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JAY HERNANDEZ on 'HOSTEL'
Contributed by Michael J. Lee, Executive Editor
for Radio Free Entertainment
December 17, 2005
In the brutally violent horror flick Hostel, two American students (Jay Hernandez and Derek Richardson) looking to indulge their vices are seduced by a pair of sexy sirens (Barbara Nedeljakova and Jana Kaderabkova) while on an Eastern European trek through Slovakia. But what begins as a good time on the local party scene quickly takes a sinister turn, and the young tourists find themselves the latest victims of an underground ring of human trafficking, where the depraved can pay for the twisted pleasure of torturing and killing others.
Executive produced by Quentin Tarantino, Hostel is writer/director Eli Roth's follow-up to his 2002 horror hit Cabin Fever, and takes up a decidedly darker tone than its campy predecessor. In this interview, Jay Hernandez talks about working on the sadistically gore-heavy film.
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The Interview
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MEDIA: How did you get involved with this project?
JAY: Somebody got this script to my agent, and he sent it to me...So I read it, and I responded [positively]. So we set up a meeting. I met Eli. We talked about it. And just after meeting him and reading the script and seeing his excitement about it...It seemed like he had every shot already planned out in his head. So I knew he was very thorough. And he talked about some of the locations that he scouted. And I knew Quentin was involved, and it just seemed like a cool move. It's something exciting to do, something different--nice departure from all the nice guys that I play.
Are a lot of the scripts that come your way for horror movies?
Recently, there's been a lot of them. I mean, every studio's trying to get one out because they seem to be making money.
What disturbing elements made this script stand out amongst the others?
Well, there was stuff that got cut out--stuff that would definitely have pushed it over the rating that we got. I just thought that it was like no holds barred. And then Eli told me, "I'm sticking to it. I'm not going to change it. I want to shoot my movie. I'm not going to let them mess with me and try to take some of it out so they can broaden the audience. I'm going to make a horror film and I'm going to do it all the way."
Can you tell us about any of those scenes that were cut out?
Well, they never got shot. There was one scene where--this one is pretty sick--the guy was torturing, and the level of excitement was such that he, uh...he had a pretty good erection going on. [laughs] How do you feel about that, huh?
What's it like to be up-close-and-personal with a chainsaw?
It's cool, dude. It's like classic horror. The sound of a chainsaw on the set got everybody amped.
Did anything freak you out while you were filming?
I would say being in that institution--that psyche ward, or whatever it was. That was really creepy because it was a real place from like the early 1900s. There [were] these underground rooms that probably hadn't been inhabited for 60, 70 years. And I keep saying this, but it was true. It kind of freaked me out. I walked offset trying to get some fresh air, and there was a room that had these huge hooks on the wall. And I was asking around, "Dude, what's the hook for?" And nobody could give me an answer. I still don't, to this day, know what those hooks are for. Like, something was being hung up there. Was it bodies? Was it meat? I don't know...It was kind of creepy, so I went back to set. [laughs]
Did anything have a profound affect on you emotionally?
Well, after the torture scene, I can tell you I was relieved that it was done--that I got through it. I felt like I had been tortured. Me and Derek talked about it. He felt the same way, because it's like a couple days in that chair handcuffed, and you're struggling and trying to get out. And bruises develop, so with every move, you feel pain. And you're yelling, and emotionally, you're like in this place where it hurts. So it was rough. Those couple of days were definitely rough, and when that was over, [it] was like a huge weight off my back.
What does your family think of the movie?
Everyone asks me that, dude. My parents were both at the screening. You know, I didn't really want them to go because of all the stuff that was in there. I just didn't know how they were going to react. So I told my mom...I let her know what was going on, and she's like, "Yeah, I had to cover my eyes for some scenes, but I really liked it."
Was it the violence that made her squeamish, or the sex?
Probably both, you know. It's like "it's her little boy," you know what I mean? But it was funny, because my dad's like a straight dude--doesn't cuss, really straight guy. And he walks out. And I'm like, "Come on, pops, what'd you think of the movie?" And he looks at me. He's like, [deadpan] "It was weird." [laughs] That was his reaction! So I was like, "That's classic, dude." It was perfect. I mean, if you had seen the way he delivered that, it was funny.
What was involved stunt-wise in the scene where the girls get mowed down by the car?
There [were] dummies there that they ran over, but there's these stuntwomen that were just taking a beating. Like seriously, I really thought there were some bad injuries that had taken place. And somehow, she didn't hit her head. She fell off the car onto this cobblestone road. And she gets up and dusts herself off, and I'm like, "Wow!" [claps hands] "Somebody give her a bump. Somebody like push that pay up, because she just took a licking, dude."
If there's a demand for it, would you be willing to do a Hostel sequel?
Yeah, I wouldn't be past that. I've already heard murmurs of it. So it's a possibility. I don't know. We'll see.
With 2005 wrapping up, what would you say is the best thing to happen to you this year?
Best thing that's happened this year? Maybe Hostel. It was a great experience. I loved it. I loved going to Europe. I met a lot of great people. Working with Eli and Quentin. And I'm happy with the finished product. So I think Hostel's going to be a big thing for me.
Speaking of Quentin, did you get to hang with him offset?
We hung out after the first screening in LA. You know, it's funny...You know the P*ssy Wagon [from Kill Bill]? He drove that! He took that out! And he's like driving around in the P*ssy Wagon. That was kind of cool.
Did you take any mementos from the set of Hostel?
No, I didn't take anything from the set. But I heard Derek took a case of gonorrhea. [laughs] No, I'm just kidding. I had to throw it in there, you know?
Thanks for your time.
Thank you, guys.
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