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Post by xtrialbyfirex on Jul 10, 2012 13:23:18 GMT -5
My friend gave me a copy of this 4 or 5 years ago and I never watched it b/c I hate torture porn.
Should I ever break it out and watch it? I'm already cringing just thinking about it...
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Post by Captain Midnight on Jul 10, 2012 14:51:28 GMT -5
I feel pretty much the same way. Then again, my interest in horror films is less the fear and more the fantastic. Monsters and supernatural forces are more my cup of tea.
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Post by mrkeith on Jul 10, 2012 20:22:24 GMT -5
I say pass. Granted I haven't seen it either. I'm of the same opinion about torture porn. I really enjoyed the first Saw movie but only because of the mystery. Give it away or bundle with some other dusty DVDS and trade them in for something good.
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yddy
Ghost in the Graveyard
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Post by yddy on Jul 10, 2012 20:40:24 GMT -5
I'm not a fan of torture porn, but I gave Hostel a chance. I honestly really only remember a few things, so I say you can safely pass on it.
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maarow
Ghost in the Graveyard
Posts: 509
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Post by maarow on Jul 10, 2012 21:54:00 GMT -5
Maybe it's because I went in with super low expectations, but I liked Hostel quite a bit. It was a better written movie than I thought it would be, with some genuine surprises. There's actually very little torture for a movie that's been lumped with torture porn--certainly the violence takes up less screen time than in the morally bankrupt Saw franchise, and it's not portrayed as glamorous or "awesome." I'd say give it a watch.
Also...why are people who've never seen it advising you whether or not you should watch it? That's really silly. Silly posters.
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bigmac
Revolting Revenant
You mean the movie lied!?!?!?
Posts: 1,508
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Post by bigmac on Jul 10, 2012 21:56:34 GMT -5
Oh my, I hate to be the dissenting voice.... Who am I kidding, I LOVE IT!  Seriously, Hostel (and the sequel) are smarter films then most critics give them credit for. In the first, one could attack it as a xenophobic rant against foreign countries, if it weren't for the fact that the American victims are such colossal assholes of the Ugly American type. And the film has a few subtle digs, such as when one of the torturers discovers, to his dismay, his victim is bilingual. It's gruesome stuff, but remember it came out when Congress was debating whether we should stoop to torturing Al-Quida suspects and you can see this as a resounding HELL NO argument. Hostel 2 might have done better had it been release during the Enron scandal and the Occupy movement. The idea of rich Americans torturing fellow citizens, only because they have the money to do so, might have rung more of a chord with audiences now. The idea of the 1% seeing the rest of us as their playthings might seem more believable now to some. I say, go for it. You know this is rough stuff, but keep an open mind. And realize, this is coming from a guy that lost interest in the Saw films after #2, yet has the first two Hostel films in his DVD collection. I'm not a fan of torture horror (I refuse to degrade the genre by calling such films "torture porn"), but these movies have something to say. Or else, I'm completely mad...  |
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Post by Stuart on Jul 11, 2012 1:59:26 GMT -5
Everyone has the right to avoid things they feel might upset or bore them but it’s a fairly significant entry into the genre and you might be doing yourself a disservice by avoiding it based on a few negative opinions. Like maarow, I don’t recall there being that much torture in it and it has far more merit than the Saw sequels. Although I concede that’s a pretty lame sales pitch ;D.
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Post by xtrialbyfirex on Jul 14, 2012 1:24:32 GMT -5
well....I watched it with my friend tonight and actually enjoyed it.
I'm not sure why I was so worried about how awful it was going to be, especially after watching Human Centipede 2 lol...
It has such a bad reputation though. Not sure if I'll ever watch it again, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I've heard.
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Post by notoriousbfg on Jul 14, 2012 5:24:39 GMT -5
I think Hostel is a much better film than people seem to think - as has been said, there isn't really that much torture in it: I too came into the film fearing that it would just be a load of torture and nothing else, but there is much more going on than that. On first viewing, it feels like it could go anywhere and would be repulsive, much like the first Texas Chainsaw film feels slightly dangerous. But it is actually quite slow but quite well paced. To me, it begins to feel like a Tarantino film in the way it references other films throughout and in the way it actually surprised me with the way the story plays out.
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Post by notoriousbfg on Jul 14, 2012 5:25:31 GMT -5
Hostel 2 on the other hand was awful!
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Post by xtrialbyfirex on Jul 14, 2012 12:35:04 GMT -5
I think Hostel is a much better film than people seem to think - as has been said, there isn't really that much torture in it: I too came into the film fearing that it would just be a load of torture and nothing else, but there is much more going on than that. On first viewing, it feels like it could go anywhere and would be repulsive, much like the first Texas Chainsaw film feels slightly dangerous. But it is actually quite slow but quite well paced. To me, it begins to feel like a Tarantino film in the way it references other films throughout and in the way it actually surprised me with the way the story plays out. I think you can definitely see Tarantino's influence with the revenge aspect of the film. |
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Post by villain612 on Jul 15, 2012 23:53:50 GMT -5
If you hate torture porn, then you won't like Hostel.
It is the quintessential torture porn movie.
I went to see this in the theater when it came out. Only because Quentin Tarantino was credited as a producer on it.
I didn't like it at all.
Then again, I prefer suspense and atmosphere in my films over torture.
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Post by xtrialbyfirex on Jul 16, 2012 10:43:15 GMT -5
Most of the actual violence (when it came to torture) occurred off-screen though...
I found it actually fairly restrained compared to the latest saw sequel or the human centipede 2. I'm sure this movie may have kick-started torture porn, but it isn't the most gratuitous torture porn film by a long shot.
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Post by Asmodeus on Jul 16, 2012 13:13:30 GMT -5
Hostel 2 on the other hand was awful! I have to say that I believe Hostel 2 to be the stronger although I disrespect Hostel 2 because I know it was a cash grab for Roth. Had he released part 2 as part 1, i'd respect it more. So my thoughts are not really valid to the movie itself but reflect my frustration with Roth. Anyway, why not watch Hostel? It's just a movie. I'm not a torture fan myself but it's a solid movie. Excessive gore movies exist. May as well watch them and decide for yourself. Now if I was going to avoid a movie based on being a torture movie I'd say Murder Set Pieces. It's awful and completely misses the mark. At least Roth had some sort of character development albeit minuscule. There's not one redeeming thing about Murder Set Pieces |
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Post by darkfiction74 on Sept 15, 2012 16:07:14 GMT -5
I'm not a big torture porn fan either, but tonight I'm taking the plunge. I'm getting The Human Centipede 2 (The first was awesome!) along with the subject of this thread: Hostel. I keep reading really great things about both these movies.
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