Why Did The Film "Hostel" Cause Such A Stir In Slovakia?

The film "Hostel" is an American horror film produced in 2005 about a group of young, western backpackers who travel to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, during their stay in Europe. As the three men arrive in Bratislava, they check in at an old hostel located in a Medieval district of the city. At first, they hope to pick up attractive, Slovak women and spend their nights in clubs. The trip, however, goes terribly wrong when the men and other tourists they meet at hostel find out that they are pawns in a deadly, sadistic plot, orchestrated by a group of Slovaks. This involves capturing the travellers and using various methods of Medieval torture on them.

Like all horror movies, this one is not lacking in gruesome scenes. The real problem with the film, however, is that it portrays Bratislava and Slovaks generally as primitive, backwards, Medieval and highly eccentric. Many Slovaks were also concerned that potential tourists would get the idea that Bratislava is a dangerous city, something which could not be further from the truth. There were some rumours that Bratislava's local government would take the makers of "Hostel" to court. In the end, however, this did not happen.