Sunday, October 21, 2012

DVD Review - 4 Movie Collection - Hostel/ Hostel Part II/ The Tattooist/ The Hunt for the BTK Killer




Hostel/ Hostel Part II/ The Tattooist/ The Hunt for the BTK Killer
Directors: Eli Roth, Peter Burger, Stephen Kay
Starring: Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, Lauren German, Heather Matarazzo, Jordan Ladd
Studio: Mill Creek Entertainment
ASIN: B008R5SYEY
Release Date: October 9th, 2012
Run Time: 371 minutes
Rated: R
Buy Link: Amazon.com


With Halloween just days away, there's nothing better than watching horror movies, which are constantly being aired on cable channels, but most of them are edited for content. Mill Creek Entertainment recently released four shocking horror films onto a two-discs set. Tower PR and Mill Creek Entertainment kindly sent me a complementary copy to review. This pack contains the splatter-fest Hostel (2006) and its sequel Hostel II (2007), along with The Tattooist (2007) and The Hunt for the BTK Killer (2005).

Hostel starts out as a typical college vacation trip film, where Josh, Paxton, and their new friend Óli just want to have a good time. They get a tip that there are 'easy' beautiful women in Bratislava and of course they go. Things seem normal as they meet three women who seduce them, but they have no idea of what horrors await them.

Hostel is not for the weak-hearted! It, along with the Saw movies, created what is known as the "torture porn" genre. The first half is more-or-less a raunchy comedy, but then after a few twists and turns, the mayhem begins. It is sick to think that there might be rich powerful people that want to torture and kill a person. The movie is well acted and the last thirty-minutes is intense, but it is also twisted.

Hostel Part II pickups where the first leaves off, in which you find out what happened to Paxton. Ten minutes later, the movie focuses on three female art students who happen to travel to a small Slovakian village. Their vacation comes to an end quickly as the Elite Hunting group is watching them.

The first ten minutes is great continuing Paxton's story, but the movie jumps to three new characters. I was a little disappointed as I wanted to see Paxton's girlfriend, Stephanie (played by Jordan Ladd), hunt and kill the Elite Hunting group, but sadly her character is never mentioned again.

The first hour is boring, but the last twenty minutes is intense. The killers get more screen time, but it adds nothing important to this sequel. Overall, I think the first movie was more watchable.

I had never heard of The Tattooist before. It's a New Zealand production and was released in 2007. Jason Behr stars as the tattoo artist Jake Sawyer, who happens to steal an old tattoo tool. He accidentally cuts himself with it, releasing a tattoo Samoan demon.

I wasn't expecting too much from a movie that I have never heard of, but The Tattoo isn't a bad movie considering its small budget. Actually, the special effects really standout compared to the big-budget horror movies. I wouldn't classify this as a horror movie as it is more of a mystery.

The Hunt For the BTK Killer is based on the book Nightmare in Wichita: The Hunt for the BTK Strangler, which is also based on the real serial killer. The movie first aired in 2005 on CBS, but it later made its way to DVD. Between the years 1974 and 1991, Dennis Rader murdered ten people in Sedgwick County, Kansas. Gregg Henry plays the serial killer and he does a great job playing the psychopath.

I'm aware of the case as I live in Missouri and Rader's capture in 2005 was all over the news. Despite being made-for-television, The Hunt for the BTK Killer is a well made film with decent acting.

The picture quality is good considering there are two movies on each disc. Hostel and Hostel 2 are in 2:35:1 with English 5.1 audio. The Tattooist and The Hunt for the BTK Killer are in 1.78:1 aspect ratio with English 2.0 audio.

Like I said above, Hostel and Hostel II (both the unrated versions) are not for the weak-hearted. The other two movies were surprisingly good. Overall, I enjoyed watching the movies and I recommend this 4-Pack to all horror fans.



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