Three backpackers head to a Slovakian city with no idea of the grisly hell that awaits them there.
Carlito's Way (Dir. Brian De Palma 1993): The year is 1975 and former gangster Carlito Brigante has just been released from jail after serving the first five years of a long sentence. Carlito's lawyer David Kleinfeld has discovered a loop hole in the law and this time Carlito is determined to go straight. He wants to retire to the Bahamas and set up a small business with his girlfriend Gail. All he needs is a stake. Suddenly Kleinfeld comes forward with the perfect proposit
Hostel: Paxton and Josh two college friends are lured by a fellow traveler to what's described as a nirvana for American backpackers - a particular hostel in an out-of-the-way Slovakian town stocked with Eastern European women as desperate as they are gorgeous. The two friends arrive and soon easily pair off with exotic beauties Natalya and Svetlana. In fact too easily... Initially distracted by the good time they're having the two Americans quickly find themselves trapped in an increasingly sinister situation that they will discover is as wide and as deep as the darkest sickest recess of human nature itself - if they survive. The Hitcher: The open highway becomes a terrifying battleground of blood metal fear and murder when a young couple Grace and Jim (Sophia Bush and Zachary Knighton) hit the road and encounter the mysterious hitchhiker John Ryder (Sean Bean) during a violent storm. The initial encounters with Ryder escalate rapidly as he transforms into a deadly racing psychopath and the stakes are raised further when he frames Grace and Jim for a horrific slaying that makes them fugitives from the law. As the carnage mounts and the action pushes you to the edge of your seat Grace and Jim must fight for their lives and face their fears head-on.
Television reporter Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter) and her cameraman (Steve Harris) are assigned to spend the night shift with a Los Angeles Fire Station. After a routine 911 call takes them to a small apartment building, they find police officers already on the scene in response to blood curdling screams coming from one of the apartment units. They soon learn that a woman living in the building has been infected by something unknown. After a few of the residents are viciously attacked, they try to escape with the news crew in tow, only to find that the CDC has quarantined the building. Phones, internet, televisions and cell phone access have been cut-off, and officials are not relaying information to those locked inside. When the quarantine is finally lifted, the only evidence of what took place is the news crew's videotape.
Ladder 49: (Dir. Jay Russell) (2004): What does it take for a man to run into a burning building when everyone else is running out? Why do firemen leave their families each morning to risk their lives for strangers? The film chronicles Baltimore firefighter Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix) as he makes the transition from inexperienced rookie to seasoned veteran. As he struggles to cope with a risky demanding job that often shortchanges his wife and kids he relies on the support of his mentor and chief Mike Kennedy (John Travolta) and his second family - the brotherly bond between the men of the firehouse. But when Jack becomes trapped in the worst blaze of his career his life and the things he holds important - family dignity courage - come into focus. As his fellow firemen of Ladder 49 do all they can to rescue him Jack's life hangs in the balance. Guardian: (Dir. Andrew Davis) (2006): In an effort to find his place in life a troubled young man enlists in the Coast Guard where he's taken in by a renowned rescue swimmer who's hardened by the loss of his team from an accident years back. Unfortunately for the pair the past is about to re-incarnate itself...
Hostel The hallowed tradition of the post-college European backpacking trip turns into an unimaginable nightmare for two unsuspecting American 20-somethings in Eli Roth's (Cabin Fever) sensational second outing. Paxton (Jay Hernandez) and Josh (Derek Richardson) have embarked upon a hedonistic tour of the continent, and somewhere along the way pick up travelling companion Oli (Eythor Gudjonsson). In Amsterdam the trio partakes of the pastimes most dear to frat boys everywhere: weed, prostitutes, and nightclubs. But when a fellow traveller tells these thrill-seekers about the decadent scene that awaits them in Bratislava, they find themselves unable to resist its lures. Enticed by the promise of a hostel full of beautiful girls who love Americans, they set out for the remote areas of Eastern Europe. There, the sex farce to which the film's first half is devoted slowly turns ominous, as the boys hook up immediately with the gorgeous Natalya (Barbara Nedeljakova) and Svetlana (Jana Kaderabkova), whose eagerness masks more sinister intentions. Soon, the disagreeable backpackers find themselves on the other side of the flesh trade, sold by the girls into an exclusive human trafficking operation that gives its customers the opportunity to torture and kill a helpless victim. Much of what follows consists of the squirm-inducing surgical horrors that characterise precursors such as Saw, with the implications regarding the capitalist system and the human soul becoming ever darker. Produced by Quentin Tarantino, the film amps up the gore factor as much as it can get away with, and, in the tradition of the best horror films, offers a satirical socially conscious commentary. Hostel Part II The inevitable sequel to one of the decade's most intriguing and well-made horror films, Hostel Part II, as the title implies, picks up pretty much where the last film left off. And it doesn't take too long for the sequel to find the same groove that earned its predecessor so much attention. The setting is once again an underground club, where people bid for the right to torture residents at the hostel of the title. Hostel Part II, however, lets us see events from the other perspective too, as we meet the wealthy businessmen who are availing themselves of the club's services. It's a logical dynamic for the movie, and it does bring a fresh perspective to a film that does eventually settle down to a cavalcade of gore and shock. As a director, Eli Roth has clearly improved since last time around, even if this time he too often succumbs to the temptation to show rather than imply, and Hostel Part II as a result feels a little less fresh and more uncomfortable than its predecessor. Yet it's most certainly an unsettling piece of cinema, and one likely to find favour with Roth's increasing fanbase. A word of warning, though: Hostel Part II isn't shy about pulling its punches, and it very much justifies its 18 certificate. It's also a cut above many of its modern day contemporaries in the genre, even though it fails to measure up to part one. --Jon Foster Vacancy A confined setting is a useful tool for thriller-makers, and Vacancy is definitely boxed in: a run-down motel way, way off the Interstate, the kind of place where unsuspecting movie characters go to get stabbed to death in the shower. If Vacancy doesn't quite live up to its Hitchcockian forebears, at least it provides 80 minutes of well-designed mayhem. You know somebody's paying attention just from the opening credits, a clever vortex with pounding music by Paul Haslinger. Then we meet unhappy couple Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale, driving along in the dark and forced to stay at the Pinewood Motel after a car breakdown. There's a night man (Frank Whaley, World Trade Center) in the tradition of Dennis Weaver's Touch of Evil gargoyle, but the real mess of trouble is waiting in room number four. Director Nimrod Antal, who scored a stylish international hit with the Hungarian thriller Kontroll, squeezes maximum juice out of the Route 66 atmosphere of the motel, although the movie doesn't get under your skin the way Kontroll did. Wilson and Beckinsale are a little too marquee-namish for this kind of heavy-breathing work, and the script doesn't give them much to play with. But hey, it's not that kind of movie. Where it really belongs is on the top half of a drive-in double bill, or maybe as a nightmare-scenario TV movie from the Seventies. Either way, it works. --Robert Horton, Amazon.com Bram Stoker's Dracula Francis Ford Coppola's take on the Dracula myth is visually stunning and overflows with passionate seduction and Gothic romance. In Bram Stoker's Dracula, Coppola draws from the original source of the Dracula story to create a modern masterpiece. Gary Oldman's metamorphosis as Dracula, who grows from old to young, from man to beast, is breathtaking. Winona Ryder brings as much intensity to the character of the beautiful young woman who becomes the object of Dracula's devastating desire. Anthony Hopkins co-stars as the famed doctor who dares to believe in Dracula and then dares to confront him. Opulent and irresistible, Bram Stoker's Dracula is an unforgettable film. The Covenant Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Deep Blue Sea) directs this supernatural thriller about descendants of powerful New England families. The sons of Ipswich are legendary at Spenser Academy, the local boarding school. Handsome and popular, these four teenage friends can trace their roots to the founding families of the Ipswich Colony, settled in the late 1600s. For years these Massachusetts families have harboured the secret that they possess supernatural powers. Their descendants--Caleb (Steven Strait), Reid (Toby Hemingway), Tyler (Chace Crawford), and Pogue (Taylor Kitsch)--have inherited magical powers that first manifested themselves when the boys turned 13 years old. In a nutshell, they can do anything. As they approach their 18th birthdays, they are preparing to 'ascend', which means their powers will grow stronger. The downside? The magic is seductive and addictive, and causes premature aging with each use. Ringleader Caleb tries to keep his friends from using magic recklessly, but as the school year begins, strange events and a strong gut instinct convince Caleb that someone is using very powerful magic. Meanwhile, Caleb is exploring his newfound affection for transfer student Sarah (Laura Ramsey). To Caleb''s dismay, Sarah becomes a pawn in a power struggle with a descendant of the fifth founding family of Ipswich, a line thought to be lost during Salem''s witch trials. Is Caleb strong enough to maintain his power and keep his family and friends safe, or will he yield to this new threat and sacrifice himself? The film draws interesting parallels between the luring, addictive power of magic and the addictions real teenagers face. The sufficiently creepy setting echoes New England and sets the stage for supernatural phenomena. The Covenant also stars Sebastian Stan as Chase Collins, a wealthy newcomer to Spenser, and Jessica Lucas as Kate, Sarah's roommate and Pogue's girlfriend.
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