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Ode to Eli

Written by Taryn Shick

Wednesday, 04 June 2008

I take it back – I love Hostel and I like Hostel II. FEARnet is currently featuring Hostel online and through Comcast ONDemand. Accompanying the film is a contest to win a trip to Europe where the film takes place. Well, hopefully not exactly where the film takes place – that might turn out to be unpleasant, if you meet the same fate as its characters. But this all made me recall the fact that I said some not-so-nice things in the past about Hostel and its sequel which I must now recant.
I have watched many movies. Some I watch over and over and love them more each time. Some I watch after loving it the first time I saw it and then wonder what I loved about it. Hostel was a film I loved when I saw it in the theater, hated upon a second viewing and now am totally enamored with. I like Hostel II more now than I did when I first saw it. My original review of Hostel had me bowing to it. Then I said I didn’t like it in my review of Hostel II. I support my first impression of Hostel as awesome. It has an awesome story line, great acting, excellent character development and gore that, despite what it may seem, is not gratuitous but relevant to the plot. I could write a book on all the ways Hostel is a superior film, but suffice it to say, I love it.
In my review of Hostel II, I basically said that I don’t hate it but I don’t adore it. I still feel that way, but I do like it more than I did. It still has all the elements that make a great film – good story, strong character development and entertaining events. And there’s enough gore to make it a good horror film. As a sequel, it’s not the exact same story even though, at its core, it is. As with Hostel, we follow three friends who fall victim to the club where people pay to kill. But this time it is three females, not three males. And we get to see more of the killers’ perspectives. Hostel gives us the what. Hostel II gives us the who, why and how. It’s just that the what was a lot scarier than the who, why and how. Nevertheless, I think Hostel II is a good film and a better film than most, particularly most horror.
I adore Eli Roth. I admire his skills as a writer-director and his passion for horror. In interviews with him that I’ve seen and read, he always seems like a really fun and intelligent guy. Many directors have started out in horror, but then quickly abandon the genre lest they be labeled ‘a horror director.’ Eli Roth wants to be known as a horror director and doesn’t feel the need to apologize for that. I love that he is at the forefront of the movement to get horror to be recognized as a worthwhile film style with just as much artistic integrity and moral value as any other genre.
I must have been possessed by aliens when I spoke so ill of The Hostels. If you haven’t seen them, check them out. If you haven’t seen Cabin Fever, watch it. Many have said the film is boring. To them, I say they are boring. The film shows what happens to close friends when they are trapped and fearing for their lives; how this can bring you together or tear you apart. Then there is some actual physical tearing apart that makes Cabin Fever one of the sickest films ever – and that’s a good thing. Also be sure to see Eli’s fake Trailer, Thanksgiving – it rules. This was created for the Grindhouse film, a double feature including Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror and Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof. Neither of those films DVD’s features the trailer, but you can find it on YouTube. You could also catch it June 20 & 21 at The Main Art Theater in Royal Oak as part of the Midnight Madness. They will be playing Grindhouse that Friday and Saturday in its original theatrical release, featuring the trailer from Eli and those from Rodriguez, Rob Zombie and Edgar ‘Shaun of the Dead’ Wright. (For a complete listing of the Midnight Madness lineup, go to: http://www.landmarktheatres.com/market/Detroit/Detroit_frameset.htm ).
Eli Roth has been labeled the future of horror. Some horror fans hope this isn’t true since they see him as nothing more than a gore hound. But I hope it is true, because I see him as a talented writer-director with a great gift for writing strong characters into fantastic stories mixed with dark humor and gore. To me, if Eli is the future of horror, the future is looking good.

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