It's an awesome flick but loses for lack of credibility.

I watched the two Hostels movies one after the other, as some one (mistakenly) told me that the second one was basically a continuation of the first.

It was a continuation, alright, but the paths it could have followed were not correctly thought out.
Paxton being killed felt empty. I would have loved (and I mean LOVED) this if somehow they ended the HOSTEL PART II with a cliff-hanger of Paxton finally going to authorities and authorities started to investigate the case. And HOSTEL PART III would be the resolution of everything.

But no... they didn't that... and I by "that" I mean "anything interesting".

I understand why Paxton was so scared. He witnessed something no one should be allowed to witness. And people seem to forget, PAXTON ACTUALLY KILLED PEOPLE. We as spectators know that he did it in self-defense but justice is a tricky business. He has all the reasons to be scared, let me tell you.

The thing is... him being killed... just like that... felt empty. Its meta-meaning is basically "They are all-powerful, there is no way to escape, they know everything".

Typical conspiratory BS. Paranoid people might actually conceive the idea that apparently every rich person in the world, like politicians and bankers, is a sadist in disguise. But it felt too stereotypical to me.

"Ok, what rich stereotype shall we use next? A guy in a white shirt in a yacht? Oh, I got it..."

As a person who is familiar with law and crime, it's too hard to even conceive the notion that a criminal organization that big, with SO MANY WAYS TO BE FOUND OUT, might exist.

I mean... come on... sending those messages WITH THE NAME OF THE VICTIMS to the computers and cellphones of people? What if someone knew one of the victims? What if some other person than the owner was in the computer? What if someone else saw the SMS? What if... what if...

I know that movies ask for suspension of disbelief. But this movie asks for suspension of rationality.

That said, and if you smoke as much hashish as I do, you'll find this movies quite entertaining. And quite scary at times, mainly the first one. The second movie was a major let down for me. I was thrilled by the idea of following those two killers. But it also fell flat with me.

They are not bad actors. In fact, they are amazing and I recognize a lot of talent in both of them. But I think this would have worked a lot better if they used two not so known actors. It's easier to sink into a scary story when you don't have to step back for a couple of seconds and think: "Hey, look, it's George the Pharmacist and Susan's ex-husband, Karl".

Too much Desperate Housewives....


All in all, they were not bad. They were actually good for what they are. But the premise is so great that the way it was used felt sophomoric. I wonder what Tarantino would have made of this.

Hostel 1 was better, I think.

Hostel 2: I give it a 8/10 for the execution, 6/10 as an overall movie.