chud.com/nextraimages/hostel-part-iismall.jpgI have heard the first buzz on Hostel Part II, and it comes from someone I trust. That buzz says that the movie is ‘fucking great,’ and better than the first (which I liked a lot). Eli Roth has been running around saying that he didn’t want to screen the movie because he was afraid of having it spoiled; I’ve been wondering if this wasn’t just because there’s no ground to be gained in screening this film for critics and he wanted to outflank the cries of ‘They didn’t screen it so it must suck!’ But my buzzmeister tells me that there are amazing scenes that should not be spoiled, so my whole perspective is changing. I’m psyched to get this early positive word, and unless you’re one of those pussies who thought that the first film was too nasty or mean, you should be too.

Speaking of nasty and mean, the official site for Hostel Part II has opened, and you should turn the speakers up on your computer (especially if you’re at work) and click here to visit it. I’ll wait here while you serenade your office with the sounds of a woman screaming and crying in terror and pain – strong, strong stuff. The site has the usual assortment of trailers and images and stuff, and it even has what you’ve always wanted – a wallpaper of evil Roger Bart standing in a torture chamber!

And now, a personal note to Eli Roth: On Sunday I am heading to Bucharest with a number of other online types to do a set visit. All of our conversations about our trip to Eastern Europe seem to center around Hostel and our sneaking suspicion that we’re just fresh meat. It’s easy to make someone jump or squirm while the movie is on, but much harder to keep them uncomfortable afterwards. Hostel has done for Eastern Europe what Jaws did for beaches, or The Manitou did for neck tumors and ancient evil midget medicine men.