Is “Hostel” based on a true story? Inside the disturbing real-life inspiration behind Eli Roth’s horror hit
Is “Hostel” based on a true story? Inside the disturbing real-life inspiration behind Eli Roth’s horror hit
Brianna ZiglerThu, November 5, 2026 at 4:51 PM UTC
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Jay Hernandez in ‘Hostel’Credit: Rico Torres/LionsgateKey Points -
Eli Roth’s grim horror film Hostel premiered in 2005.
It follows three backpackers who get caught up in a pay-for-murder operation while traveling through Europe.
Roth has previously discussed the creepy website that inspired the story.
Twenty years ago, Eli Roth’s torture-horror movie Hostel shocked audiences everywhere — to the point that paramedics were called twice during a screening at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2005.
The film follows a group of backpackers in Europe, hoping to have the time of their lives cavorting with beautiful women and doing drugs in Amsterdam. While there, they hear tell of an incredible hostel elsewhere, in Slovakia, that caters to exactly their desires. Unfortunately, once they get there, they realize it’s not quite the Red Light District: it’s a place where the world’s elite pay to torture and murder people, and our three protagonists are suddenly caught in a twisted game.
Hostel was a controversial success, and rumors have persisted surrounding the premise and whether or not it’s based in truth — especially because one of the trailers reportedly included the line “inspired by true events.”
Roth was at least interested in continuing to prod at these fears in an previously announced series reboot that was in development at Peacock. And while the streamer has since passed on the Hostel series, Roth hasn’t given up on reviving the franchise — and we haven’t lost our curiosity.
The premise of Hostel isn’t a documented true story, but it does have a disturbing real-world inspiration. Ahead, we break down what’s real and what’s fiction when it comes to the classic 2000s horror film — and whether or not we’d stay in a hostel ourselves.
What is Hostel about?
Derek Richardson, Jay Hernandez, and Eythor Gudjonsson in ‘Hostel’Credit: Screen Gems/Courtesy Everett Collection
Hostel centers on three travelers: two American college students named Paxton Rodriguez (Jay Hernandez) and Josh Brooks (Derek Richardson), alongside their Icelandic friend Óli Eriksson (Eyþór Guðjónsson). While in Amsterdam, they visit a nightclub and are kicked out after getting into a fight, leaving them stranded by their hostel’s curfew. The trio accepts an offer from a stranger to stay at his apartment, where he convinces them to eschew their forthcoming Barcelona plans and instead head to a hostel near Bratislava, Slovakia, populated by beautiful women who crave American men.
If that proposition sounds too good to be true, it’s because it is. Though they do arrive at a hostel to find two women waiting for them, it turns out to be a trap. The men have been sent there in order to be lured to an abandoned factory where victims are restrained, tortured, and murdered by wealthy people who have paid to do so. After Óli and Josh are murdered by wealthy clients, Paxton is left to fight for his life.
Is Hostel based on a true story?
Jay Hernandez and Petr Janis in ‘Hostel’Credit: Screen Gems/Courtesy Everett Collection
The specific events that take place in the narrative of Hostel are not real, and there’s no evidence that the film was actually “based on true events.” But Roth has explained in interviews that the film was inspired by a real — and very creepy — website that a friend showed him.
Roth spoke to Dread Central around the time of the film’s release and discussed the real-world inspiration for the film.
“It started with a conversation with Ain’t It Cool News’ Harry Knowles,” Roth explained. “Harry and I were talking about sick stuff we’d seen on the Internet, like that guy in Texas who set it up so you could control a gun and hunt lions and wild game online. The FBI had shut this guy down. I think his legal defense was that he was making it so handicapped people could hunt, too. It was so f---ed up (laughs). I thought, ‘Jesus. Why wouldn’t they just put a human being in a room?’ and Harry said, ‘Well, actually I found something like that.’”
Roth said that Knowles sent him a link to a site that claimed paying customers could go to Thailand, walk into a room, and shoot somebody in the head for $10,000. “The site claimed that the person you were killing had signed up for it and that part of the money would go to their family because they were so broke and were gonna die anyways,” Roth continued. “It was to give you the thrill of taking another human life.”
Was the Thai website real?
Jay Hernandez in ‘Hostel’Credit: Screen Gems/Courtesy Everett Collection
At the time, Roth seemed unsure about the legitimacy of the website he found. According to a post on Reddit, a behind-the-scenes VHS feature for Hostel included screenshots purportedly showing the actual website Roth found, though their authenticity has not been independently verified.
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“So we said, ‘Is this bullshit? Is this real?’” Roth recalled to Dread Central. “It looked real. But you know what, it doesn’t matter. Whether this place exists or not is not important.”
Roth felt that the very existence of the website reflected a nugget of truth about human nature and base desires. “The point is that somebody built a website about it. Somebody else thought up, realized, and conceptualized this site,” Roth continued. “They figured that there’s some guy out there that’s so bored with money and drugs, they can’t get off from going to a hooker or strip club or doing drugs. They’re looking for that next level of thrill and that, I said, was real. I know people like that.”
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The Thanksgiving director was interested in the way some men gravitate toward exploiting women and drug use while visiting destinations like Amsterdam or Las Vegas, which reflected the behavior of men he knew in real life. “It’s kind of this American thing of going abroad and doing all these things you’re not supposed to do,” he said. “That’s why I made Amsterdam purposefully look like an X-rated Disneyland. It’s just another story. They’re not interacting with another human being, they’re just paying their money, and they’re on that path.”
He added, “I saw parallels in the exploitation and the value of life, or lack of it, in other parts of the world.”
Are hostels actually dangerous to stay in?
‘Hostel’Credit: Screen Gems/Courtesy Everett Collection
According to Hostelz.com, hostels are generally safe places to stay in while traveling. In fact, “backpacker hostels” possess a “community spirit” in which everyone looks out for each other.
In general, travelers staying in hostels just need to take the same precautions as anyone else traveling would. Check reviews, research the neighborhood, don’t flaunt expensive items or money. The U.S. State Department offers similar advice, emphasizing the importance of researching accommodations and their security measures before booking. While theft and other safety risks can occur, there’s no evidence that travelers need to worry about being sold into a pay-for-murder scheme.
Is there going to be a Hostel series for Peacock?
Petr Janis in ‘Hostel’Credit: Screen Gems/Courtesy Everett Collection
In the summer of 2025, Variety reported that a Hostel series was in development at Peacock, one year after the series had been announced with no streamer yet attached. Roth was set to direct, write, and executive produce the series, while Oscar-nominated actor Paul Giamatti was planned to star.
However, in an interview uploaded to YouTube in August 2026, Roth revealed that Peacock had passed on the project “some time ago.” Roth said, “Peacock said no. They’re not gonna do it. We were surprised and that’s their decision.”
Peacock passing on the series may not be the death knell for a continuation of the story. “Chris Briggs and I wrote the scripts and we love them, and I definitely want to turn them into something,” Roth added. “So it might not be a TV series, but I still want to continue Hostel.”
Where can I watch Hostel?
Hostel is currently available to stream on Peacock.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
