Hostel

Hostel is an American horror film directed, written and produced by Eli Roth. It was released theatrically in the United States on January 6th, 2005 by Next Entertainment and Raw Nerve. A sequel film, Hostel: Part II, was released in 2007. The setting of the movie takes place in the country of Slovakia and centers on three hikers, Paxton, Josh and Oli, played by Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson and Eythor Gudjonsson (respectively), who find themselves lured to a hotel rumored to be filled with "American-loving women". When the hikers reach the hostel however, they find that they have been trapped by a clan destine business cabal who abduct people and take money from anonymous clients for the privelege of torturing them.

Notes & Trivia

 * Principal filming on Hostel began on March 21st, 2005 and concluded on May 6th. The movie was filmed in Germany and the Czech Republic.


 * Hostel was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 17th, 2005 and the Iceland International Film Festival on November 12th, 2005.


 * Hostel was released to DVD by Lions Gate Entertainment on April 18th, 2006. The Director's Cut was released on Blu-ray, along with Hostel: Part II, on October 23rd, 2007.


 * Hostel caused quite a stir among Slovaks who felt that the film perpetuated a negative image of Slovakian culture and the tourist industry. Eli Roth has said that he intentionally played up cultural stereotypes of Slovakia, based upon what he believed the American perception of the country was. During a trip to the country to promote the film, Roth said, "So when I said Slovakia I knew that Americans do not know the difference between the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Czechslovakia, it's just one big Eastern bloc where there's always a war going on. So Slovakia in the movie, it's not really Slovakia, it's movie Slovakia, and it's based on American stereotypes and these stereotypes, that the cars are old, the people are old, the telephones are old, these are the stereotypes that lure these guys into going there, they believe it and they pay for it. These people get punished for these beliefs. But if you look closely at the film, the people who are actually doing the worst things are other Americans. The people that are doing the torturing and killing are Americans, Japanese, Dutch, Germans and even the people running the organisation are speaking Russian. So the people of Slovakia, they're just letting it happen there".


 * Director Eli Roth makes an uncredited cameo appearance as a stoned American.


 * Eli Roth met Eythor Gudjonsson in his native Iceland during a press junket for Cabin Fever. He was so enamored by Gudjonsson's natural charm and personality that he created the role of Oli specfically for him. Roth wanted to show that anybody could be an actor if they possessed charisma and screen presence. Gudjonsson's character has since proven to be a fan favorite among viewers.