Quentin Tarantino has given a nod to Eli Roth’s gorefest about three horny twentysomethings high-fiving their way across Europe searching for hashish and a trove of easy-to-bed babes. A tip leads them to a Slovakian village where the women all have porn-star bodies and parade around topless. The boys party down and score, but the next day, one of trio is missing. That’s when they get their wake-up call; the cozy village is a den of horror where tourists are fresh meat and bind-torture-kill is sanctioned commerce. Roth, who made his mark with Cabin Fever, cooks up some squeamish chills, but the material isn’t anything new. Following such recent creep-outs as Wolf Creek and Saw II, Hostel feels late to the party, and it lifts shamelessly from The Most Dangerous Game. Still, Roth’s sardonic wit does the improbable, making you pull for one of the dickheads (Jay Hernandez) as he turns liberator and impromptu eye surgeon.
