Ryan Wilks
The debate among horror fans forever looms – what is the most disturbing film of all time?
Following a shed load of opinions, one movie may have taken the top spot after leaving viewers shaking and, surprisingly, the film in question was released almost two decades ago.
It’s so gruesome that it is still banned in one European country and the sequel was even debated in UK Parliament due to its graphic content.
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If you’re still wondering which horror film has taken the top spot, you may be put off wanting to book a cheap getaway anytime soon.
The film in question is in fact Hostel, and its sequel, Hostel II.
Here’s a quick synopsis for those of you who haven’t yet seen the hair-raising horror that hit cinemas all the way back in 2005.
It reads: “American best friends Josh and Pax, staying at hostels along the way, decide to backpack through Europe following college graduation to indulge in all their hedonistic fantasies in part to help Josh recover from the heartache of a breakup.
“There, they initially find that the stories are nothing compared to their actual experiences, far exceeding their expectations.
“However, those fantasies quickly turn to nightmares as they end up separated by design, their new hell from which they may never be able to escape.”
Slammed by the critics for the unrestrained amount of gore, the horror flick was created by legendary director Eli Roth whose previous films include The Green Inferno (2013) and 2001 Maniacs (2005).
Despite the nail-biting ‘torture p***’ element, the film sets a dark tone throughout with its disturbing themes almost as daunting as the character’s likelihood of escape.
In fact, the original ending was so gross that it had to be cut from the movie completely after audiences reacted so badly to Paxton kidnapping his torturer’s daughter, as per Screen Rant.
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The horror movie left audiences ‘traumatised’ and while it was edited to tone down the level of gore, Hostel was still backlisted by a number of countries due to its violent content.
In fact, the Eli Roth original was reportedly banned in Ukraine because of how graphic it was.
Hostel also infuriated Slovak and Czech citizens for how the movie depicted Eastern Europe, as per BBC News.
The amount of backlash came from the movie’s depiction of the nation as poor and crime-ridden, with a member of the Slovak culture ministry, Linda Heldichova, even speaking out and stating that it ‘damaged’ the image of the country at the time.
She reportedly said: “We are unanimous in saying that this film damages the image of our country.”
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