Pleasure-seekers once again find only extreme pain in this even more brutal sequel to writer-director Eli Roth‘s nasty bit of cinematic torture porn. After a brief prologue in which we discover the gruesome ultimate fate of original “Hostel” survivor Paxton (Jay Hernandez), we’re off to Italy to meet up with three art students — Beth (Lauren German), Whitney (Bijou Phillips) and Lorna (Heather Matarazzo) — who have allowed a nude model (Vera Jordanova) to convince them to join her on a girls-only vacation to a luxurious spa. The ladies head out to a small Slovakian village and check into a certain local hostel, where the familiar-looking desk clerk uploads their passport photos to an auction website trolled by rich sickos who get off on inflicting violence upon hapless tourists. Bloody murder — of both the physical and screaming kind — ensues, along with cannibalism (involving “Cannibal Holocaust” director Ruggero Deodato, ha ha), castration and a soccer game that utilizes a decidedly non-traditional kind of ball. Once was apparently enough for audiences when it came to “Hostel”; the sequel went on to gross a total of only $17 million, whereas the original film earned $19 million in its opening weekend alone and peaked at over $47 million. – IFC Staff
Hostel Part II
