Occasionally, movies come out that are so bad, studios refuse to screen them for critics. To help give you a heads-up, here's our take on the trailers.
Given the prominence of his name in the trailer, as well as all of the advertising material, you'd think Quentin Tarantino had more to do with Hostel than just being an executive producer and "presenting" it, whatever that means. The trailer trots outs some pretty well-worn horror clichés, including flashes of knives, people tied to chairs or crawling on floors, and the always dubious "inspired by true events" claim. The brief glimpses of action and terror make the film look like Saw III.
Which is too bad, since director Eli Roth's first film, Cabin Fever, was a clever and entertaining horror film that was genuinely scary. Roth's name (and by only his second film he already qualifies to have the movie billed as Eli Roth's Hostel) is the only indication that this will be anything other than a forgettable horror cheapie. Worst sign: the assertion that this is from the "brilliant minds" behind Cabin Fever, Kill Bill and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. When that last one is the producer of the Chainsaw remake and also the man who created The Bachelor, maybe it's better not to brag.