At least the views are pretty, said Jack Mathews in the New York Daily News. Director John Stockwell offers sun-drenched beaches, glistening nubile bodies, and 'œsome stunning underwater photography.' But its attractive postcard shots are about the only saving graces of this movie, which follows in the grand tradition of gory box office hits Saw and Hostel. The plot is nothing you haven't seen before: Here, stupid, scantily clad American tourists are stranded at a bus stop in a remote Brazilian village. They party all night, pass out, and wake in the morning to find that their passports and clothes have been stolen. That's when a friendly seeming local invites them to traipse through the forest to a secret lair, where an insane surgeon harvests their organs while they beg for their lives. Before all that bloodshed, Turistas actually—though accidentally—hits on something important, said Ethan Alter in Premiere. In portraying the Americans as too drunk to bother with Portuguese, 'œthis low-budget genre picture makes its points about the perils of miscommunication between cultures more effectively—and with greater narrative economy—than the similarly themed Babel.' But in the end, the movie is mainly about when each of the characters will bite it, said Leah Rozen in People. 'œTuristas offers few surprises on this count.' Watch your kidneys and livers, lesser-billed actors.
Rating: R
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