Hostel: Part II (Unseen Edition) - Region 2 DVD

The setting is once again an underground club, where people bid for the right to torture residents at the hostel of the title. Hostel Part II, however, lets us see events from the other perspective too, as we meet the wealthy businessmen who are availing themselves of the club’s services. It’s a logical dynamic for the movie, and it does bring a fresh perspective to a film that does eventually settle down to a cavalcade of gore and shock.

As a director, Eli Roth has clearly improved since last time around, even if this time he too often succumbs to the temptation to show rather than imply, and Hostel Part II as a result feels a little less fresh and more uncomfortable than its predecessor. Yet it’s most certainly an unsettling piece of cinema, and one likely to find favour with Roth’s increasing fanbase.

A word of warning, though. Hostel Part II isn’t shy about pulling its punches, and it very much justifies its 18 certificate. It’s also a cut above many of its modern day contemporaries in the genre, even though it fails to measure up to part one. --Jon Foster