[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.