Character Spotlight- Beth- Lauren German- Hostel Part II (2007)

**This post contains spoilers**

Three unsuspecting friends unknowingly wander into a death trap in a small Slovakian village? Any of this sound familiar? Oli (Eypor Guojonsson), Paxton (Jay Hernandez), and Josh (Derek Richardson) stumbled into an underworld of gruesome torture, brutality, and death in Hostel (2005). What happens in Hostel Part II? A nude model named Axelle (Vera Jordanova) lures Beth (Lauren German), her friend, Whitney (Bijou Phillips), and the nerdy clinger, Lorna (Heather Matarazzo) to Elite Hunting Club's special death trap hostel.

Beth's bank account allows her to buy "anything," but money doesn't impress Sasha (Milan Knazko), the leader of Elite Hunting. Axelle is Beth's number one target for revenge, but Beth runs into a series of bigger problems in a dank torture room at Elite Hunting's main facility.

Two new members named Todd (Richard Burgi) and Stuart (Roger Bart) purchase the rights to Whitney and Beth's deaths. Todd? He's looking forward to torturing and murdering Whitney, because Todd wants a diabolical and cold-hearted killer instinct. Stuart is having second thoughts about his non-negotiable deal with Elite Hunting, but an act of kindness from Beth triggers Stuart's dark side....

Beth is the leader of the trio, and she's the voice of reason, but there's a silent rage underneath Beth's seemingly calm exterior. Don't back her into a corner, because she'll retaliate with a pair of scissors (or an axe). Also, don't use the C word ("c***") around Beth, because you're pushing a big red button.

If you need a comparison, just think about Marty from Back To The Future. Marty would lose his cool, whenever someone called him a "chicken" or "yellow" (Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen in Back To The Future III). The big difference is, Marty's temper tantrums were limited to tense staredowns. On the flip side, Beth retaliates with decapitation and murder.

If we're comparing sole survivors, Beth is a wiser and more vigilant protagonist, when you compare and contrast similarities and differences with Jay Hernandez's  Paxton from the original. First, Paxton was an enabler. Remember, Paxton pushed Josh to loosen up and have a good time, when Josh was clearly uncomfortable, and for Paxton, hormones triumphed over logic nine times out of ten. Yeah, he realized something was fishy, but Paxton crossed a "too little, too late" line for unraveling the secrets behind Elite Hunting's intricate underworld.

Although, Beth isn't innocent, because she made a few crucial mistakes. For starters, she ignored the local's warnings (remember the guy, who tried to warn her at the local festival?), and she foolishly trusted Axelle to do the right thing after the confrontation with the Bubblegum Gang in the woods.

The big difference between the two? Beth took her role as the mature friend in the group seriously, and she tried to protect Lorna and Whitney. Beth never sacrificed Lorna and Whitney's safety and well being for the sake of having a good time or a wild night. Beth played the role of a babysitter for Lorna and Whitney, and two obvious examples include Beth protecting Whitney from a one night stand with that creepy guy, and her pleas fell on deaf ears, but Beth did everything she could do to protect Lorna from Roman (an Elite Hunting associate).

Beth is rich, but she's not a spoiled and whiny brat. Beth is a scrappy, fearless, and resourceful (i.e. the big pair of scissors) fighter, who refuses to quit, and it's a refreshing change for a character with a loaded bank account. During the final moments of the movie, Beth (with some help from the Bubblegum Gang) punishes Axelle for her betrayal with a beheading, and Beth removes Stuart's genitals after Stuart's bizarre transformation. Beth showed no mercy during her vindictive attacks, and both deaths are pretty nasty and gruesome. Over the years, I lost count for watching Hostel Part II over and over again (it's somewhere in the teens), and I can't make up my mind for answering this question: Who suffered a more brutal death? Axelle Or Stuart?  


If you're interested, you can follow this link to read my spoiler review for Hostel Part II-

http://mitchmacready.blogspot.com/2013/06/hostel-part-ii-2007.html

Also, you can follow this link to read my spoiler review for the original Hostel-

http://mitchmacready.blogspot.com/2013/06/hostel-2005.html

And here's a link for Hostel Part III (spoiler review)-

http://mitchmacready.blogspot.com/2013/06/hostel-part-iii-2011.html