10 Bad Movies That Killed Great Horror Franchises

8. Hostel: Part III

Hostel Part III
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

With Hostel in 2005, Eli Roth introduced the world to the Elite Hunting Group; a sinister Slovakia-based organisation which auctions off people to be tortured, mutilated, and killed. That first film was a terrifying, twisted affair, brimming with some wince-inducing gore which marked the movie out as one of the forerunners of torture porn.

For Hostel: Part II two years later, the Elite Hunting Group was revisited, but this time one of purported victims, Beth, managed to turn the tables on her 'winning bidder' by outbidding him and earning her freedom at the sequel's close. Again, we had some great gore, some stomach-churning sequences, and a nice sense of dread and tension brought to proceedings by Roth.

Then, well then Hostel: Part III came along in 2011 and tanked the franchise.

With no direct involvement from Eli Roth this time out, the third Hostel disappointed massively. Swapping out the Slovakia location for Las Vegas, this threequel centres on a bachelor party. Not just that, but each member of this party are absolute A-holes who you have zero sympathy for.

Part of what made the initial two Hostels so appealing, was that our central protagonists were largely appealing. Sure, they maybe didn't make the wisest of choices at times, but they were good people duped into a sinister situation. With Hostel: Part III, you were ultimately rooting for something awful to happen to our leads due to how obnoxious they were.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.