Scott (Brian Hallisay) is only a week away from getting married to Amy (Kelly Thiebaud). Carter (Kip Pardue), as any best man is suppose to do, sets up a bachelor party, which is a trip to Las Vegas. When they arrive in Vegas, they meet up with two other friends, Justin (John Hensley) and Mike (Skyler Stone). Then the parting, and drinking leads to the craziest day of their lives, in what becomes one of the best comedies of the last few years. Wait a second, something is wrong here. Am I reviewing “The Hangover” or “Hostel 3?”
Apparently the writers of “Hostel 3” are fans of “The Hangover” because the storyline is very similar. I’m a fan of “The Hangover” too, but it makes a better comedy than horror movie. I’m also a fan of the Hostel franchise, so I was disappointed to find out part 3 would be a straight to DVD release. I figured it wouldn’t measure up to the previous movies, but was I right?
The first complaint about this movie, besides my obvious dislike for the similarity to “The Hangover,” is that it goes over 30 minutes before there is a death. This is Hostel, where is the blood? Instead, the time is spent setting up "The Hangover" theme. There are several times where they make it appear like something bad might happen, but it never does.
There are a couple of other changes they made, which I didn’t care for. One is changing the setting to America. It felt somewhat wrong not being in Europe. It was always a good change of scenery, and I miss that crazy gang of kids. They also made the deaths about gambling. Instead of bidding on people for you to kill, they are betting on aspects of the kill such as, how long it will take before some mentions they have a family. I guess this is just the way Hostel is done in America.
Making the deaths more about gambling than the deaths themselves takes away from some of the creativity the audience sees in the previous movies. The people doing the killing were enjoying it, even making it almost like their artwork. This time it is about entertaining the gamblers. Some of the things they gamble on are funny, but that is not what Hostel is about. I don’t want to give away any of the specific deaths. I’ll just say that the first death is all right, but they get weaker from there. Yes, there is some blood, and body parts chopped up, but it isn’t all that creative. The final death of the movie might have been fun if the audience got to see it happen.
There are some twists and turns, which you may or may not see coming. As with the other movies, the prisoners get a chance to escape, and that sets up some excitement. It is also where probably my favorite death occurs, which is one that is not even part of the game. Not giving away who it is, but one character’s body is used to help a car escape the garage. Now that is the kind of creativity I’m talking about.
So yes, this straight to DVD release didn’t measure up to the first two Hostel movies. Partially because it went straight to DVD, and partially because of the changes they made. The problems start with “The Hangover Gone Tragically Wrong” storyline. The biggest change for the worse is a lack of creativity with the deaths. They please the gamblers more than the audience. With that, I give this movie 2.5 pools of blood.
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i completely agree w/your review. While in general the idea of Hostel films in terms of what happens is far fetched, the 3rd really stretched the idea out making it hard to even slightly believe - gambling?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: gambling is the American way! It is far fetched but a reason to like the films. The deaths are such an important part of it, and they didn't pay enough attention to them. If they wanted to go the gambling route, they should have showed how it effected the deaths more than they did. Thanks for commenting!
ReplyDeleteIt seems we share the same opinion about this one. It was half-baked and the gore was lacking. Nice try though. :)
ReplyDeleteNebular: Great minds think alike! Definitely needed some more gore, especially going straight to DVD. Hurts me that this will now be part of a franchise that I really like. Surprised to hear some people say they liked it more than part 2. Didn't realize so many people hated part 2. Thanks for commenting!
ReplyDeleteThe whole series is weak, yeah a little bit of gore but not scary. Part 2 was a joke and by the sounds of this review Part 3 is even more of a joke. Do yourself a favor and watch - The Collector...or Midnight Meat Train. Then you will know what creeped and freaked out is.
ReplyDeleteI agree! i was so excited to see it cuz im a sick puppy n loved the first 2......but this one sucked major ass and i was completely dissapointed! where's the gore and excitement? This movie was a joke and a half!
ReplyDeleteQ Why did they call this movie Hostel 3 its got nothing to with a hostel like the other two
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: yea, like I said, it was more like another version of the Hangover. Thanks for commenting!
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