Rating of
2.5/4
Hostel II not Great, but Stll Gore-iffic.
Chris Kavan - wrote on 06/16/07
Hostel II picks up right where the predecessor left off - with our one survivor from the previous film trying to adjust to life after his ordeal. If you know what happens to survivors in other horror sequels, you know what to expect.
Hostel II is a decent sequel. It has a better story, better acting and more gratuitous scenes - if not quite as shocking as it was in the original. This time the focus shifts between the three victims - this time a trio of women - the rich girl, a bookish, shy girl and a promiscuous sexpot - and their quest to find a great hot springs in Slovakia. The second group is two men who have come to Slovakia because they are eager to join the "hunting" club by killing two of the said girls.
If Eli Roth had told Hostel II from the perspective of the men, I think it would have been a better film. This feels more like a retelling of the first, with girls instead of guys. The first one felt so much better because you didn't know exactly what was coming, which made the torture scenes all the more horrific. This time around you know exactly what's in store for the poor girls (even if you don't know exactly how it's going to happen).
There are some excellent scenes to keep the gore-hounds happy. A tip of the hat to fellow Slovak Elizabeth Bathory - a slip of the handsaw - and one scene that, really, is worth the entire price of admission and is guaranteed to make every male cringe.
All in all, still a good franchise. Amazingly the scariest scene in Hostel II is not any of the torture scenes. Rather it's the scene where men and women from around the world start bidding on their potential victims. If Eli Roth makes a Hostel III - that should be the focus for it's far more disquieting than any torture scene could ever be.
