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Eli Roth Responds to Poor Box Office for Hostel: Part II

by Alex Billington
June 17, 2007
Source: MySpace

Although we don't have an official review of Eli Roth's Hostel: Part II available, I will say I thought the movie was fantastic and better than the first, despite all the accusations that it's nothing more than just "torture porn". Of course if you have no respect for that style of cinema, then you won't appreciate it or see it, but that's not the point of this. Writer and director Eli Roth wrote a blog on his MySpace recently talking about the poor box office results of Hostel: Part II, blaming piracy among other things, discussing other problems in Hollywood, and stating that Cell is now on hold, presumably given the poor results of Hostel: Part II. I think Eli Roth is one of the most visionary filmmakers in Hollywood at the moment and I really want to support him as much as possible and so should all of you.

Roth talks quite a bit about piracy, saying it will be the downfall of the film industry, and even saying some film critics reviewed the pirated version that was available.

"However, piracy has become worse than ever now, and a stolen workprint (with unfinished music, no sound effects, and no VFX) leaked out on line before the release, and is really hurting us, especially internationally. Piracy will be the death of the film industry, as it killed the music industry, and while it makes a smaller dent in huge movies like Spider Man 3, it really hurts films like mine, which have far less of an advertising and production budget. Not only that, critics have actually been REVIEWING the film based off the pirated copy, which is inexcusable. Some of these critics I have actually known for a few years, and while I wouldn't dignify them by mentioning them by name, I know who they are, as do the studios, and other filmmakers, and they will no longer have any access to any of my films."

He also provides a sad update on his adaptation of Stephen King's Cell, which was supposed to be his next big project.

"I am not directing CELL any time soon, and I most likely will take the rest of the year to write my other projects. Which means I wouldn't shoot until the spring, and you wouldn't see a film directed by me in the cinemas until at least next fall."

And lastly, we tried to make the same request with Grindhouse when it needed some extra box office help, but if you haven't seen Hostel: Part II yet - go see it!

"What I'm saying is, this is your last chance to see one of my films for a while. If you haven't seen it, go now, because after next weekend the film will be gone from theaters."

"If everyone on my friends list went to see the film this weekend and brought a friend, it would make a huge difference. Bring a non-horror fan - try to convert them."

Roth also says that the R-rated horror film in Hollywood is dying, and they need all the help they can get to stay alive (no pun intended). This may be true, but we've got some strong performers this year like Saw IV still and hopefully Rob Zombie's Halloween, which will be another box office gamble.

Not everyone out there is a fan of Eli Roth or the Hostel series, but this doesn't mean we can't get those of you who are fans to support great films like this. Even helping support visionary filmmakers like Eli Roth will have an effect on other genres and independent films that the other types of people enjoy instead. Hollywood is a tough place and it needs all the support it can get in the right places - and Eli Roth is certainly one of them who deserves it.

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Devon Shaw

Get real... piracy isn't ruining the box office and it certainly didn't ruin Hostel II. What did ruin it was bad writing and poor directing. To say it was better than the first is not saying much at all. Eli Roth is a hack. Good movies will always create buzz and entice people to go see it. Knocked Up is certainly thriving, is it not?
http://www.ifitsmovies.com Ryan Laster

Hey, i wanted to correct you on something wrong in the article. Stephen King's book is simply called "Cell," not "The Cell."
Tyler

I'd love to go see Hostel II since I loved the first, but, it isn't playing anywhere near here. I would have to take a trip to another town if I wanted to see it. Piracy isn't hurting movies, limited releases are.
Davor

every time movie is not doing well they blame it on piracy. he just plain sucks cabin fever was one of the worst movies ever i have seen and hostel was bad to. this guys is not visionary and his movies just plain suck that is it. unless he makes something good he should just stop blaming other things.
Ryan

I mean, horror movies like these seem like any other one. It ISN'T Piracy, it's that no one wants to see your movie, and the pirated copies are usually so bad in quality you don't know what is happening. And taking Spider-Man into this? What's the difference?!?!?!?!? Oh, the only films pirated are his....
JENNIFER

the first mistake all of you are making is calling this movie a horror film. there is no such thing as a horror movie anymore. all it is now is slice them and dice them and how much blood a director can put on film and how much nudity as well. Alot of these so called directors should try writing genuine ideas instead of FUCKING UP movies that are classics and do not need to be made better but learned from as great movies that they are.wake up hollywood or should I say CRAPPYWOOD and that is the reason why movies are not making a profit "LACK OF TALENT".
Chris Wise

This is a shame. Cabin Fever and Hostel are 2 of the best horror movies this decade. Either you get his movies or you don't. People seem to love or hate him. Still I can not see how anyone could say anything bad about his Thanksgiving trailer. So this not an issue if you think his movies are great or not because there is a crowd for these movies and awful movies are top of the box office all the time (Spiderman 3, Shrek 3, POTC3 just recently) and great ones are duds (Shawshank, Grindhouse). The main problem was Hostel 2 came out at the wrong time. All 3 movies I mentioned where still in the theaters plus Ocean 13 and Surfs up. I am a big Roth fan, but after listening to him on Stern I knew it was doomed after I realized when else was coming out. I feel like Hostel 2 would of worked better late summer or early fall. There are just way too many tent pole movies coming out during the summer now. Roth a hack? Let me see your great original idea that does not borrow from anyone. Even the great ones are influenced by something we have seen before.
Justin

He should blame the first Hostel being such a horrible waste of time for poor results of the second, that's why I didn't see it.
Davor

Chris Wise on Jun 17, 2007 This is a shame. Cabin Fever and Hostel are 2 of the best horror movies this decade. Either you get his movies or you don't. People seem to love or hate him. Still I can not see how anyone could say anything bad about his Thanksgiving trailer. If you think that Cabin Fever and Hostel are 2 of the best horror movies of this decade you haven't seen other horror movies.
Chris Wise

Davor it is called having a opinion. You know people have them and sometimes they are not always the same as yours. Please Google the word. Outside of Audition, Ichi the Killer, The Others, The Descent, Silent Hill, Hostel, Cabin Fever, and maybe the Rob Zombie flicks there are very few horror/gore/sadistic/scary and whatever other term you can could up with, movies I have enjoyed in the last 10 years. Now you may hate everyone of these movies but that does not make you right or wrong. It is just an opinion. Roth's movies are very tongue-in-cheek. This has caused a lot of people to hate or love movies. I loved them, and I will say Roth gets it the same way that Sam Raimi go it. There I said it.
Chris Wise

Oh forgot if you want please post these great horror movies you speak of. As someone who grew-up watching movies by George Romero, Sam Raimi, Tobe Hooper, John Carpenter, Dario Argento, early Wes Craven (Last House on The Left is great), Lucio Fulci, and subscribed to Fangoria and Twilight Zone Magazine you know I love horror movies. So if I missed something great please hook me up with the knowledge. I hate missing a great horror movie.
Dan

I think movies like Hostel I and Blair Witch and Open Water or The Ring and other films that benefit from a particular film style or shock value that can be used as a marketing gimmick can do well the first time around, but then it's been done already. So-called torture porn, just like slasher films and other flavors of horror, have their place in the pantheon of late night cinema, but not always a paying audience at the theater. Raimie's The Evil Dead found its audience much later, on TV and video, so it's lot to ask a filmmaker like Roth to do much better. Anyway, I'd prefer he work on something original rather than do another sequel.
Mark

Roth's movies just plain suck. It's laughable he's blaming piracy for his p1ss poor film-making skills.
Devon Shaw

Chris, this would be just an amusing encounter to pass over if you hadn't gone and used clichés to defend a pair of cliché-ridden movies. Was it intentional? "You either get it or you don't" is not only the primary defense of movies that don't make a shred of sense (e.g. Donnie Darko), it's elitist and insulting to directors who actually know what they're doing. I call Eli Roth a hack not because I thought he attempted and failed to use another idea -- his movies are full of homages and satires, cobbled together with terrible writing, failed comedy and some of the most ridiculously silly scenes ever filmed; the result of which are veritable Scary Movies that attempt to be passed off as legit. Thank God I netflixed his movies -- I would have demanded my money back from the theater. Timing might affect a movie's opening weekend, but in the long haul it will stand or fall on the strength of the story and earnestness of the filmmakers. Hostel Part II is not competing with audiences of Surf's Up and Ocean's 13. The only movie on the horizon it has every reason to worry about is 1408, which -- unlike Hostel -- features a trio of exceptional writers and promises to actually deliver. And don't ever put Grindhouse and Shawshank in the same category again. Shawshank was a masterpiece.
masterfilmmaker

I'm a film fanatic and i have to tell you that eli roth would be a cool guy to talk about movies but he has no idea in what is a great film masterpiece. He tries to make people believe his films are masterpieces but in ten years or so his films will be forgotten and the real masterpieces stand for a lifetime. Every hack should swallow their pride in making it in Hollywood as a real goal and try to actually make great films for people to see for years to come. The status of American Indie films are improving but they also in need of good marketing because most people don't know anything about these films and with some marketing these films would face better against the competition. If anyone wants to see a true master of film then look at Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood on Youtube because it is simply an amazing thing to watch a master at work.
Heckle

After seeing hostel 2 I'm not sure i ever want to see another one of his sequels. It offered more of the same as the first but was also more disqusting in that it tried to be sexual and gory. It was as Alex tried to dismiss....torture porn. The first movie i enjoyed because it was an interesting story that hadn't been done before. A sequel should offer something new. Not just a group of girls instead of boys. The side story with the buyers was interesting but predictable.
marty mcfly

here are some visionary directors: Werner Herzog Stanley Kubrick Alfred Hitchcock David Lynch Michel Gondry Nicholas Roeg Paul Thomas Anderson Martin Scorcese Terry Gilliam Tim Burton David Cronenberg The Coen Brothers The Polish Brothers Frederico Fellini Luis Bunuel Krzysztof Kieslowski Sergio Leone Paul Verhoven Guillermo Del Toro Darren Aronofsky Akira Kurosawa Steven Spielberg George Lucas Ridley Scott Quentin Tarantino Orson Welles Peter Jackson Sam Raimi At the very least we can say these guys are originals. If you want to add Eli Roth to the list and your precious director of Saw and Michael Bay that's fine. They all have vision too. They know how to make an expensive piece of shit like no other. Sam Raimi remade Evil Dead, but it still managed to be original. Eli Roth is just paying homage to himself. that's right I went there.
Ross

I don't think we should be worried whether the film is good or bad, or if Roth is a hack or a visionary. We should be worried because Roth's work is coming from outside of the Hollywood ideas machine - and getting a cinema release - but being completely ignored. His films might not be masterpieces, but at least he's doing something unique in a wholly generic industry. And it wouldn't be too outlandish to call any of his films a masterpiece considering the majority of crap that gets put out.
filmfanatic

I think for a director you should aim for greatness and he has done okay films but they are not even close to a great horror film like Halloween or Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Eli Roth has improved from his last film i have to admit that but i still think he should just aim for greatness and try to make a work of art instead of just making meaningless crap that Hollywood loves to sell to the worldwide market.
filmfanatic

I think for a director you should aim for greatness and he has done okay films but they are not even close to a great horror film like Halloween or Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Eli Roth has improved from his last film i have to admit that but i still think he should just aim for greatness and try to make a work of art instead of just making meaningless crap that Hollywood loves to sell to the worldwide market.
azrael

eli roth did steal his visionary ideas. from the sick bastards sitting on death row and stacked in prisons. he is a useless human being who is most probably a closet sexual deviant, he lives his sick fantasies out on film and then calls them visionary. then blames the film pirates for his bad showing. it has been revealed. the emporor isnt naked, he's just a talentless pervert who glorifies violence, his films have no social statement to make other than, I am a sick twisted individual come see how i torture, maim and kills people, aint I cool? look how cool these people are. He is a sad example of directing at its worst. hopefully he will not make another film for a long time.
http://www.freaksafari.com Mike

Hostel 2 is absolute dogshit. I hate Eli Roth. He is making excuses for having a shitty film. http://freaksafari.com/index.php?area=hostel2 http://freaksafari.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1602