After “Saw” caused quite a stir and eventually made the subgenre of torture porn socially acceptable, “Hostel” was able to tap into exactly this hype a year later – and make even bigger waves. Why? At the start of the horror shocker, we are told via a text overlay that the following story is inspired by true events. The already gruesome images that Eli Roth brings out in the second half of the film are all the more shocking and enduring.
In a 2006 interview, Eli Roth stated that he enjoyed brutal fare as “Saw” and co. But the filmmaker had a problem: the stories told here were not realistic enough for him. Roth, on the other hand, wanted to stage a shocker that goes even further – and has a clear link to reality. But is “Hostel” a true story or influenced by facts?
There is so much truth in “Hostel”
It has been rumored for years that the poverty in Thai villages is so blatant that families repeatedly decide to separate from their relatives in order to hand them over to criminal organizations for a lot of money, which then use them to kill them and share them with other people . But before that happens, people need to be transported to bigger cities where rich people can satisfy their perverted urges. Bets are also supposed to be made on who can torture their victims the longest before they die.
However, these are rumors that cannot be confirmed. However, Eli Roth fueled this speculation with a supposedly personal story he told in the same interviewrevealed. He and his friend Harry Knowles are said to have stumbled upon a Thai website where you can shoot someone for $10,000. The site allegedly stated that everything is amicable here and the money will be used to support the families.
One can assume that this was just (very effective) marketing to make people even more horny for the abyss in “Hostel”. They certainly succeeded, because “Hostel” was an unmitigated hit in the cinema. However, there is a rudimentary grain of truth to the movie as 2006 started on it reportedthat a 23-year-old man was kidnapped in France, tortured for weeks and finally left to die in a train station in Paris. It is unclear whether this also involved money – a business concept. However, arbitrary torture is a problem that certainly happens in reality.
In summary, it can be stated: No, “Hostel” is not based on facts. On the contrary, Eli Roth very effectively tells a thoroughly fictional story. However, the fact that as a viewer you have no problem imagining that such gruesome incidents are possible in reality is characteristic (and just as shocking) for us humans. However, you can discover why you should not be afraid to travel to Eastern Europe HERE read.