Director: Eli Roth
I had been wanting to see this for a while, since I really enjoyed the first movie. So when I saw it on Fearnet's VOD, I was stoked. I couldn't wait for Creepmas to end so that I could watch it right away. I guess since I was so excited to see it, I was disappointed with the outcome.
At the beginning, Paxton (the survivor from the first movie) was at home and doing okay considering the circumstances. He was on some kind of medication, and he suffered from nightmares and severe paranoia. He was sure that they were looking for him, and that they'd find and kill him for what he knew. His girlfriend resented him for the way he acted, just because his night terrors kept her awake. That, and the fact that he wouldn't go to the police in fear that it would get them both killed. To me, that was just downright selfish. She had no idea what he'd been through, and honestly, she'd probably be a lot worse off if she'd had to go through the same things. But it didn't last very long, because they did find and kill him. They cut his head off and sent it to the big kahuna of whatever company ran the whole thing.
The movie focuses on a group of three friends. It's pretty much the same as the first movie, except this time they're girls. It was kind of obvious to me that they wouldn't last long at all, since females are usually weaker than males. Except for the "last girl" of course. So there was Whitney (Bijou Phillips), Lorna (Heather Matarazzo), and Beth (Lauren German). They were visiting Rome and getting ready to go on to Prague. While on the train, though, they met a young woman who convinced them to go with her to see some amazing hot springs in...you guessed it--Slovakia. It seemed to me that Beth thought everything was shady from the beginning, and she didn't trust anything or anyone. The other two girls were not so lucky.
Lorna, the sweet and shy one, was lured to the factory by a charming man who made goo-goo eyes at her and made her feel special. It never showed exactly how Whitney ended up there, but I'm guessing it had something to do with the fact that she'd go anywhere with any guy who smiled at her. Beth was more difficult, so they had to take a more direct approach, by chasing her, cornering her, and giving her a healthy dose of chloroform.
Another way this one was different from the first is that it shows the "behind the scenes" stuff. In the first, we weren't really sure what was going on until the end. In this one, we already know that people pay good money to torture and kill people--especially if they're American. It showed just how everything worked, how their names were put into some sort of system when they offered their passports at the Hostel, and how everyone was notified so that they could all bid on the ones they wanted. Whoever bid the highest, got to go to Slovakia and have their way with them. The two men they focus on here are Todd and Stuart. Apparently Todd bought Beth for Stuart's birthday. Todd seemed like the type of person who just didn't care about anyone or anything, but Stuart seemed different. He was extremely hesitant throughout the entire thing, and I was sure he wasn't going to be able to go through with it. But once they got to the factory, it was Todd who couldn't do it, and Stuart turned out to be a nutcase. But not as big a nutcase as Beth, apparently.
You see, Beth's mother died when she was twelve years old, and she left her enough money so that she could have bought Slovakia if she wanted to. This is where the movie lost it for me.
She was pretty much able to buy herself out of the sticky situation. There were some conditions, of course, but they were nothing that Beth couldn't handle (it involved a pretty graphic castration, by the way). I liked Beth because she was an extremely strong woman who could definitely hold her own, but I didn't like that she got out of it so easily.Hostel Part 2 was definitely a good movie, I won't deny that. But it's not as good as the first by any means. First of all, there was really no suspense, since I knew from the beginning what was happening. I can't really fault it for that, though, since it is a sequel. The torture and kill scenes weren't as violent, and they were far too quick. There were only two, actually. Lorna, and Stuart. They didn't show Whitney getting killed, which was a huge bummer. I think they should have at least given us more kills, more blood and violence, and much, much more gore. It would have helped the movie since it lacked the suspense factor. I did really like the ending--it was disturbing, as it depicted a group of kids (the Bubblegum Gang) playing soccer with a decapitated head. It's definitely enjoyable, it gave us another strong character that we could care for, and the direction by Eli Roth was wonderful as usual. But it just wasn't as strong a movie as the first, I'm sad to say.
Recommended? Definitely yes.
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