time when the multiplex is filled with watered-down horror remakes that strip away any and all social subtexts that may have been present in the original films to simply offer a glossy, jump-scare variation on a familiar central concept, Roth deserves credit for crafting a film that, even if it isn't entirely original, truly is relevant to his generation. It's as interesting to witness the reactions that two young Americans traveling abroad have to their new surroundings as it is to see how those from other cultures react to them, and even if they are little more than sex-crazed, frat-boy caricatures of Western values, Roth is obviously attempting to make a comment on how the U.S. is viewed from an outside perspective. When all is said and done, Hostel is most definitely more interested in making audiences cringe than it is in making any sort of bold political or sociological statement, but the presence of those aspects within Hostel is testament to Roth's successful ability to utilize the genre in a similar manner as Wes Craven and Tobe Hooper (two filmmakers who obviously made a big impression on the fledgling genre specialist) did in the 1970s. Though Roth may not have quite earned the privilege to be ranked alongside those two undisputed masters as a result of his first two features, he's certainly headed in the right direction. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
 

(no awards)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French Subtitle Options: English, French Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel Additional Features: cc 4 commentary tracks: director's commentary with Eli Roth, director and executive producers' commentary with Quentin Tarantino, director and producer's commentary, director and guests' commentary with Harry Knowles of AintItCoolNews.com "Hostel Dissected" multi-part behind-the-scenes featurette "Kill the Car!" multi-angle interactive featurette DVD Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1: Cinemascope MPAA Rating: NR DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 94 min   DVD Chapters: Disc #1 -- Hostel [Unrated WS] 1. Start [6:02] 2. A New Experience [2:10] 3. Enticing Advice [4:17] 4. An Awkward Encounter [3:18] 5. Land of Opportunity [2:22] 6. A Heavenly Hostel [5:15] 7. Making Amends [1:50] 8. What's Right for Josh [2:34] 9. King of Swing Is Missing [1:49] 10. Troubled Children [1:48] 11. Goodbye From Oli [2:30] 12. "It's Not Their Fault" [2:05] 13. Some Bad Alcohol [4:10] 14. Rude Awakening [5:09] 15. Déjŕ Vu [1:51] 16. Alone in a Strange Land [3:06] 17. Familiar Faces [2:26] 18. Arrival at the Art Show [3:40] 19. Dragged Into Darknes [2:39] 20. A Very Close Call [6:18] 21. Nowhere to Hide [1:43] 22. Chop Shop From Hell [3:46] 23. A Handy Disguise [2:07] 24. Slow or Quick? [2:54] 25. A Second Chance [3:32] 26. A Vengeful Getaway [4:06] 27. Platform of Pain [2:24] 28. Cutting the Loose Ends [7:31]