If Saw was the movie to give "birth" to the torture porn sub-genre, then Hostel was the movie that took it to next level. That's to say, whereas Saw settled for being notably gritty in its conceit, Hostel opted for a satirical and self-aware approach, which - in turn - allowed for even more blood and guts, exaggerated for comic effect, and a plot literally based around the idea of one human being torturing another for pleasure. Hostel was met with something of a backlash upon first release, as critics and movie-goers alike rallied against its casual approach to scenes of extreme violence, and its willingness to exists purely for the purpose of watching people get chopped, slashed, stabbed and burned. Hostel is a smarter movie than people give it credit for, though, and is could easily be viewed as a parody of the genre it made infamous.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
