Trauma revisited

"In times of terror, people want to be terrified, but in a safe environment, because with all of the things going on in the world, certainly with the war in Iraq, and the horrible, horrible aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, where our government did nothing to help anybody, you want to scream."

-Eli Roth

Hostel: Part II (directed by Eli Roth)

Here comes the confession: I really hated the first Hostel. A lot of the violence was gratuitous, and frankly, parts were just plain sickening. Then I saw the fake trailer for Eli Roth's "Thanksgiving" from Grindhouse, and the thought arose: what if this guy made a really great horror movie?

Unfortunately, with Hostel: Part II, that great horror movie still hasn't arrived, but it's a step away from the simple out-and-out nastiness of the first one. This time it's three young American women (Bijou Phillips, Lauren German and Heather Matarazzo) vacationing in Slovakia, who are lured to an exquisite spa by a seductress named Axelle (Vera Jordanova). If you're wondering why this particular locale looks so exotic and mysterious, it's because Roth shot it in Iceland, where, in his own words, he's a celebrity of sorts.

The problem is, this particular spa has ulterior motives--in particular, using American girls as slabs of prosciutto on the cutting board. In the original movie, the torturers were tired stereotypes. In this one, the two bidding at the highest price for the girls are two clean-cut yuppies (Roger Bart and Richard Burgi), the former of which is having qualms about committing to the task at hand. As a result, it makes the film leagues more terrifying, particularly the scene where Bart's character repeatedly says "I'm not that guy," only to find out that he is that guy.

The Bubblegum Gang, a group of kids hired by Sasha (Milan Knazko), the head of the Elite Hunting Agency that puts Americans up for "market", adds a bizarre element to the story that brings to mind Children of the Damned or City of God, where young children are either victims or the cause of heinous violence.

Yes, there's a good deal of gore, although this time it's more justified and the shocking finale is strangely satisfying and completely nuts (I know, I know). The scene in which poor Matarrazo is offed in a very barbaric and Communist way is disturbing, but the sheer audacity of the scene and the unsettling way Roth stages it is almost like a lamb being sacrificed in a Turkish bath.

Roth has got something interesting at work here, but I'm also anxious to see what he can do without buckets of blood at his disposal. Perhaps Roth's next project, an adaptation of Stephen King's Cell, will finally get him the recognition he deserves.