10 Horror Movie Opening Fakeouts We All Fell For

9. Hostel: Part II

Hostel Part II Paxton Hospital
Lionsgate

When people think of the opening to Hostel: Part II, the first thing that comes to mind is the original movie's survivor, Paxton, being decapitated. What many forget, though, is that there's a fantastic fakeout sequence prior to Jay Hernandez's character losing his head.

That fakeout finds Paxton awakening in an Italian hospital, having been found unconscious on a train from Slovakia. When some officials - maybe police, maybe government sorts - arrive to question Paxton about the horror he saw in Slovakia at the hands of the nefarious Elite Hunting Group, our hero essentially gives a short recap of what went down in the first Hostel.

Things are going well for Paxton until the Dutch businessman he killed at the end of Hostel is brought up; a Dutch businessman who it's insinuated that these officials have footage of Paxton murdering. As his hospital door is shut and his heart monitor begins to emit more frequent beeps, Paxton's fears are realised as one of these officials reveals their own Elite Hunting Group tattoo.

With that, Paxton has his stomach brutally cut open as it appears that this fan favourite character has shockingly been killed off during Hostel: Part II's opening... only for this to have been a PTSD-driven dream.

Sadly, while this was indeed a fakeout, Paxton would be killed off mere minutes later, with his decapitated head delivered to the Elite Hunting's boss, Sasha.

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, 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 the 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, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.