Cinematical

You lost me at "I haven't seen any of his films" followed by "He understands the business better than anyone." Way to channel a publicist, Erik. Not to mention The NY Daily News is not exactly a bastion of accurate reporting. I don't understand what the hell is wrong with this picture, even if it were false. A guy who makes good films says another director makes horrible one. If he had said this about Uwe Boll would this even be news?

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There's no doubt Roth can write brilliantly intricate and politcally and socially allegorical horror films, but if he'd just sort of sit back and say his film drowned because of poor timing and a couple of bootlegs, then I'd say he didn't have all of this negative vibe coming.

But since he keeps on going on, it becomes sort of annoying, even to some of his biggest fans, me included.

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Boyle's the bomb. He can shift gears seamlessly from outrageously disney-esque drug use comedy (Trainspotting), to balls out fun zombie flick (28 Days Later) to sci-fi (Sunshine). Roth...uh, he makes dumbed-down horror films.

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Holy shit, youfacethetick, 28 Days Later wasn't a zed film.

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So fake compliments and flattering Hollywood BS is preferred by Cinematical minions? Danny Boyle had an opinion that a lot of people agree with and he said it. Where's the tragedy in that? Not to mention the fact that Eli Roth is a self-important blowhard on top of being a hack filmmaker.

And your reasons for Hostel: Part II's failure show a startling lack of understanding of the movie business. Did you learn about the film industry from the pages of USA Today? Come on with these trite pieces. Boo hoo for Eli Roth. You haven't seen his movies so this wasn't even an informed opinion. It was shallow, insincere and bromidic.

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Ben, you can call it a Rage virus but broken down it's just fast moving zombies. BTW, you should tell Naomie Harris not to call them zombies as that's what she called them at comic-con in 2003.

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I think Roth is getting a little delayed payback here...first, he has done more to equate the horror genre with the words "sickening" and "disgusting" instead of "chilling" and "disturbing" than any other director working in the field at the moment. Second, he made two mediocre films (Cabin Fever and the first Hostel) and went around as a shameless self-promoter, all but crowning himself the new king of horror. His output so far hasn't earned him any such accolades. Third, perhaps more than any other director I've ever seen, it's more often than not his own face mugging for the camera in promo stills for his films, instead of scenes from the actual film. The perception is that he is a raging egoist hungering for celebrity status instead of the chance to make truly great movies, horror or otherwise. And that is why I think a number of filmmakers -- and horror fans -- are all to glad to see him take a well-deserved fall.

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To me this smacks of Boyle's jealousy over the media's fawning adoration of Roth. Both of these men are good at what they do, but Roth has been something of a media darling (or at least much more so than Boyle) since Cabin Fever. I'm a horror fan, and even sort of enjoy the "torture porn" variety that has been much maligned of late. It's hard to judge out of context, but Boyle's comments to me seem pretty idiotic. Roth crafts some enjoyable, if not thrilling cinema. I'm more than a little upset that Roth has been taking such a beating as he's one of the few horror auteurs that has been able to establish his own style. It's certainly rubbed some people the wrong way, but so did Val Lewton and Wes Craven in their time.

All this talk about dumping R-rated horror is ridiculous. There's been a couple of bad BOs, but in the grand scheme even Hostel 2 has been very profitable. The public, not to mention horror fans, want to watch these movies and have shown their desire to do so since the heyday of horror in the 30s. Hollywood needs to step back, take a deep breath, and look around at the stable of talented horror directors that have proven their ability to win over fans and produce at the BO (the last Saw movie was pretty crap and it brought in 80 mil for god's sake!).

And as for Boyle, unless he's being unfairly characterized here, he needs to realize that it doesn't matter what the hell he thinks about Roth or whomever. If he keeps making solid films, he'll get his one day too.

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Yeah, so I sort of went off about the whole R-rated horror thing there. I'd have to agree with Don and others that Roth is a little too egotistical for his own good. I'm not going to go down swinging for any of his movies, but I still think he's shown promise and growth, and has crafted a style. Yes it might be "sickening" and "disgusting" to some, but a lot of folks would probably say the same about Night of the Living Dead, Halloween or any of horror's canonized films.

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"To me this smacks of Boyle's jealousy over the media's fawning adoration of Roth"

Getting buttered up by Harry Knowles and crew is not exactly "media fawning."

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@JTS, are you young? Danny Boyle's films have always received rave reviews. From Shallow Grave to Trainspotting to Millions to 28 Days Later... Boyle's viewed as an inventive filmmaker who can make just about any film appealing. He crosses genres easily and has shown an ability to appeal to a wide swath of viewers.

Rotten Tomatoes ranks Trainspotting at 88% fresh: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/trainspotting/

28 Days Later got an 89:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/28_days_later/

Millions got 88%:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/millions/

Hostel's miserable 59%:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hostel/

Looks good compared to Hostel 2's 48%:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hostel_2/

And they make the 63% of Cabin Fever look brilliant:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cabin_fever/

Acclaimed filmmaker...yeah that'd be Boyle.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000965/awards

v. Roth's sorry award nominations:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0744834/awards

Honestly, Roth is a flash in the pan. Boyle's been working since the 80s.

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@JTS, are you young? Danny Boyle's films have always received rave reviews. From Shallow Grave to Trainspotting to Millions to 28 Days Later... Boyle's viewed as an inventive filmmaker who can make just about any film appealing. He crosses genres easily and has shown an ability to appeal to a wide swath of viewers.

Rotten Tomatoes ranks Trainspotting at 88% fresh: 28 Days Later got an 89: Millions got 88%.


Hostel's miserable 59%:Looks good compared to Hostel 2's 48%:And they make the 63% of Cabin Fever look brilliant.

Acclaimed filmmaker...yeah that'd be Boyle.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000965/awards

v. Roth's sorry award nominations:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0744834/awards

Honestly, Roth is a flash in the pan. Boyle's been working since the 80s.

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"Way to channel a publicist, Erik"

Wow, way to be a dick, Dave. I don't need to see his films to know the guy's resume. I've spoken with him at length on more than one occasion, and he certainly knows his stuff. Does he have a massive ego? Yes, but who doesn't have an ego in this business. In fact, I know online writers who have bigger egos than Eli Roth (and no, I'm far from one of them).

And Boyd, when has Cinematical ever been all about "fake compliments and flattering Hollywood BS?" Why don't you tell me why Hostel II failed, since I don't have an "understanding" of the way the movie business works.

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YouFace: I was referring to Roth's virtual ubiquity across many media. He's something of a hot topic, for better or worse, and so his mug is all over the place. Meanwhile, Boyle is a tremendous talent who lets his work speak for him most of the time. My take was that his comments reflect some sour grapes at his name not being as recognizable to the common movie goer as Roth's has become. I'm not sure where you got the idea that I haven't seen or appreciated Boyle's work, but thanks for listing all his films for any uninformed readers.

As for Roth being a flash in the pan: I'm of the opinion that in terms of directors working in the horror genre, there are few that have as good a grasp of what it takes to succeed as Roth does. Will that benefit him in the long run, i.e. is he the next Carpenter or Craven? That's up for debate, but my feeling is that he will continue to work and experience success within the horror genre.

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You don't need to see the films to read a bunch words on paper? Wow, you really put me in my place, Erik. I am so sorry I criticized a fluff piece dressed up as non-news. You know why Hostel II failed? Because it was bad movie released at a bad time. There were so many things going against it, not the least being Roth's fanboy arrogance.

I'm so glad you've met the man but how can you justify "knowing" the man's work without having seen any of it? That made it sound like a PR bit, Erik. And me calling this a fluff piece to you calling me a dick shows a lot of class. I mean, bravo. Way to take criticism.

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Wow--I didn't get that from the comments Boyle made at all. Plus Roth is being kind of a dick these days--I mean, did you see the picture he had taken with the giant fake penis? Come on, that's not something a class-guy does. He's crass and his movies tend to be light on legit suspense and thrills and heavy on the gross-out stuff.

I'm just saying.

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I don't see how Roth could be anywhere near Craven or Carpenter as he has not shown any of their early brilliance and certainly lacks the ability to step out of the gore genre.

Carpenter moved from Precinct 13 to Halloween and then to things like Escape from New York and Big Trouble in little China. Craven's flirted with non-horror (Red Eye, Music of the Heart, etc.)

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Roth is a geek who started making movies basically to get laid. In that case he must be considered a huge success since now he's banging Rosario Dawson. But as a filmmaker he sucks big time

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Small group of people living together in a tense and suspenseful situation = "Cabin Fever" vs "Shallow Grave"

Horror where characters are in unfamiliar territory and have to survive = "Hostel" vs "28 Days Later"

Yes, I simplified, but I know which movies I'd prefer to watch.

Let's not forget that Roth has the backing of Tarantino, which is why he gained so much popularity when he was the new kid on the block. Probably also helped him grow his massive ego. But now I guess you just have to look at what Tarantino is doing these days.

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