If it weren’t for the poor choice of dog food towards the end of the film…
Video:
"Hostel" looked very good on Blu-ray, but its sequel does not fare quite as well. "Hostel: Part II" is again presented in a 2.35:1 framed film and mastered using the AVC MPEG-4 codec, but the film is painfully bright and over-processed and its darker sequences cannot stack up against the wonderful shadow detail present on the first disc. Roth and company paid homage to the worn out look of Seventies exploitation films, but the sequel features harsh lighting and everything looks overblown. Colors are oversaturated and skin tones look as if a million candlelight powered lamp is shining a few feet away. Black levels are decent, but some of the darkest scenes start to lose the great clarity that I saw with the first "Hostel." When the lighting gets dark, the film becomes a murky mess. Detail is at least very strong under proper lighting and while it may not be quite as strong with the first film, it was still pleasing. There was a mild amount of edge-enhancement found in this picture, and I would attribute this to the overblown palette.
Sound:
Sony provides the same audio selections for "Hostel: Part II" that they did for the first film. The top-tier soundtrack is the Uncompressed PCM 5.1 soundtrack that is effective and a tad more aggressive than its predecessor. English Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and a French Dolby Digital 5.1 track tag along, but they do not compare to the full-bodied PCM mix. The .1 LFE channel really stands out and deep and powerful bass perfectly accentuate the fear that occurs on-screen. Nathan Barr returns for the musical score and nicely bookends his work on the first film with another solid soundtrack that again becomes another character in the movie. Rear surrounds are used very nicely and the screams and sounds of cutting flesh becomes unsettling. Sound comes from various directions and while I would not say that "Hostel: Part II" is aggressive, it is an enveloping experience. Dialogue is clean and clear. The sound is sharp and a step up from the first film and "Hostel: Part II" is one of the better sounding horror films you will find on any format.
Extras:
Commentary overkill is part of the "Hostel" equation once more. Three Commentaries are included on this Blu-ray release. The Commentary with Eli Roth, Quentin Tarantino and Gabe Roth was the track I listened to throughout the film. It was vulgar and it was energetic, but it was a lot of fun and did provide a wealth of information. It was interesting to hear how everything was tied together and this commentary was easily the best of the three. A Commentary with Eli Roth, Richard Burgi, Lauren German and Vera Jordanova featured the director and some of the stars from the film. This sounded like a decent commentary as I sampled it through the scenes. The actors gave good insight into their experiences with the filmmaking and it is always funny to hear actors thoughts on a gore-athon. The final Commentary with Eli Roth is detailed and insightful, but should only be listened to by those who desire the deepest look into the film.
Four Featurettes are also included. Hostel: Part II: The Next Level (26:28) is another video documentary that is similar to the hour long feature contained with "Hostel." This feature gives a nice glimpse at the filmmaking process and is easily worth a half an hour of time. The Art of KNB Effects (6:02) is a brief look at the film´s gory effects. It is fun, but short. I´m always impressed with good practical effects and some of these were quite good. Production Design (6:48) is another short vignette and finds Eli Roth hanging out with Oli from the first film and walking through the train car and other sets used in the film. The final featurette, Hostel Part II: A Legacy of Torture (23:45) is the EPK styled feature for the film that is more promotional than entertaining. It isn´t bad, but at this point I´m a victim of "Hostel" overkill and had to move on.
The other features are hit-and-miss when it comes to value. The ten Deleted Scenes (12:54) lack a "Play All" feature. These again show a graphic card with text detailing the reason for the cut. The scenes show more on the Paxton murder, Roth´s decision to move away from female nudity and more character building with the girls and Todd and Stuart. A final moment is also given with Beth. The Treatment Radio Interview with Eli Roth (26:25) is another interview with Roth that mirrors the feature included with "Hostel." This interview is said to be more personal than social and Roth´s comments on Katrina and other world events was interesting. The Blood and Guts Gag Reel (3:29) was presented in high definition and slightly entertaining. Too much time was spent with the dogs. Surveillance Cameras provides some video footage based upon what one might see if they were manning the Elite Hunting Club security booth. The footage was of very low visual quality, but was fun for a few moments. Finally, some Trailers complete the decent list of extras.
Closing Comments:
"Hostel: Part II" is an above average sequel for a film in the gore-porn horror subgenre. Most low-budget sequels to horror movies suffer a huge drop-off in quality and fail to offer anything new after their predecessor. This film takes a different approach and provides female victims and focuses more on the business end of the Elite Hunting Club that is essentially the villains of the franchise. The movie is still as unsettling and visually impressive as the first outing. This is another film that relies on gore to entertain its audience and it does not fail on delivering the goods. I won´t say that "Hostel: Part II" was as good as the first film, but it is very good as far as horror sequels go. The visual presentation was disappointing when compared to the first movie, but the sound quality was a slight step up. The visuals are just murky and muddy when the lighting gets dark. The features are again very good and the team of filmmakers definitely cares about pushing their product on the home video formats. This is a rare sequel that is worth visiting. It isn´t great, but it nicely completes the Elite Hunting Club storyline.
"Hostel" looked very good on Blu-ray, but its sequel does not fare quite as well. "Hostel: Part II" is again presented in a 2.35:1 framed film and mastered using the AVC MPEG-4 codec, but the film is painfully bright and over-processed and its darker sequences cannot stack up against the wonderful shadow detail present on the first disc. Roth and company paid homage to the worn out look of Seventies exploitation films, but the sequel features harsh lighting and everything looks overblown. Colors are oversaturated and skin tones look as if a million candlelight powered lamp is shining a few feet away. Black levels are decent, but some of the darkest scenes start to lose the great clarity that I saw with the first "Hostel." When the lighting gets dark, the film becomes a murky mess. Detail is at least very strong under proper lighting and while it may not be quite as strong with the first film, it was still pleasing. There was a mild amount of edge-enhancement found in this picture, and I would attribute this to the overblown palette.
Sound:
Sony provides the same audio selections for "Hostel: Part II" that they did for the first film. The top-tier soundtrack is the Uncompressed PCM 5.1 soundtrack that is effective and a tad more aggressive than its predecessor. English Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and a French Dolby Digital 5.1 track tag along, but they do not compare to the full-bodied PCM mix. The .1 LFE channel really stands out and deep and powerful bass perfectly accentuate the fear that occurs on-screen. Nathan Barr returns for the musical score and nicely bookends his work on the first film with another solid soundtrack that again becomes another character in the movie. Rear surrounds are used very nicely and the screams and sounds of cutting flesh becomes unsettling. Sound comes from various directions and while I would not say that "Hostel: Part II" is aggressive, it is an enveloping experience. Dialogue is clean and clear. The sound is sharp and a step up from the first film and "Hostel: Part II" is one of the better sounding horror films you will find on any format.
Extras:
Commentary overkill is part of the "Hostel" equation once more. Three Commentaries are included on this Blu-ray release. The Commentary with Eli Roth, Quentin Tarantino and Gabe Roth was the track I listened to throughout the film. It was vulgar and it was energetic, but it was a lot of fun and did provide a wealth of information. It was interesting to hear how everything was tied together and this commentary was easily the best of the three. A Commentary with Eli Roth, Richard Burgi, Lauren German and Vera Jordanova featured the director and some of the stars from the film. This sounded like a decent commentary as I sampled it through the scenes. The actors gave good insight into their experiences with the filmmaking and it is always funny to hear actors thoughts on a gore-athon. The final Commentary with Eli Roth is detailed and insightful, but should only be listened to by those who desire the deepest look into the film.
Four Featurettes are also included. Hostel: Part II: The Next Level (26:28) is another video documentary that is similar to the hour long feature contained with "Hostel." This feature gives a nice glimpse at the filmmaking process and is easily worth a half an hour of time. The Art of KNB Effects (6:02) is a brief look at the film´s gory effects. It is fun, but short. I´m always impressed with good practical effects and some of these were quite good. Production Design (6:48) is another short vignette and finds Eli Roth hanging out with Oli from the first film and walking through the train car and other sets used in the film. The final featurette, Hostel Part II: A Legacy of Torture (23:45) is the EPK styled feature for the film that is more promotional than entertaining. It isn´t bad, but at this point I´m a victim of "Hostel" overkill and had to move on.
The other features are hit-and-miss when it comes to value. The ten Deleted Scenes (12:54) lack a "Play All" feature. These again show a graphic card with text detailing the reason for the cut. The scenes show more on the Paxton murder, Roth´s decision to move away from female nudity and more character building with the girls and Todd and Stuart. A final moment is also given with Beth. The Treatment Radio Interview with Eli Roth (26:25) is another interview with Roth that mirrors the feature included with "Hostel." This interview is said to be more personal than social and Roth´s comments on Katrina and other world events was interesting. The Blood and Guts Gag Reel (3:29) was presented in high definition and slightly entertaining. Too much time was spent with the dogs. Surveillance Cameras provides some video footage based upon what one might see if they were manning the Elite Hunting Club security booth. The footage was of very low visual quality, but was fun for a few moments. Finally, some Trailers complete the decent list of extras.
Closing Comments:
"Hostel: Part II" is an above average sequel for a film in the gore-porn horror subgenre. Most low-budget sequels to horror movies suffer a huge drop-off in quality and fail to offer anything new after their predecessor. This film takes a different approach and provides female victims and focuses more on the business end of the Elite Hunting Club that is essentially the villains of the franchise. The movie is still as unsettling and visually impressive as the first outing. This is another film that relies on gore to entertain its audience and it does not fail on delivering the goods. I won´t say that "Hostel: Part II" was as good as the first film, but it is very good as far as horror sequels go. The visual presentation was disappointing when compared to the first movie, but the sound quality was a slight step up. The visuals are just murky and muddy when the lighting gets dark. The features are again very good and the team of filmmakers definitely cares about pushing their product on the home video formats. This is a rare sequel that is worth visiting. It isn´t great, but it nicely completes the Elite Hunting Club storyline.
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[release]21911[/release]