Hostel - Part II (Unrated Widescreen Edition)

Unrated

Directed by: Eli Roth

Staring: Lauran German, Bijou Phillips, Heather Matarazzo, Vera Jordaniva, Roger Bart & Richard Bergi

Say what you want about Eli Roth but the man sure as hell knows how to get people talking. He was the new hot shit director with his first feature Cabin Fever, his second step up to the plate was with Hostel, which stirred up a shit load of controversy after its release and now with his sequel to Hostel, Hostel: Part II, he garnered enough infamy for even the UK parliament to try and ban his ass!

Hostel: Part II focuses this time on both a group of four women (German, Philips, Matarazzo and Jordaniva), who have been lured to the infamous hostel with the promise of a spa getaway, as well as a pair of jaded businessmen (Bart and Bergi) who have paid to kill said babes.

The DVD boasts itself to be an ‘Uncut Version with extra footage not seen in cinemas’ but I didn’t have the luck to actually see it in cinemas so I guess that doesn’t make me the best person to judge that statement. That being said, wow is there a lot of blood in this, not only is there liberal amounts of the red stuff but the actual kills themselves are insanely grotesque. Eli’s skills as a director have advances by leaps and bounds since the first Hostel, but that’s for the films review, and this is all about the DVD.

So let’s get into the nitty gritty of this biatch.

Just as the movie itself is packed full of the good stuff, so is the DVD, Eli knows how to please his fans. Just like the first Hostel’s DVD release, Hostel: Part II’s comes with not one or two commentaries but a grand total of three audio commentaries.

The first is with director Eli Roth, executive producer Quentin Tarantino and associate producer/resident brother, Gabriel Roth, the thing I love most about this one is that it’s a bunch of geeks sitting around talking about a movie they made (well, kinda, I think Quentin takes a bit more credit then is due), Quentin is, as usual, full of film references and is funny as hell to listen to.

The second commentary is all Eli’s, Eli, just like Quentin, seems to be one of those directors I could listen to talk about movies all day, he doesn’t double dip with the endless production info he spouts.

In the third and final commentary, Eli is joined by the cast members Lauran German, Vera Jordanova and Richard Bergi. Bergi be funny, that’s all you need to know.

‘Hostel: Part II: The Next Level’ is making-of documentary from Eli’s brother, Gabriel Roth, just like the first Hostel’s making-of, ‘The Next Level’ goes through the films entire production, it’s a thorough, candid and highly entertaining documentary, a rarity on DVD’s nowadays.

‘Hostel: Part II: A Legacy of Torture’ is an interesting and in-depth documentary on the history of torture and torture devices, like the discovery channel only not boring or full of animal porn.

Also included on the disc are two short featurettes, one called ‘The Art of KNB Effects’ which, as you’d expect, covers the superb work of Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger, everything from cuts and gashes to how to make an edible cock!

‘Production Design’ is a walkthrough and detailed look at the sets, locations and models used in the film.

“The Treatment’ is a 25 minute audio interview with Eli, honestly, after the commentaries and the documentaries, the stuff talked about here feels stale and a bit ‘been there, done that’.

Finishing the disc off is a blooper reel which isn’t half bad and a foursome of rather unexpected trailers, Walking Tall: Lone Justice, Pumpkinhead 4: Blood Feud (…okay), Vacancy and, get this, Spider-man™ 3, yes that’s right Spider-man trademark 3.

MOVIE: 3.5 out of 5

DVD: 4.5 out of 5

-Danny Price

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