5. Hostel
Hostel isn’t a particularly bad film, it’s just Roth’s worst. Every character other than Derek Richardson’s Josh is such a despicable character. They’re misogynistic and homophobic. Roth’s clever bait-and-switch with Richardson and Jay Hernandez threw audiences for a loop, but by making Hernandez’s douchebag character Paxton the lead, he loses connection with the audience. Hostel may have put Roth on the map for horror and started the “torture porn” trend in 2000s horror, but it’s also his worst film. Hostel takes itself way too seriously and it isn’t a very pleasant film to watch. I’m not saying I need horror to be pleasant, it’s just not that enjoyable even for a dark, gritty horror film. It may be an achievement in gore, but that’s really all there is to like here.
