Eli Roth knows how to deliver a horror movie. Not only does he come up with outrageous kills, but he knows he has to put a bunch of hotties in there and make them take their clothes off. Well, Hostel II doesn’t have quite as much nudity, since it’s not the male fantasy. But there are still some lovely ladies to look at, at least until their innards start coming out.
Bijou Phillips has kind of done it all – acting, modeling, singing. Torture must be the only thing left. She plays a college girl in Europe who, along with her friends, gets directed to the hostel, which by now audiences know is a front for kidnapping American tourists for their wealthy clientele.
CraveOnline: Did you enjoy making this movie?
Bijou Phillips: It was amazing. It was unbelievable. We shot in Iceland and we shot in the Czech Republic. It was unbelievable. Prague in the Czech Republic is the most beautiful city. There’s architecture from so many different time periods and the crew are unbelievable and Lauren German and Heather Matarazzo, the two other actresses in the film, we’ve all been friends for a really long time so that was great. We all got to hang out together. It’s something that the three of us had kind of wanted to do for a long time so it was great that we got to do it.
CraveOnline: Is it fun, even in the awful torture scenes?
Bijou Phillips: Yeah, between takes you’re laughing the entire time but you definitely go into some dark places. It would be lunch and I would have been crying all day and during lunch, you know when you’re five and you get the hiccups from crying so much? I’d be like, “So, you’re wife’s pregnant, hic, oh, that’s awesome, hic.” I’m totally fine but I got the cry hiccups.
CraveOnline: Where did you go as an actor to bring out all that fear?
Bijou Phillips: Well, some actresses like to do it where they’ll think of their dog that died or their grandma or something. But I think if it’s not on the page, it’s not going to happen. Eli was amazing and wrote a great script that is on the page.
CraveOnline: So Eli really laid it out for you?
Bijou Phillips: He’s amazing. He’s so smart. His IQ is I don’t even think on the charts. He’s so smart and intelligent and wrote such a great script and you really see him mature as a filmmaker in this film. Plotwise, there’s a lot more suspense than the first movie. It’s a much better film than the first Hostel. It’s scary, it’s funny, it’s kind of campy. It’s a great movie and it’s a lot of fun and you don’t leave their feeling dirty and weird. You leave there feeling like, “Yeaaaahh.” It has an awesome ending, a crazy ending.
CraveOnline: Each girl in the film has a distinct character. How would you describe yours?
Bijou Phillips: I play Whitney and she’s sort of a little bit ditzy and likes boys and likes to do drugs and kind of act crazy. She falls into situations and Lauren German’s character sort of always saves her and it’s just amazing.
CraveOnline: Can you relate to your character? Is it fun to play?
Bijou Phillips: Yeah, I totally relate to my character. I think if you don’t relate to your character, there’s a problem. Definitely there’s a lot of me in Whitney and it was a fun movie to make.
CraveOnline: They trap boys with the promise of sex. How does the hostel trap girls?
Bijou Phillips: With girls they bring them with spa treatments. They get them there with the lure of the spa.
Heather Matarazzo will always be known as the girl from Welcome to the Dollhouse. Subsequent movies have capitalized on her ability to play eccentric characters. A film scholar like Roth certainly knew what he was doing when he put her in his horror movie.
CraveOnline: This isn’t typical for you. Are you a horror fan?
Heather Matarazzo: I’m not a fan of horror movies in general but I’m a big fan of Eli and I was a big fan of the script.
CraveOnline: So they bring men to the hostel with sex. How do they attract women?
Heather Matarazzo: The complete opposite. Being in fear of getting sexually assaulted, which is what leads us to getting to the hostel because Axelle comes to save us from being assaulted.
CraveOnline: Every woman in the film is unique. How would you describe your character?
Heather Matarazzo: The way I’ve been describing her is like Blanche Dubois where she just wants magic, constant magic. And when she’s put into a situation where she feels vulnerable or uncomfortable, we get to see the complete flip side of her which is just full of anger and fear and rage.
CraveOnline: Does seeing how they do all the bloody stuff make it easier to do torture scenes?
Heather Matarazzo: No. Honestly, Eli set such a tone from the beginning where we just felt vulnerable and safe enough to go to these places that I don’t think as actors we’re normally allowed to go to. So when it came to specifically my torture scenes, it was just really about doing the best job I could do and feeling free enough and secure enough to do it.
CraveOnline: Is it at least fun in between takes?
Heather Matarazzo: No, I mean, my torture scene only lasted two days but it was a good experience.
Lauren German is the star of Hostel: Part II, the sort of group leader who tries to keep her friends out of trouble. With 21 credits in the last seven years, she is an experienced actress, though Hostel: Part II certainly gives her the most screen time.
CraveOnline: How did the three of you bond?
Lauren German: Really you’re looking at our bonding on screen. When you’re shooting a film you spend so much time together and then you go to the castle or walk around town. It’s bonding all around.
CraveOnline: After all those intense scenes, how did you release?
Lauren German: Oh, fine. It’s not a problem. It’s not a big deal, especially on hard days.
CraveOnline: How would you describe your character?
Lauren German: I play sort of the reserved, not reserved really but I think that’s just kind of it’s an honest person, it is a kind of self confident person but a little more subdued than, say, Whitney, Bijou’s character. Lorna is the other extreme, the antithesis of Bijou’s character but I’m sort of somewhere in between and just curious about what else there is in life.
CraveOnline: How does the hostel lure women as opposed to men?
Lauren German: Through kidnapping. You just get taken. That’s the fun part. No matter where you are, you’re basically kidnapped whether it’s at a spa or in a house or whatever’s going on.
CraveOnline: Are the torture scenes really as bad as they look to film?
Lauren German: Well, I can’t tell you if it’s as bad as actually getting tortured in real life. I would assume not but it was very intense and draining. Not the funnest time I can remember in my life.
CraveOnline: How do you act scared when it’s not real?
Lauren German: How do you act scared? I think you just have to genuinely be scared. It’s not hard with everything that’s going on.
Just like Barbara Nedeljakova in the first Hostel, Eli Roth discovered another Eastern European beauty for the sequel. Vera Jordanova makes her Hollywood debut in Hostel: Part II, and judging by her looks, something tells us other filmmakers might want to dream up a part for her too.
CraveOnline: Are you Eli’s discovery?
Vera Jordanova: You may say so. He discovered me. This is my first role, my first movie in US. Before that I’ve worked, I’ve acted very little in Finland so basically this is my first movie, so yeah, Eli discovered me.
CraveOnline: How would you describe your character?
Vera Jordanova: I’m playing Axelle, the bad girl who lures the three innocent, beautiful American girls to the hostel.
CraveOnline: Why does he like to find these European women to play the bad girls?
Vera Jordanova: I don’t know. I have to ask him that because I’m European and I’m actually a very nice girl. I think maybe he has this thing for European women.
CraveOnline: What was your audition like?
Vera Jordanova: Oh, I was very nervous. The first time I read with Eli, then nothing was really sure after that. I auditioned with [casting director] Kelly Martin Wagner again and then again. It was a whole process for two months. And after two months, they told me that I got the role. Very intense.
CraveOnline: Has this opened doors for your career?
Vera Jordanova: Hopefully. Hopefully. Nothing is sure for now so I don’t like to speak. Nothing is sure. We’ll see.
CraveOnline: There’s not as much sexuality in this one since it’s all about girls, but you still have a nude scene. How do you approach sexual scenes?
Vera Jordanova: I think that the movie is about not only sexuality but it’s also really this provides well the dark side of the human nature, sexuality, violence and I think it’s what makes it a better movie than the first one is my personal opinion. It’s not that much of a slasher just slasher movie but a thriller that is much deeper and more intelligent movie for me.
CraveOnline: Since you’re nice to them at first, are you really playing two characters?
Vera Jordanova: Yes, but for me it was the opposite. In the beginning I just played myself because when Axelle had to lie, she was like me, smiling and giggling. But then she had to show her true colors and that’s when I really had to act. That was challenging but with a little help of Eli, it happened.
CraveOnline: Where are you from?
Vera Jordanova: I’m Bulgarian. I’m born and raised in Finland.
CraveOnline: Your English is great. Have you always spoken it?
Vera Jordanova: Thank you so much. No, I learned English in school. It’s getting better and better every day since I moved here. Yeah, hopefully one day I’ll speak perfect. It’s my third language.
CraveOnline: You live here now?
Vera Jordanova: Yes, I live in LA.
CraveOnline: What has that adjustment been like?
Vera Jordanova: It’s interesting. I love America but I’ve always lived in Europe. What I love about LA is the people and the industry and this is what I want to do for my life so this place has been just amazing. It’s full of opportunities. It’s really a place where dreams come true.
CraveOnline: So did you connect with Eli here or abroad when he was already in Europe?
Vera Jordanova: I connected with him when he was already in preproduction in Prague and I flew from Finland to Prague. That’s where I met him.
CraveOnline: Now that you’re in Hollywood, will you hit the party scene?
Vera Jordanova: I don’t know. I don’t think I’m much of a party girl but if there’s a good occasion, why not?
