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Sunday, December 18, 2011

[5.50/10] Hostel: Part III (2011)


Hostel: Part III (2011)

Brief review: The creator of the first two Hostel movies, the brilliant Eli Roth, has quit the franchise, leaving the second sequel it in the hands of director Scott Spiegel, who manages to deliver a surprisingly decent and well-crafted entry into the horror series. Thanks to the smartly-written script and the competent direction, "Hostel: Part III" stands a notch above the rest cheap straight-to-DVD horror sequels, however, the film is not without its weaknesses. It's overstuffed with many twists and turns, some of which work well and some which simply fall flat. For instance, the early twist at the beginning of the movie is completely unexpected and rather brilliant, but the one at the very end is a huge let down, and pretty much ruins the good impression the film has made until that point. Set in the posh Las Vegas, "Hostel 3" offers some lush settings, but the lack of budget is still obvious. The acting is passable, if a bit amateurish and stiff. Unlike its predecessors, this sequel does not rely much on the graphic, in-your-face gore and the nasty torture scenes, as instead it focuses more on the story and the characters. But while "H3" succeeds in providing a fairly good plot, a few cool death scenes aside, it fails to deliver the creative gruesomeness of the previous two movies.

Overall summary: Even though "Hostel Part III" may surprise the fans of the franchise with its clever ideas and solid execution, sadly, it's marred with some rather unnecessary twists, and lacks the nasty goriness and slick production values of the first two, far superior, Eli Roth films.

17 comments:

Unknown said...

Loved the first, hated the second and will not watch this one, unfortunately. Like Saw, this franchise grew old way too quickly for me. I was yawning in the second one and cannot rouse enough interest to watch this one. Maybe if they play it on cable some night and I'm still awake. LOL Great review, though, and I agree Eli Roth is brilliant.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Mel, I loved both the first and the second, and I was pleasantly surprised by how decent this one was. The ending killed it for me, but apart from that it was pretty entertaining and definitely not your typical STV horror sequel.

Thanks! :)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Saw the first one and part of the second (only because it happened to be on while I was working on my computer) and didn't like either. Didn't like Saw, either. Sorry, torture porn just doesn't do it for me.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Alex, not sure if you know, but I'm one of the biggest Saw haters out there.

The Hostel films are by no means great, but they're far more entertaining than the stupid Saw films. Part 3 is the least torture porn of them all.

Maynard Morrissey said...

Part 1 is ok but highly overrated. Part 2 is just crap. Interested to see how much it differs from the first parts.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

As much as I remember I gave the first part a 7 out of 10. The second one was mediocre, but still pretty entertaining. The third one is quite okay for a STV sequel.

Unknown said...

The really enjoyed the first two Hostel films but have reservations about anything with Spiegel's name attached to it after From Dusk Til Dawn 2 : Texas Blood Money. I think I'll give it a go after your review. Thanks

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

John, I've never imagined that someone like Spiegel could pull this off, but he kinda did. :) I'm not saying this sequel is good.. It's a mixed bag but it works on some levels.

Thanks for the comment.

Anonymous said...

Looks like I know what I'm watching next.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Joshua, it's not out yet. If you liked the first to you will enjoy this one as well. It's not as bad as I expected it to be.

✗✗ said...

Okay so you know I'm watching this!! Even though Eli Roth isn't a part of this one I still have to support what he started. Plus if you still enjoyed it, I know I will. : ) I'm sad to hear that there is a lack of gore... boo-but I'm sure I will still enjoy it.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Nicole, I know you're a huge Eli Roth fan, you've admitted that before. I like him a lot too and think he's a crazy genius. LOL.

There's gore, but this gore is just not on par with the one in the first movies. The movie was... okay. :)

Unknown said...

Didn't catch the first 2 (as I'm not much of a gore fan), but I didn't know that there's a third.

Interesting share!

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

J-Son, many people didn't know there's a part 3 of Hostel. :)
Since you're not interested in the franchise, I suggest you not to see this one.

Kaijinu said...

liked the first. LOVED the second, but the third came out as half-and-half for me. Still, it's entertaining, but I do hope they stop it right here...before it gets crappier...

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Loved the first, liked the second, tolerated the third one. I'm pretty convinced there won't be part 4. Thankfully.

Kaijinu said...

allelujah.