The production by Tarantino is already a guarantee, and you can see his hand even if he didn't co-direct this movie. Why? Because the first half of the movie, parallelly to "From Dusk till Dawn" shows hints of strange things and disquietness but nothing can make you think about the horror that is about to come.
At least the tortures and death in "Saw" had a pale resemblance of altruism, as the mainman wanted wretched people to have a 180° change to their lives and make them appreciate life once again, when there are people that are ill or in conditions that nobody can help who would rather be in their place, even if their lives are quite hard but not desperate like theirs.
In the case of this flick the wickedness is sharpened by love for money and total collapse of scruples and sensitiveness, as the plot, indeed realistic, as I am sure somewhere something similar has already occurred, shows 3 sexual tourists (two US and an Icelander) convinced to spend their remaining holidays in Bratislav in search of easy Eastern girls to pray on for luxury instead of the inflactioned Barcellona. Everything seems OK in the beginning, but they start disappearing tillone survives and finds out what's really going on: a dismantled factory is used by an elite to torture unwilling kidnapped young hostel tourists to death. There are cells for each customer, keepers and the prices vary depending on the victims' nationalities. These rich people are so spoiled and bored to death that sex and whatever thing money can buy doesn't give them thrills any longer, so this is the last chance to their deranged minds to feel enlivened again. The girls permanently living in the hostel are just baits and get a percentage of course, like all the rest of the staff, and the local police are bribed as well, the way it happens in all of the countries where their pays are insufficient.
I absolutely recommend you the uncut version, since the make-up is effective and the acting very convincing, including the Slovakian little kids' forming a street gang robbing and assaulting uncareful passers-by.
The idea is very good and might derive from an urban legend (where there's always a bit of truth) and folks who appreciated "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" as well as Tarantino's early production and the rawest revenge movies in general have to consider this DVD a must-have.
And the worst is still to come with the acclaimed follow-up.
MARKUS GANZHERRLICH
- 1st April 2009
