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The online film magazine Combustible Celluloid offers new movie reviews, DVD reviews, film reviews, actor interviews, actress interviews, director interviews, film books and all things cinema related for the thoughtful and passionate. Online for ten years! Over 3000 reviews!

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Turistas (2006)

Rating: 2 Stars (out of 4)

Trip Flop

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Turistas on DVD

Stranded in Brazil, a group of American and British backpackers discover a beach bar/dance club paradise that turns into a nightmare vacation, in this latest example of the trendy "torture" subgenre of horror films (Hostel, The Ordeal, etc.). Director John Stockwell (crazy/beautiful, Into the Blue) crafts the first half as one of his cult-of-the-beautiful-body experiences, ruminating on the pretty travelers in all their physical glory, and weaving them into surprisingly credible situations. But he has no head for the horror that engulfs the second half. The disappointing villains range from an inconsistent mastermind to his brain-dead underlings. And a chase scene set in underwater caves could have been spectacular, but instead it's rushed, cluttered and confusing. Josh Duhamel, Melissa George and Olivia Wilde co-star.

Starring: Josh Duhamel, Melissa George, Olivia Wilde, Desmond Askew, Beau Garrett, Max Brown, Agles Steib, Miguel Lunardi
Written by: Michael Ross
Directed by: John Stockwell
MPAA Rating: R for strong graphic violence and disturbing content, sexuality, nudity, drug use and language
Running Time: 89 minutes
Date: December 1, 2006