Hostel

Three traveling buddies (Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, and Eythor Gudjonsson) prove to be the dumbest blockheads in existence when they fail to realize that the small-town hostel to which they have been lured by the promise of free sex is a setup to snare them into something far less pleasant. Some—such as executive producer Quentin Tarantino, who "presents" this disaster—might argue that Hostel is a satire on how easily men are lead around by their reproductive organs, but the orgy of gore, brutality, and torture presented here is satire-free, designed more to titillate the audience than serve as a cautionary tale or even condemn the evil that men (and women) do. Pointlessly sadistic and (worse) incredibly stupid, this is not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include four separate audio commentaries (the first with filmmaker Eli Roth; second with Roth and executive producers Quentin Tarantino, Boaz Yakin, and Scott Spiegel; third with Roth, costars Barbara Nedeljakova and Eythor Gudjonsson, editor George Folsey Jr. and AintItCoolNews.com web author Harry Knowles; and fourth with Roth, producer Chris Briggs and documentarian, costar, and director's brother Gabriel Roth), the 56-minute three-part behind-the-scenes documentary “Hostel Dissected,” a three-minute multi-angle interactive feature on the “Kill the Car” scene, and trailers. Bottom line: a comprehensive extras package for a disappointing horror flick.] (M. Johanson)[DVD Review—Oct. 16, 2007—Sony, 2 discs, 94 min., not rated, $19.95—Making its second appearance on DVD, 2005's Hostel (Director's Cut) features a fine transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. DVD extras new to this two-disc set include a director's cut ending, a half-hour “Hostel Dismembered” international television special, 10 deleted scenes (18 min.), a “Music and Sound” featurette (12 min.), a “KNB Effects” featurette on the special effects company (11 min.), an interview with filmmaker Takashi Miike (10 min.), a “Set Design” featurette (5 min.), “An Icelandic Meal” with costar Eythor Gudjonsson eating a sheep's head (3 min.), “The Treatment” audio-only radio interview with Roth, photo galleries, and trailers. Bottom line: a whopping extras package for a distasteful film.]