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'Hostel' isn't for the faint of heart
by Christy Lemire

Eli Roth won't just show you a close-up of a chain saw severing the fingers of a hapless backpacker who's been chained to a chair and tortured. He'll also show you the bloody stumps falling onto the dark stone floor, as well as the partial paw that remains. Such is the relentlessly graphic nature of "Hostel," which surely must have been intended as a homophone for "hostile," and is not for the faint of heart. Roth follows up 2003's "Cabin Fever," the writer-director's darkly funny, gross-out debut, with the story of Ugly Americans and their Icelandic pal who are traveling across Europe seeking thrills, but become the victims of someone else's twisted idea of fun. Read the full review

TO SUM UP
Two adventurous American college students backpack through Europe with an Icelander they've met along the way. Lured by a fellow traveler to a hostel in an out-of-the-way Slovakian town, they find themselves trapped in an increasingly sinister situation.

FILM FACTS ...

Lions Gate Films

'Hostel'

Director: Eli Roth
Starring: Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, Eythor Gudjonsson, Jan Vlasak, Barbara Nedeljakova
Run time: 95 minutes
Release date: Jan. 6, 2005
Rating: R for brutal scenes of torture and violence, strong sexual content, language and drug use.
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On the web
Official movie site
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