Here’s a sentence I never thought I’d write: Paul Giamatti is set to star in a TV series based on Eli Roth’s gruesome Hostel movies. THR has the news of the Oscar-nominated The Holdovers actor starring in a reimagining of Roth’s horror franchise which was very much a big part of the “torture porn” era right along with Saw and others.
Roth is behind the Hostel series along with producers Chris Briggs and Mike Fleiss. Released in 2005, Hostel centered on a group of young American tourists in Slovakia who, after being unable to get back into their hostel, are kidnapped by a secret organization and used as victims for wealthy people to murder and torture for pleasure.
The first Hostel was a big hit, earning $82M on a budget of less than $5M. Sequels released in 2007 and 2011 were less successful, however. Roth has done a lot since then, including branching out from horror on occasion. His next film is Borderlands, an adaptation of the bestselling video game franchise.
So how does Giamatti fit into all of this? The report says the series will feature “elevated horror”, which makes sense because you just can’t show that level of gore on a regular basis. My bet is that Giamatti plays one of the elite, perhaps the guy who runs the organization that keeps these horrific games of murder afloat. Sounds like this will be more of a thriller series exploring the twisted folks who participate and run such an operation.
