Hostel: Part II

What Hostel II might lack as a film, it goes some way towards compensating for in this impressive DVD presentation.

Besides a good looking anamorphic widescreen transfer and 5.1 sound mix for the film, there are no fewer than three commentary tracks - although some might question then if there can be too much of a good thing...

There are also various behind the scenes featurettes, on the making of the film, the production design and the special effects, plus radio spots and deleted scenes.

Taken as a whole, these reveal the strengths and weaknesses of Roth’s approach: he clearly has a knack with his cast and crew and knows how to get the most out of them. Various references to Guantanamo Bay and the like – including the appearance of his father, a psychology professor, as a talking head – come across as awkward justifications, however.

Much like the film itself, one feels that they need to be more fully worked through or more likely – seeing as this is schlock rather than Salo – omitted in a don’t apologise, don’t explain manner.