Customer Reviews

TURISTAS

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

Among the better movies from the recent batch of extreme/torture horror, it's a shame that Turistas is probably destined forever to live in the shadows of the "Hostel" series, because it's significantly better than either installment that Hostel has yet produced. Following an unmistakably similar plot as the first "Hostel" - although I think both movies started production at about the same time and this one just took longer to finish - "Turistas" finds (as does its better-known peer) a group of vacationers travelling to an exotic hot spot (in this case Brazil) for a fun-filled getaway, only to run afoul of a local group of brutal, torture-minded psychopaths. The main differences are, I guess, rather subjective. Personally, I thought Turistas was scarier and sexier than Hostel, and had more likable protagonists and more interesting villains. In the first half, there's little overtly horror movie-ish about the film: the main group is prevented from going to their upper-scale tourist destination because of a bus mishap, and ends up at a more off-the-main-path destination, a small village by the beach without the big hotels from tourist brochures, but with festive, smaller-scale, attractions - open air beach bars, big evening bonfire parties, all that kind of thing. They end up making friends with some fellow travellers and with the locals, but some of those locals have a keen interest in the newcomers that doesn't seem to be on the up and up. Come the next day, the vacationers find they've been robbed and the village starts to seem less than friendly, so, with the help of a local they've befriended, head off towards less threatening envirorns, travelling through a swath of rainforest on what turns out to be a very ill-fated trek. The sexy, fun-natured and sometimes humorous angles of the early parts end up meshing very well (and better than what might be expected) with the dark, deeply intense nature of the movie's second half.

Having established its tourist characters as actually likable and interesting, "Turistas" also brings up the level of its bad guys a bit more than a number of similar movies have done. The ringleader of the group, while certainly not rising to the level of a character like Jigsaw, is well-crafted and believable, a highly intelligent but unflichingly sadistic mastermind. For his accomplices, he's surrounded himself not only with like-minded psychopaths, but a few less obvious choices: desperate, confused and often embittered characters, who he's recruited by not only presenting to them the only feasible means out of their own destitution, but by being a smooth, manipulative talker who can paint even horrible acts (such as his 'organ-harvesting' operation) as being somehow justified. The prescence of these 'reluctant villains', and of the element of the evil charmer who's skilled enough to make people act in ways they'd normally never even consider, are both welcome angles.

With the movie developing into some intense battles, it's in ways like an action movie that's presented as a horror movie. It manages some genuine scares, and hits psychological horror notes as well as gory, visceral horror notes. Well acted and well directed, with impressive camerwork, especially in the underwater sequences. The movie utilizes a kind of unique use of lighting, and sometimes color, to create an effect that really captures the atmosphere and heat, making certain daytime scenes feel like they're drenched in hot sunlight.

"Turistas" is a fine addition to the pantheon of horror movies, and shouldn't be overlooked just because of its similarities to other movies, although the torturous nature of the organ-harvesters means that it's not for everybody. It is a reminder though, that just because a movie isn't exactly reinventing the wheel in terms of storyline, it can still be a great movie.

I'm sure that "Turistas" started out as a good idea, and it must have remained so at the start of the screenplay development process. Even in the final filmed version, parts of this good idea remained; it involves an isolated group of organ harvesters living in the deep jungles of Brazil. They obtain everything from unwitting tourists that wander into a phony beach/bar getaway. The notion that someone would remove your vital organs against your will is genuinely scary, and I have no doubt that such people actually exist, hidden away within the nooks and crannies of the earth. It's a very uncomfortable thought, and I give the film credit for making me second-guess any plans to visit Brazil.

But this film is loaded with problems, enough to outweigh the effectiveness of the underlying idea. "Turistas" is misguided practically from the start, missing the mark as both a horror film and a social commentary. The first hour does nothing but continuously build tension, which I suppose can be effective when constructed properly (consider Ridely Scott's "Alien"). But by the time we actually get to the scarier moments of the remaining thirty minutes--moments highlighted by medical cruelty and violence--we come to the realization that there's hardly anything to have gotten tense about. I say this from a horror fan's point of view; if a story is meant to be scary, then it should remain consistently scary almost all throughout. Saving the shocking moments for the end simply does not work.

And then there are the turistas--or tourists in the native English. They're represented as a ragtag group of well-toned twenty-somethings from all walks of life. No matter how hard I tried to understand them, no matter how open-minded I made myself to their situations, I never once believed them to be genuine. They felt about as realistic and complex as clones from a cheaply produced 1990s teen slasher film (all of which were clones to begin with, I might add). The most important characters are the brother and sister duo of Alex (Josh Duhamel) and Bea (Olivia Wilde). Alex is inexplicably and unrealistically overprotective of Bea: she couldn't go to Brazil unless he went with her; she shouldn't put ice in her drinks because there's the risk of dysentery; she shouldn't have chosen a bus as a mode of transportation because their going through the mountains and the driver seems a bit reckless.

But as it turns out, the bus driver actually is reckless; in attempting to avoid hitting a group of people crossing the road, the bus violently swerves off the edge. Luckily, everyone manages to get out before the bus loses its balance and falls down a two hundred foot incline. Still, everything is ruined. With nothing left to wait around for, Alex, Bea, and a small group of people decide to try and find help. In their searching, they find a seemingly remote yet beautiful beach area, complete with a well-stocked bar and attractive girls (this is especially enticing for a pair of loud mouthed Londoners). For a few hours, everyone has a good time; they swim, they play volleyball, and they dance the night away to the sound of throbbing Brazilian dance music. And they drink. A lot.

What they don't yet realize is that every single drink from that little bar has been spiked with a powerful drug. Almost immediately, everyone passes out directly on the shoreline. When they wake up, they discover that they've been robbed, and worse yet, some of the other tourists are missing. Here is where the obligatory nightmare begins, most of which I found difficult to accept as plausible. For one thing, the only "reliable" source of help is Kiko (Agles Steib), a native Brazilian who speaks broken English. It's immediately obvious that in real life, no one, not even those in a desperate situation, would follow his lead. However, dimwitted characters in a substandard film certainly would. He first leads the group to a dilapidated village with no form of law enforcement (it's there that they see some of their missing items in the hands of the locals). No help there. Yet they keep following him, and he takes them through dense jungles and up steep mountains. He's supposedly leading them to his uncle's remote cabin; a place he claims will keep everyone safe.

But before they reach their destination, they stop at a picturesque waterfall area with underground caves just waiting to be explored. Thus begins a second scene of swimming, frolicking, and happiness. I'm sorry, but I thought these characters were supposed to be frightened, desperate, and in need of help. Why in God's name are they stopping to take a dip? There's one character in particular I wish had asked that question: her name is Pru (Melissa George), an Australian who frequently travels and speaks fluent Portuguese. I initially thought she had the most common sense, even more so than Alex. Someone of such mental clarity should be able to see how foolish it would be to stop in the middle of an important journey to have fun.

But I guess she's the wrong person to rely on. And like everyone else in the group, she has no idea what they're in for. They finally reach this deserted cabin, only to find it mysteriously filled with food, drugs, clothing, and medical supplies (you'd think they'd make use of them when Kiko accidentally splits his head open, but no; they use a staple gun). And then they meet Kiko's uncle, who majestically flies in by helicopter. He's a cold, cold man, and he's apparently tired of tourists draining Brazil of its resources (he shows his angry side early on by shoving a wooden skewer through his henchman's right eye). As payback, he kidnaps the tourists, drugs them, and surgically removes specific organs. This brings to light the social commentary mentioned earlier; if the nations of the world hope to earn one another's friendship, all the silly political squabbling needs to stop.

Can we all agree that that's an absolutely stupid message to put in a thriller, especially one involving some gory medical shots? I certainly hope we can. I won't bother with describing the climactic dissection scene, but I think it's safe for you to assume that you'll be in for some ugly visuals. I won't even bother with describing anymore of this film, something that only amounted to underachievement. I can appreciate the thought that went into "Turistas"; I can tell that it was intended to be a horror film, and for a story of that genre, the idea definitely had potential. Unfortunately, its execution was handled badly. I left the theater feeling an unwelcome mixture of boredom, unpleasantness, and indifference. Who would actually want to watch this kind of filmmaking? No one from Brazil, that's for sure.

I was suprised to find that this movie was pretty decent. The cast of characters were unsurprisingly one dimensional with very little to go on, such as perhaps understanding any single motivation. The acting is strictly mediocre, with some gaping holes in plot and logic. Nonetheless the film held my attention and was far superior to some of it's peers of late. The story itself is rather ludicrous, but looking past that, the arch of the film is interesting and the direction of the plot is somewhat unique in that it sets itself apart from its counterparts by breaking away from a few of the standard genre cliches. I was impressed by the action sequences, and the film get's huge bonus points for the locales and general atmosphere. I also of course love the fact that the movie is wonderful exploitative as far as making sweeping and hugely exagerated statements about Brazil and American tourists. It reminded me of some of the better 70's exploitation film (mainly Italian cannibal fair) in that it offers up some gruesome deaths in gorgeous exotic settings and plays on stereotypes and urban lore, to maximum effect. Not as smart as Hostel, but not as banal as Wolf Creek, this lands somewhere in the middle.

This movie is reminiscent of the movie HOSTEL only without as much gore. As a serious horror fan, I thoroughly enjoyed Hostel but every once in a while you need an intense thriller that focuses more on the tension of the situation than just blood and guts. This movie is that more tense/ less gore "Hostel". The themes are similar-- American/European tourists going on vacation to a foreign exotic country where they get way more than they bargained for when they fall into the sinister hands of a group of locals with other inhumane plans.... I thoroughly enjoyed the movie; the acting was pretty decent, nothing overtly cheesy and their responses and interactions were believable. I could realistically believe that this storyline could have actually taken place. The plot was nothing overly imagined nor too far fetched in my opinion. The characters were intriguing to watch-- likable personalities and sensual hard bodies *smiles*... I think this movie was good enough to have caught it on the bigs screen but popping it into your DVD player on a lazy Saturday is a good bet also. Overall a good "vacationers in danger" thriller.

Next time you find yourself stranded in Nowheresville, Brazil, "Take the plane," according to Alex (Josh Duhamel), just one of the unlucky tourists in "Turistas." The story revolves around a group of young and hard bodies of differing nationalities who get stranded when their bus takes a really bad turn and goes off of a cliff. The tourists are welcomed to a nearby small town while waiting for another bus that seems to be perfect for parties on the surface, but holds a dark secret underneath. As the tale unfolds, the group finds themselves the targets of a vengeful man hoping to cash in on their organs. Who makes it out alive? Sit through ninety tedious minutes and you'll find out.

**Potential Spoilers**
Featuring stock characters and stock gore, this film struggles to find its way. At one point it is a gore film, but when compared to other recent splatter flicks like "Hostel" and "Wolf Creek," it comes up short in the blood and guts department. Next we find it trying to be a suspense yarn with underwater cavern chases. Unfortunately, these chases become boring to watch and difficult to keep up with. Lastly, the movie takes a light shot at social commentary, but organ stealing is hardly a new topic, and I honestly don't think that most tourists are as dense as this gaggle of goof-offs.

Now I do understand that the characters had to be somewhat dumbed down in order to move the tale along, but I found myself not really pulling for any of them. I could care less who lost their kidneys or if they were conscious when their livers were removed. We are expected to cheer on Duhamel and his on-screen sister, Bea (Olivia Wilde), but I really saw no reason to. The rest of the group serves no great purpose other than to be victims, excepting the supposed "smart" member of the party, Pru (Melissa George).

The primary villain in this film, Zamora (Miguel Lunardi), comes off as an arrogant dictator who isn't as tough as you'd expect a primary villain to be. I honestly don't see how any of his lackeys could fear him. In fact, he wasn't scary at all.

Light gore, dull suspense, a disjointed plot, and modest acting adds up to a clunker in my book. I'd consider "Turistas" a rental at best. If you prefer more gore (though not necessarily a better story) check out the "Hostel" flicks. For an actual good gory story, "Wolf Creek" is your best bet. For suspense in a cave, I highly recommend "The Descent."

There are a few things every person traveling abroad must know. One, don't drink the water. Two, have your passport on you at all times. Three, airport baggage handlers will either lose your baggage or destroy it. Four, don't accept a drink from a stranger. Five, update all vaccinations. And, six, the most important rule, that's NOT a woman. In Turistas, one unfortunate group of aimless pleasure-seekers definitely learns all but the most important lesson (maybe even them all).

When a group of likeable, sexy American tourists make their way to Brazil, they quickly see how enticing the country can be. The beaches, the drinks, the women: all beautiful and exciting. When their bus rolls down a hill leaving them stranded, they choose to stay for a while, partying it up with the amiable locals. Bad news; a few of their new friends are psychotic murderers complicit in an extravagant organ-harvesting scheme. Nothing scary yet - who really needs BOTH kidneys?

Well acted, well directed, a good amount of creative gore, tense thrills, and a few good boob shots...what else is a horror movie supposed to deliver? For a fairly convincing and effective albeit fairly unoriginal horror movie, it's quite a terrifying concept and delivery. However, there are two infuriating aspects to Turistas.

First, the message of American ignorance and disrespect is rendered completely pointless when considering the fact that those portrayed as open-minded about traveling are evidently meat-sacks with organs to be snagged whenever someone rich requires a transplant. The other frustrating part is that cinematography is brilliant. It's gorgeous, showing amazing shots of overflowing jungles, exquisite waterfalls, and the underwater caving scenes' translucent blues are simply unparalleled. Meanwhile, it's almost a PSA for American xenophobia. Why travel if the American tourist is considered a ripe for the picking organ grab bag?

Many will simply write-off Turistas as an unoriginal Hostel clone, but I enjoyed the cross-blending of sadistic, exploitation horror and visceral torture-porn.

good movie besides what the other ding dong reviewers say. its not the typical hack and slash and thank goodness its refreshing for a change.
Is does Build tension and thank goodness for that Also. its nice for a change to have a movie build up the situation instead of just throwing it in your face..This movie isnt a block buster, but it is a good movie to watch just to kill a few hrs and then be happy that the Movie didnt turn out like most Crap happy horror flick.

When I meant to download Rush Hour 3 starring Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan on Limewire OS X, the movie was replaced with this movie, "Turistas". I willingly watched the movie and realized how the world can be so gruesome and deceptive. In fact, Brazil is devoid of safety and peace. To those who travel overseas or wish to migrate or travel internationally, please go to US Travel website: travel.state.gov and search for any country and the website will give specific information, including recent news and events.

Why did the writers/director(s) made and officially released this movie "Turistas"? To let us be aware that everywhere we go or do is not always what it seems. There are some malicious citizens from the country who lie and cheat people, especially American citizens, by giving falsified information on these suspicious websites.

Turistas (2006) is a tropical variation of the backwoods killer thriller, with a group of tourists running into horrific circumstances while vacationing in Brazil. The film has a very organic, and realistic look and feel, as much of the movie was actually shot on location in Brazil, providing a variety of looks, from beautiful beaches, waterfalls, and underwater caverns, to the mostly dank, damp, and muddy conditions in the jungle.

Passengers aboard a bus travelling along a rural road, are unexpectedly stranded, when the driver loses control, and the bus tumbles down the side of hill. Josh Duhamel (Las Vegas) is Alex, travelling with his sister Bea (Olivia Wilde, House), and her best friend Amy (Beau Garrett). After the crash they form a group with Pru (Melissa George, Alias, Grey's Anatomy), an Australian, and friends Finn (Desmond Askew) and Liam (Max Brown) who hail from London. Finding a beach with a bar nearby, the group decide hang out and party, instead of leaving on the next bus out. It is all great fun, until after a night of heavy drinking, the group is robbed with left with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

Seeking help in a nearby village, the group nearly cause a riot, when Liam injures a boy. A local boy name Kiko (Agles Steib) who they met earlier at the beach, comes to their rescue, and leads them on a trek into the jungle to escape the agitated villagers. On the way to his uncle's house, Kiko shows the tourists his 'secret place', a waterfall with water filled caverns behind, and a large pool beyond. Some of the group venture into the caverns, but their fun is interrupted when Kiko injures his head taking a plunge. The group manages to find the uncle's house. They are safe for the moment, but the group is uneasy.

Later that night, Kiko's uncle Zamora (Miguel Lunardi), and men with weapons arrive via helicopter, and things suddenly take a deadly turn. Zamora is a doctor, but one with a twisted view of humanitarianism. He begins operating on his captives, intending to harvest their vital organs. Zamora explains that the 'contribution', will be a way for the gringo to give back to his people. Tied up in animal pens, some of the group manage to escape with Kiko's help. An attempt to save their friends, has disastrous results. Strangely, the survivors head back into the underwater caverns. It is not a good idea, as Zamora is waiting with a gun, at the large pool. The survivors are forced back into the caverns. Eventually they find a way out, and again Zamora is there. Unfortunately for him, his bad management skills finally catch up with him.

The entire cast does a good job, under difficult conditions. The authentic locations, and the casting of many locals, helps create an atmosphere of realism, and Turistas hangs together pretty well, up until near the end. The caves are a cool location, and the underwater scenes were no doubt challenging to shoot, but perhaps a bit too much time is spent there. The logic and geography of the caverns is something of a mystery. Why Kiko leads the survivors into the underwater caverns, when there is apparently a faster way to the large open pool travelling by foot, is a mystery. Being under falls, the caverns should be close to pitch black, and indeed when the swimmers pop up for air in the caves, it is dark, with the only light coming from a flashlight. This makes sense, but what does not is that instead of being pitch black, the underwater environment is lighted well enough so the action can be filmed. This is understandable from a practical standpoint, but it subtracts from the realism.

The DVD contains both the rated and unrated, widescreen versions of the film. Two of the movie's most shocking scenes, involve Dr. Zamora. In one, he kills a man by casually shoving a wooden skewer through his eye. The second is an operation, where he cuts open the abdomen, and removes the liver and kidneys from one of the tourists. These scenes may be too much for some to sit through, and they appear in both versions of the film. The featurette, The Bloody Truth, shows how some of the film's more graphic scenes were accomplished. Another bonus is an informative commentary track, by director John Stockwell, and producer Ken Kubena. There was some controversy regarding the film, because of the negative aspects related to tourists. However according to Stockwell and Kubena, they received a great deal of cooperation while in Brazil, and employed many locals in the making of the film.

3.5 stars. This movie was much better than I expected it to be. Most of what needs to be said has already been said but I felt that I should write up a my own review considering that I did not care for the movie Hostel as most people here have yet still enjoyed Turistas quite a bit. It has taken me about 3 years to finally get around to seeing this movie, when I originally saw previews for it I wrote it off as just another "me too" torture porn which would be forever concealed in the shadow of 'Saw', 'The Hills have Eyes' and 'Hostel'. I've been burned by plenty of other movies which took gore and torture to the extreme and once the shock value wore off I found myself in agonizing boredom. 'Wolf Creek' immediately comes to mind but Hostel is probably the personal letdown with the highest profile, other than every Saw sequel after the second installment.

Hostel bombards you with raw sexuality from the start then slaps that smile off your face with some of the most cringe worthy torture scenes I've ever seen in a movie. It is no wonder the term "Torture Porn" was coined by a reviewer after having seen Hostel because that is essentially what it is; I wouldn't be surprised if some sicko actually got his jollies off watching the torture over the sex. Hostel went from sex comedy to snuff film in the blink of an eye and though it was moderately entertaining, the movie loses it's steam pretty quickly once the shock value is gone. Like 'The Devil's Rejects', it just became boring and gross once I got used to it. It is hard for me to enjoy movies like this when superior horror flicks such as '28 Days Later' are being released at the same time and with plenty of gore of their own. The first two Saw movies have clever plot twists underneath all the bloodshed but other than those two flicks the genre is incredibly shallow and relies on spilled guts as much as the abysmal 'Star Wars' prequels relied on CGI; all style and no substance. I still have yet to see the sequel to Hostel, I'll get around to it at some point.

Now you know my background and my wariness when it comes to Saw/Hostel copycats. Too many of these flicks were just plain boring for me to watch because I had seen it all before. Turistas is a pleasant surprise! It is just as shallow in terms of character development, acting and plot as other flicks in the genre but it relies more on suspense than actual gore. For starters there is an awesome bus accident right in the beginning of the movie to get things going and the movie moves along pretty smoothly from there. You know something is going to happen and that it won't be pretty but the movie teases you and plays with you until whatever blood lust you may have had is forgotten and you stop looking forward to the inevitable carnage and start to dread it. Instead of gasping in horror, I found myself holding my breath. Those familiar with the genre may be disappointed it isn't nearly as bloody as one might expect but I personally welcomed the reliance on suspense and uncertainty as if it were an old Slasher flick from the '70s and '80s.

*** possible but very minor spoilers below ***

There is a very well done underwater chase scene as well which only added to the suspenseful nature of the film.

I seriously considered giving the movie 4 stars but stopped short because of an anticlimactic ending. I felt the movie just gave up on me instead of ending properly but this is my personal opinion. I also don't feel a great urge to watch the movie again while a true 4 star movie would have me going back to certain scenes just to catch them one more time. The girls and setting are gorgeous (it's Brazil - look out for Dark Skinned Brazillian beauty Lucy Ramos and Australian cutie Melissa George) while the sex and gore are somewhat muted in favor of suspense. I also felt that the director could have done a better job juxtaposing the violence on screen with the beautiful Brazillian scenery. One thing I definitely felt was missing from the film was a real intense one on one fight scene.


*** Spoilers done ***

I would definitely recommend this to friends and would love to watch it with a girl, it won't gross her out and might actually hold her interest as she clasps on to my arm.