Hostel: Part III (2011)

Director: Scott Spiegel

Writer: Michael D. Weiss

Composer: Frederik Wiedmann

Starring: Kip Pardue, Brian Hallisay, John Hensley, Sarah Habel, Chris Coy, Skyler Stone, Thomas Kretschmann, Zulay Henao, Nickola Shreli, Derrick Carr, Frank Alvarez

More info: IMDb

Plot: While attending a bachelor party in Las Vegas, four friends are enticed by two sexy escorts to join them at a private party way off the Strip. Once there, they are horrified to find themselves the subjects of a perverse game of torture, where members of the Elite Hunting Club are hosting the most sadistic show in town.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? No.

I really enjoyed HOSTEL (2005) and HOSTEL: PART II (2007) even more so.  This third picture, the first not helmed by Roth and the first to go straight to DVD, had some big shoes to fill so it's not surprising that it falls short but it's painful because they had some great, and I mean REALLY great twists that go a long way in keeping this watchable.  There are a few bits that go on too long, or shouldn't have gone on in the first place, but boy, oh, boy are the fake outs expertly handled.  I'm not going to spoil anything because fans of the series should watch it.  What really hurts the film is the budget.  I'm assuming that was responsible for two things - it's obvious they didn't shoot this in Vegas (there are establishing shots but nothing that proves any of the cast were actually there) and the lack of gore.  The torture scenes are very brief and offer little.  There's one scene where a client cuts the face off a victim with an audience watching in comfy chairs behind glass.  We see the back of the client which obscures the good stuff.  We only see the aftermath.  What's worse is the audience (of about 20) can also view large TVs on either side but it's showing the same angle as what you see sitting directly behind the client.  It's lazy.  At least it's got some fantastic film making deceits, and for that I'm thankful.  It's a modest sequel that should have been more and I hope they keep the series going and loosen the restraints this one had.