Crud

email this story
read comments (21)
post a comment

"You live in a free country, you put up with crud like Hostel Part II," writes the Chicago Tribune's Michael Phillips. "It truly is crud, though. The film is the definition of torture porn, and regarding the Motion Picture Association of America's business-friendly, brain-free decision to give it an R rating: If this film gets by with an R, then what is left to warrant an NC-17?"

Zoe Cassevetes<< previous | next >>Snapping cable

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 8, 2007 at 8:26 AM

comment #1

Mark G. says ...

It's business as usual concerning the American ratings system: You can cut of a breast or penis but you can't touch or kiss it...
Of course it's the other way around in Europe. So far the ratings board in Germany is refusing to even give HOSTEL 2 an adult rating (18 years)...

Posted by Mark G. at June 8, 2007 8:39 AM

comment #2

Josh Massey says ...

Can anybody justify a person 16-or-under seeing this film?

Oh wait, I forgot - the parents of a large handful of my former 5th grade students can. You'd be surprised how many elementary school students went to see these movies in theaters with parents.

Posted by Josh Massey at June 8, 2007 8:46 AM

comment #3

JD says ...

I know Jeff "Wedding Crashers superfan" Wells likes to pose as a high-brow film journalist -- which he abandons whenever an opportunity to trash "elitist film snobs" arises -- but he almost begrudgingly admitted to liking Hostel when it came out. Of course, he crammed his mini-review with dozens of qualifiers in order to maintain his anti-horror street cred, but the subtext of that post was "it does have some merit."

http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/archives/2006/01/i_wasnt_expecti.php

With that in mind, I think Jeff should at least watch Hostel 2 before jumping on the moralizing, anti-Hostel bandwagon.

Posted by JD at June 8, 2007 9:01 AM

comment #4

Walter Sobchak says ...

I love brutal, hard-core "R" rated movies like "Hostel", "Hostel II", "Amelie" and "Once".

Posted by Walter Sobchak at June 8, 2007 9:06 AM

comment #5

Joe Leydon says ...

No more entries, please. We have a winner for this week's Inspired Sarcasm Award. Walter Sobchak, come on down.

Posted by Joe Leydon at June 8, 2007 9:14 AM

comment #6

nemo says ...

Hostel 2 has an R rating? Oh goody, I'll have to take along my 9-year-old nephew and my 8-year-old niece!

Posted by nemo at June 8, 2007 9:19 AM

comment #7

nemo says ...

"Hostel 2 has an R rating? Oh goody, I'll have to take along my 9-year-old nephew and my 8-year-old niece!"

They can tell me when it's OK for me to open my eyes.

Posted by nemo at June 8, 2007 9:20 AM

comment #8

LYTrules says ...

Last night I saw both Hostel 2 and 28 Weeks Later. The latter is actually more graphic in its gore, overall, but it is more clearly a fantasy.

I can think of numerous R-rated films more gory than Hostel 2. Oldboy, for one. And both of Roth's previous films.

Posted by LYTrules at June 8, 2007 9:32 AM

comment #9

sutter kane says ...

What's left to merit an NC-17? A three second nude shot of Michael Pitt in The Dreamers, of course. One chick bathing in the still-warm blood of another chick? That's cool. But we can't have the kids seeing Pitt's dong.

I'm with Bill Maher on this one. I love this country. I really do. But sometimes I'm embarrassed by it.

Posted by sutter kane at June 8, 2007 9:43 AM

comment #10

Bocephus says ...

The Dreamers earned its NC-17 rating, not from Pitt's nude scenes but from the constant graphic sex and incest. This is one of the only cases I can think of where an NC-17 flick actually deserved it. Honestly, would you take your 16-year old to The Dreamers?

Both Hostel movies obviously deserve NC-17 ratings, but we all know that violence doesn't beget NC-17, sex does. The ratings board are all sick and sadistic, but at least they aren't sex perverts.

Posted by Bocephus at June 8, 2007 10:06 AM

comment #11

christian says ...

and stanley kubrick's EYES WIDE SHUT is censored for some brief fucking but it's okay to bathe in a screaming girl's blood -- welcome to america!

Posted by christian at June 8, 2007 10:16 AM

comment #12

T. S. Idiot says ...

Oldboy is about something. Its emotions are honest.

Posted by T. S. Idiot at June 8, 2007 10:17 AM

comment #13

jeffmcm says ...

In what sense is 28 Weeks Later 'more clearly a fantasy'?

Posted by jeffmcm at June 8, 2007 11:21 AM

comment #14

Mr. Muckle says ...

Man, christian has got that right. A filmmaker the stature of Stanley Kubrick has to paste on some digital sock puppets to cover a marginally erotic scene, but . . . oh, really, this is unbelievably f'd up.

Posted by Mr. Muckle at June 8, 2007 11:51 AM

comment #15

Rich S. says ...

Wow. I'd forgotten all about Jeff's Hostel review. He walked out of Best Picture Winner LOTR: Return of the King, but never once thought of walking out of Hostel.

Excellent catch JD.

Posted by Rich S. at June 8, 2007 12:15 PM

comment #16

scooterzz says ...

eli roth just declared a jihad against david poland on 'attack of the show'--- the fun is just beginning...

Posted by scooterzz at June 8, 2007 4:30 PM

comment #17

jeffmcm says ...

Really? I'm inclined to say that Roth should blow him off like a gnat.

Posted by jeffmcm at June 8, 2007 4:43 PM

comment #18

scooterzz says ...

roth says he wants him stripped of his credentials (that's kinda funny) and wants the studio to have him investigated for piracy (since he admitted to owning a bootleg)....

Posted by scooterzz at June 8, 2007 6:14 PM

comment #19