Hostel is depraved, sick and disgusting — which means teenagers should love it.

The rest of us should however give it a wide berth, unless you are into extreme body mutilation and scenes of sadistic torture in which helpless victims pathetically scream and beg for mercy, in which case it is recommended that you seek out psychiatric help. High on blood and gore, and low on actual scares and thrills, Hostel is littered with severed body parts and splattered with blood.

If the aim of the movie is make you throw up in your popcorn then it probably succeeds admirably. In one scene for instance a woman's severed eyeball is dangling from its socket after being tortured before it is cut off with scissor by a benefactor. Bleeuugh!

Afterwards you'll feel dirty for having watched Hostel and wish that you can somehow unwatch it — alas, this not to be.

Some horror movie fans like this sort of thing, but I just found myself looking away from the screen in disgust during quite a few scenes and little else. Compared to some recent horror movie offerings such as The Ring, Hostel simply isn't scary.

Also, as the movie progresses one realises how many plot unlikelihoods there are. There is a conspiracy at the heart of Hostel, but the movie would make us believe that the entire country of Slovakia is somehow in on it.

Despite its senseless gore Hostel actually has something to say about human nature, but it isn't exactly worth repeating.