The Song Fight Bulletin Board

I liked this movie more than King Kong.

You probably won't. (well, the general you) (I mean, there will be someone here who will like it and it might be YOU...but maybe not YOU)

It's really boiled down to being a modern day Exploit film. Probably in the same vain as 'The House of a Thousand Corpses'. Though this one leans more towards a reality...minus the corn and cheese of a Rob Zombie film.

It's very intense and the first half is basically a soft porn. The second half is just twisted. No spoilers but it has the whole 'thrill kill' dealeo going on. It reminded ME of Natural Born Killers that way but it's NOTHING like that movie AT ALL. The blend of Sex and Violence is there but it isn't. I think the filmmaker just wanted the whole movie to be downright sleazy and leave you feeling sick and dirty.

IE: You've just watched something disturbing and probably should not have enjoyed it.

But I did. I plan on seeing it again soon.

Note: If you do not like sex or ultra violence (INTENSE VIOLENCE at times) then this movie is NOT FOR YOU. Do not take your kids to see it thinking it's just your average, run of the mill horror film. It is not. (There were two 10 year olds there when I went to see it and their folks had to put jackets over their heads before finally walking out when it got to be too much.) (Also, another couple walked out on it too)

This is not a good first date either. GENERALLY it's not for the female at all. (unless you have met the perfect woman)

B- or a C overall in the big movie world. (I mean, it was no LOTR)
Solid 'A' for what it is. (I was thorougly entertained)

I polled it because I'm interested in how some of you people feel about films of this nature.

This movie was so overrated and I was somewhat expectedly disappointed. The whole extreme violence as a marketing scheme was sort of accurate, but the violence in this movie really didn't do anything for me. It actually seems like it was pushed so much that most scenes were completely ineffective since the gore was apparently all the movie had to offer. A lot of the 'shock' scenes were pretty silly. I was surprised that the camera actually turned away for some of those scenes. The first 'teen movie' half with lots of tits was kind of boring. Aside from all that, I thought the ending escape sequence was pretty well done and it's about the most logical I've seen a character in a horror movie act (although the movie leaned a little closer to a thriller in my opinion). Takashi Miike has a cameo toward the end, too.

I didn't think the movie was terrible by any means, but I don't think I'd rush see it again any time soon.

Calfborg wrote:Takashi Miike has a cameo toward the end, too.

Pleasantly suprised to see him. Roth doesn't keep his homages subtle.

Didn't like this much at all. I was expecting a horror/gore movie, and this is basically 1/4 gore flick. It's also 1/4 generic-but-better-than-average thriller/chase movie, which you can see any day of the year in any multiplex. Last and least, it's fully one-half tedious Eurotrip clone, minus 90% of the humour and pacing usually associated with the genre. This segment is basically really really boring soft-porn. Lots of breasts, which is absolutely nothing new to the genre, although if you look quick you'll see some suprisingly defined genitalia, which is novel (at least on the big screen). But unless you think T&A&V and watching college kids smoke pot is awesome entertainment, I recommend skipping the first hour.

The 30 minutes of the movie where Roth is imitating his apparently favorite Japanese director are the best. Less gory than I was expecting (on par with Broken-era Nine Inch Nails music videos), but he sure knows how to get a realistic preformance out of the actors when he needs to. Especially good is the old-guy who speaks no english and seems close to hyperventillation at all times (ambigious to avoid spoilage). But sadly there is no tounge-in-cheek to the violence in this movie; I normally wouldn't care, but reading "Tarantino" at the begining had me hoping for some camp. Instead the movie plays its over-the-top blood, sex and foreshadowing straight, which is hard to take seriously: I found myself laughing in places where I shouldn't have been.

Overall, C-. It has moments that make it better than House of a Thousand Corpses, better than all three Cubes, worse than... I don't know, one of those Saw movies, probably (haven't seen 'em). It would get a B- if it weren't for the hour of shitty at the begining.

Puce wrote: The 30 minutes of the movie where Roth is imitating his apparently favorite Japanese director are the best.

Definitely his favorite. The annoying bastard interviews Miike on the domestic DVD of Gozu.

Hoblit wrote:I liked this movie more than King Kong.

Gawd, me too. Fuck Kong all day long. It was boring and plodding.

Hostel is a B-movie, and on that level it totally succeeds. The first part of the movie went on a bit too long, but hell, you have to have that part. If the movie started out in the "Art Exhibit", then we know nothing about the protagonist, and don't really care about whether he gets out, because we have no idea of what he's like outside in the real world. Like the Cube. Yeah, it's interesting, but it's not compelling. If the first scene in the movie was some dude handcuffed to a chair, that would suck. I'd have no reason to root for the guy to get out.

Yes, the whole first part was a bit gratuitous, but it introduces characters and relationships that are returned to at various parts in the movie, so it's not like it's a tack-on. Could they have done better with the connections? Sure, but it's a B-movie. It's not going to make perfect sense, or delve into your inner soul. The beginning went on a bit long, but overall I thought the flow of the movie worked pretty well. I think I only had to shout instructions to the protagonist one time, so that's pretty good.

I totally thought this didn't suck at all.

Puce wrote:worse than... I don't know, one of those Saw movies, probably (haven't seen 'em)

Dear God. Saw was without a doubt, the absolute worst movie I have ever seen. It couldn't quite make it over the fence into "so bad it's good" territory, so it just hangs out in "so bad it's painfully awful" land. Horrible, sad, gimmicky, plot-holey, melodramatic, poorly timed, badly acted bullshit.

erikb wrote:

Hoblit wrote:I liked this movie more than King Kong.

Gawd, me too. Fuck Kong all day long. It was boring and plodding.

Hostel is a B-movie, and on that level it totally succeeds. I totally thought this didn't suck at all.

Yay! Erik and I agree on something!!!