Hostel (R)
Extremely brutal and graphic; not for kids or the faint of heart.
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- Studio: Lions Gate Entertainment, Lions Gate Entertainment
- Directed By: Eli Roth
- Cast: Derek Richardson, Jay Hernandez, Jennifer Lim
- Running Time: 95 minutes
- Release Date: 01/06/2006
- Video/DVD Release Date: 04/18/2006
- Genre: Horror
- MPAA Rating: R
- MPAA Explanation: brutal scenes of torture and violence, strong sexual content, language and drug use.
Parents need to know
Families can talk about the film's rudimentary moral lessons. What lessons is the film trying to convey about backpacking through Europe or class disparities? Or, you might consider the film's evocations of movie conventions, appeals to genre connoisseurs (including homages to executive producer Quentin Tarantino). Are these images cynical responses to a violent world or incisive commentary on violence in media?
Message
Social Behavior:
Rich people pay money to torture young tourists.
Consumerism:
Bars advertise brands of beer.
Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:
Characters smoke, drink to drunkenness, and do multiple drugs.
Violence
Gruesome, ongoing violence, in the form of torture and vengeful resistance to same (instruments include chainsaws, guns, knives, scissors, clippers, drills, hammers, pincers, and cars).
Sex
Blatant female nudity (including one brief full frontal shot), sexual activity, incessant sexual slang and derogatory language.
Language
Over 100 uses of the f-word in various forms, plus slang for genitals and sexual behaviors, plus assorted uses of "damn," "Jesus," and "hell."
Common Sense says
What's the story?
Reviewed by Cynthia Fuchs
Is it any good?
The fact that Paxton must pose as one of the clients, and, while wearing rubber aprons, endure a conversation with an anxious first-timer (Rick Hoffman) suggests the film's other agenda, the one that's not just grossing out and repulsively titillating an audience familiar with gore conventions. Whether or not Paxton recognizes his own consumerist frenzy in this pompous, too-excited goon, you can hardly miss the mirror images of grasping for hedonistic experiences at the expense of "native" cultures and compliant objects.
Other choices
Pulp Fiction
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Last House on the Left
Surviving the Game
Parents and kids say
All Reviews
There are 33 reviews.
Adult Reviews
There are 16 reviews.
Kids Reviews
There are 17 reviews.

