#hostel 2

In hostel (2005) we’re presented with josh our clear likely final girl so to speak - the “nice” one of his friends, heavily queer coded. he’s sort of stalked by a creepy older guy who seems to have a thing for him & this stalker is presented as the likely villain.

then the second half of the film turns these ideas on their head when josh is shockingly killed off & (not white) asshole slutty frat boy whore who dies first coded Paxton Rodriguez shockingly becomes our “final girl” character & not only that but the stalker himself proves to be less of a threat than the organization he’s part of - a twist that lands incredibly well in a movie about never feeling safe, about authorities not trusting or helping you, about constant uncertainty in a strange land. like. people looove to harp on about how this movie doesn’t get Europe right or whatever but like. You Are missing the forest for the trees. thematically the movie is about the dangers of an elite class that can do anything to anyone anywhere. we’re practically beaten over the head with this theme in the second half of the first one & throughout the entire second one so how so many people miss this idk. it’s… Very clear.

then in the second movie of course the elite hunting club is known from the start. & I’ve already talked at length many times about Paxtons death so I won’t go on about that.

what I want to discuss isn’t even the plot twist that Beth is rich & joins the club - I talk about that constantly. i want to talk about Stuart & Todd.

from the very beginning of the movie we’re introduced to family man Stuart & his uncertainty about doing this & crazy depraved Todd. but it’s Todd who flips out the second things get ugly & gross & Stuart who ends up committing some of the most heinous acts of the movie. it’s Stuart who spirals out of control despite being SURE he’s “not that guy.” Stuart the family man with a wife & kids. That’s the main & most scary villain of this movie because he doesn’t SEE himself as a villain. he’s a good guy. he’s not THAT guy. except he is.

I just really love the way these movies turn expectations & archetypes & ideas on their heads in such a thought provoking way.

That's German Shakira over there "le do lo le lo le"